MSU Defending the Practice of Social Media Marketing Responses – Description
1. Discussion Thread: Defending the Practice of Social Media Marketing
The Concept:
Social media marketing is a relatively newer concept in the world of marketing management, yet it has become one of the most important aspects within the portfolio of the promotion mix. As the world continues to become more and more digitized, and social media becomes more engrained into the fabric of society, social media marketing will only grow to be all the more crucial in the implementation of the overall marketing strategy. At its core, social media marketing is another type of promotion that relies on various digital technologies and not an actual salesperson, and it allows the customer to connect directly with the company in a two-way exchange (Johnston & Marshall, 2022). This two-way exchange is what sets social media marketing apart from other forms of promotion in that the customer is actively engaging in the process. The other major difference is the fact that with social media marketing, companies are not able to control all of the dialogue that takes place. They may prompt, participate in, and monitor exchanges, but that is the extent of what they’re able to do if they are participating on a truly open platform, which most social media platforms claim to be. With the obvious risk being the inability to control any sort of negative dialogue about the company, some marketing managers might be hesitant to test the waters of social media. However, with the right amount of social media-savvy, the rewards can far exceed the risk. The potential benefits that social media marketing presents in areas such as building brand awareness, connecting with potential customers, and promoting customer engagement is what makes it such a lucrative concept. Another way social media marketing can benefit a company is through many of the metrics and data that social media provides. This allows marketing managers to obtain relevant feedback about the effectiveness of any given social media marketing strategy and enables them to make future decisions that are driven by the acquired data.
The Application:
One company that has taken advantage of social media and used it to benefit greatly is the fast-food chain Wendy’s. Back in 2017, Wendy’s Twitter account took an unconventional approach for a business on social media and began to “roast” other brands and individuals on Twitter, to the absolute hilarity of the general public. Wendy’s antics grew to such a legendary status that people on Twitter began flocking to the account requesting to have the honor of being roasted by the fast-food restaurant themselves, for many to whom Wendy’s happily obliged. Outside of Twitter, Wendy’s activity spread to other outlets in the form of screenshots, reactions, and video collages posted to other social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube. It also led to the account receiving mentions in the news, including an entire segment dedicated to it on the Today Show (Callahan, 2022). Aside from causing laughs and creating a lot of buzz, Wendy’s clowning was able to increase their bottom line as well. During the one-year period from when they started their unusual Twitter strategy, Wendy’s saw their net income increase from $129.6 million to $194 million, which equated to 49.7% growth in just one year (Thorne, 2020). Additionally, Wendy’s increased its Twitter following by 400,000 followers in just six months (Thorne, 2020). The end result for Wendy’s was increased profits and increased brand equity through brand association, all form simply having an unusual and humorous presence on social media. Not a bad strategy.
The Question:
Given the seemingly increasing sensitivity of many on social media today, do you think it would be worth the risk to take a similar brazen approach on social media like Wendy’s? If not, what would be another unconventional approach a business might take?
2. Product Strategy, Distribution, Social Media Marketing
Concept
Social media marketing has been a successful networking tool since the early 2000s. Businesses have been able to expand their networks by promoting “through the use of digital technologies such as desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones that do not involve a salesperson” (Marshall & Johnston, 2022). Social media has become an essential part of brand marketing with the increased use of the internet and technology. Most large companies have an app or market on a social media app. This allows customers direct access to the company’s webpage, where the customer can make purchases and track their packages. Through social media marketing, “advertising has become more personalized and can help companies to get to know their target audience.” (Dublino, 2023) Social media marketing allows companies to connect with their customers quickly and at the convenience of the consumer. With app capabilities, data can be pulled to show hip trends and failing products. The data can also be used to promote similar items to customers from their previous purchases. Customers search for new products over older and more established items, so it would benefit companies to update product offerings regularly.
In a Forbes article by Belle Wong (2023), it’s reported that 4.9 billion people use social media globally. The extensive network that companies can have through social media marketing is massive. There were a few other exciting statistics reported by Wong (2023), “90% of users follow at least one brand on social media, 76% of social media users have purchased something they saw on social media, and 77% of businesses use social media to reach customers.” Based on these statistics, companies need to make social media marketing a part of their business plan. These numbers will only continue to rise, and if any businesses are not using social media marketing by now, they could be left behind. Marketing managers have unlimited opportunities to promote their brand. “The social media advertising market is set to soar to an outstanding $207.10 billion in 2023, with an impressive 4.53% annual growth rate projected to take the market even higher to $247.30 billion by 2027.” (Wong, 2023) The key to being successful with social media marketing is engaging with followers. This gets consumers active on the company’s webpage and talking to friends and families about the product/service. Asking customers to post pictures of the company’s products and hashtags is a perfect example of engaging with customers.
Application/Example
A great example of successful social media marketing is with the company Red Bull. At the beginning of the summer, Red Bull released a campaign on Instagram for its new energy drink. The preview had a yellow, Red Bull can and warm weather pictures, asking its fans to post their pictures with the cans and cute summer hashtags. Red Bull was able to reach 1.2 million customers with this campaign and saw a “9-point rise in favorability”. Gourley (2021) Without social media marketing, Red Bull could have missed out on connecting with 1.2 million people, which could have potentially resulted in a loss of revenue.
As previously mentioned, customers love to see new products, so Starbucks decided to present a limited time Unicorn Frappuccino campaign, hoping to attract a new and younger clientele. Through Instagram, the campaign presented colorful feeds with a unicorn focus, which attracted 155,000 customers to post a picture with their own Unicorn Frappuccino. This was a limited-time offer, customers rushed to Starbucks so that they wouldn’t miss out on this colorful drink. At $5 a pop, Starbucks banked $775,000 on the “trend of consumers growing sense of FOMO (Fear of missing out).” (Koltun, 2017)
Question for Classmates
Has a social media campaign ever prompted a quick purchase? If so, which campaign? If not, which social media campaign stands out?
The post MSU Defending the Practice of Social Media Marketing Responses first appeared on .
