The Ins and Outs of Social Media Marketing

According to Armstrong and Kotler, "Social medias are online communities where people congregate, socialize and exchange views and information” . Social media marketing refers to leveraging social media websites like facebook, twitter, pinterest and instagram to engage customers anywhere, anytime via their digital devices. It is said to be the fastest growing form of direct marketing. Consumers can be engaged via their tablets, phones, laptops and with the widespread use of internet, both buyers and marketers have been dramatically impacted. Marketers have two options in how they choose to establish their social media presence. Companies can either set up their own, or interact with customers on existing social media. For example, 99% of global brands like Nike, Adidas, Mercedes-Benz, Pizza Hut, Dell and Coca Cola have their own instagram, facebook pages. Companies also have the option of marketing on instagram by having their advertisements inserted into users’ home pages while they scroll.

The first step to planning a successful social media marketing initiative is to ‘listen’ to what customers are saying about the brand. A company should monitor all online conversations about their brand, conversations about competitors and also conversations about industry/category. Having understood the power of social media, companies now have Chief Listening Officers to monitor how customers are reacting to their brand. This individual’s job it to identify the threats, opportunities and to recommend action steps to improve the brand reputation and bottom line profits. 

An important thing to remember when creating a social media marketing plan is to set goals with a specific focus. A highly focused social media and content marketing strategy can drive the company towards the success than a broad strategy that tries to focus on everyone’s needs. This would allow the company to focus on the quality of their marketing efforts. After deciding what their focus will be, the company has to make a decide which kind of platform they will use. That depends on their target market. The data which are gathered from listening to online conversations would help in this. If the company decides to establish a presence on multiple platforms, then they should cater to the specific audiences they intend to reach through those. As an example, marketing on Linkedin is different from marketing on Instagram. People who use those two platforms have different goals, so the company should be aware of those and adjust their campaign accordingly.

The biggest advantage of social media marketing is that it is interactive, thereby giving marketers the ability to know customer reactions in real time. For example, by creating a hashtag for customers to use, marketers have the ability to identify and react to the positive and the negative comments customers have regarding a certain brand. Consumers would also enjoy being included in the conversation, as it gives them the feeling of being heard by the company.(#sayitwithcoke) 

 After the initial cost to create a social media marketing campaign, it is relatively inexpensive to maintain. This would allow the company to enjoy high returns. Customer engagement keeps customers involved with the development of the brand. However, it is not all a walk in the park; social media marketing presents challenges as well. Not all companies have mastered the art of social media, as it is not a time tested platform as of yet. Social media networks are controlled by users, which means companies cannot force people to see their advertising efforts, as they would do with television commercials. Consumers have to decide to make the brand a part of their life, which may take time. There is also the risk of a social media campaign backfiring. Therefore, it is important to strike a balance between what the company really wants out on the internet and what information they need from consumers in order to improve their brand recognition. If managed effectively, social media marketing could prove to be a tremendous success for a company.