Mid term Social Media

Why social media is important

1. Creating buzz, videos, tweets or blog entries that may become viral.

2. Building ways that enable fans of a brand to promote a message themselves.

3. Based around online conversations.

4. Part of a larger media ecosystem of owned, paid and earned media used in marketing.

A stellar brand strategy includes:

• Brand voice and personality

• Values Unique value proposition

• Visual identity and brand image

• Positioning

What is social media

Online media where users submit comments, photos, videos. Often accompanied by feedback, online conversations, and can share with friends or family. 

Types of Media

Paid Media - GENERAL CONSUMERS - Traditional advertising - print, television, radio, display, direct mail, paid search, retail/channel

Owned Media - CUSTOMERS - Corporate web site, campaign microsite, blog, brand community, Facebook fan page, mobile, etc.

Earned Media - SUPER FANS - Word of mouth, Facebook comments, Twitter (@mentions, @replies), Vine, Blogs, forums, review sites verged-media

Types of Media - Promotional Mix

• User generated content

• Interruptive banner ads

• Display ads

• TV advertising

• Super Bowl ads

• Facebook fan page

• Facebook comments/posts

• Tiktok sponsored ads

• Influencer marketing

• Customer reviews – (e.g Amazon hair products)

Inbound Marketing

Takes a customer-centric approach to promoting a brand, given the customer’s interest. It involves creating and sharing content that is designed to educate, inform, and entertain a target audience, with a goal of building trust and credibility with that audience over time.

Focused on attracting potential customers to a brand or product through valuable content and experiences, rather than interruptive ads.

• Topical blogs

• Social media campaigns (Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube etc.)

• Ebooks

• Search Engine optimized (SEO) website text

• Viral videos

• Newsletters

• Web-based seminars (Webinars)

Outbound Marketing

“Traditional” marketing, where a company reaches out to potential customers via strategies such as cold calling and advertising. Rather than waiting for you to find you through organic reach.

• Push marketing

• Cold emailing or spamming

• Cold Calling

• Direct mail

• Billboards

• Event sponsorships

• Tradeshow presentations

• Banner/display ads

Digital Marketing

Encompasses all kinds of online marketing efforts

• including pay-per-click advertising (PPC)

• landing pages

• other online promotional methods

It’s more focused on

• paid advertising

• direct promotion

• generate immediate sales or conversions

Define social media marketing

Uses social media portals to positively influence consumers toward a website, company, brand, product, service, or a person.

Typically, the end goal is a “conversion,” such as the purchase of a product, subscription to a newsletter, registration in an online community, or some other desirable consumer action.

about people having conversations online

7 myths of social marketing

1. Just a Fad

2. Just for the Young

3. There is No Return

4. Isn’t Right for This Business

5. New

6. Too Time-Consuming

7. It’s Doesn’t Consume Time or Resources

Traditional Approach

• Controls content seen by audience

• Domineering approach

• Vertical Engagement: One-Directional

Social Media Approach

• Emphasizes audience contribution

• Discussion approach

• Vertical Engagement: Two-Directional

How social media marketing is different

• Control vs. contributions

• Trust building; be earnest, down-to-earth.

• SMM is a unique combination of marketing creativity and technology.

Identify the characteristics of a successful social media marketer

• Good communication skills

  • Able to engage with a diverse group

  • Being a good listener

  • Good writing skills

• Working knowledge of computers and the Internet

  • Programming not required

• Knowledge of search marketing desirable

• Proficiency on at least 3 leading social platforms: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

Describe the careers in social media marketing

• Blogger

• Campaign managers

• Community manager

• Crisis Reputation Manager

• Digital media manager

• Director, social media marketing

• Engagement manager

• Interactive media associate

• Social media account executive

• Data Analytics

Best practices for Social Media Marketing

1. Begin with a strategy .

2. Be honest and transparent

3. Identify your target audience and media behavior

4. Welcome audience participation and feedback

5. Changes happen

Advantages of Social Media Marketing

• Lots of customers located in the same place (e.g. Facebook ~1.1 billion active users)

• Relatively inexpensive compared to traditional forms of marketing (e.g., TV, radio, and print advertisements)

• Can easily obtain personal information about customers for targeting purposes (e.g., Facebook fans)

• Instantaneous

• Builds a sense of community

• Message can go viral

Disadvantages of Social Media Marketing

• Negative message can go viral

• Marketing campaign can backfire

• Difficult to measure the success of social media marketing!

What is the criteria for choosing the right audience?

• Diverse audience:

  • Brands will need to cater to a wider range of demographics, including ethnicities, genders, and sexual orientations, to remain relevant.

• Authenticity over trends:

  • Consumers will value genuine brand messaging and interactions over purely trendy content.

• Mobile-first approach:

  • Most social media engagement will happen on mobile devices, requiring optimized content formats.

• Creator economy dominance:

  • Influencers and creators will play a significant role in reaching audiences, with a shift towards micro-influencers and niche communities. Outsourcing engagement by brands.

• Social commerce integration:

  • Seamless shopping experiences directly within social media platforms will become increasingly prevalent.

What is Strategic planning

The process of identifying objectives to accomplish, deciding how to accomplish those objectives with specific strategies and tactics, implementing the actions that make the plan come to life, and measuring how well the plan met the objectives.

• The process is three tiered, beginning at the –

  • Corporate Level

  • Strategic Business Unit level

  • Functional Level (Marketing Plan)

What is a Marketing Plan

It is a written, formalized plan that details the product, pricing, distribution, and promotional strategies that will enable the brand to accomplish specific marketing objectives

Marketing Plans Outline

1. Set Marketing Objectives

2. Perform the Situation Analysis

3. Develop Marketing Strategies

4. Implement & Control Marketing Plan

What is a Social Media Marketing Plan

Details an organization’s social media goals and the actions necessary to achieve the goals that are set at the Organizational level.

Social Media Marketing Planning Cycle

1. Social Listening

2. Setting goals

3. Identifying the target audience (market)

4. Create an experience strategy

5. Selecting tools, platforms & channels

6. Implementing

7. Monitoring

8. Tuning

What is Social Listening

Identifies and collects information shared on social media sites, the information collected (Situation Analysis) is analyzed for insights to inform strategic marketing decisions. Listening is proactive.

Setting goals

Specifying the objectives of the campaign – increasing brand awareness, increasing customer satisfaction, driving word-of-mouth recommendations etc.

Identifying the target audience (market)

Potential customers & advocates

Create an experience strategy

Selecting tools, platforms & channels

Where the target audience resides and designing appropriate content & campaigns

Implementing

Through well-defined tactics

Monitoring

Reactive

Tuning

Improving the elements of the plan

Listen and Observe: Five Stages

1. Listen to conversations about a brand or company

2. Listen to what people say about the competitors

3. Listen to what people say in general (pop culture) and about the industry or category

4. Listen for the tone of the community

5. Listen to different social media channels

Characteristics of Social Listening

• Social Media Audit

• SWOT ! (controllable forces vs uncontrollable forces)

• Social Media Environmental Scanning

Primary Goals & Objectives

• Build brand awareness

• Build brand preference

• Driving leads or sales

• Increasing customer loyalty - Chobani

• Provide customer service

Secondary Goals & Objectives

• Driving word-of-mouth recommendations

• Producing new product ideas

• Crowd Funding

• Handling crisis-reputation management

• Integrating social media marketing with public relations and advertising

• Search Engine Optimization

Actual objectives, AMEC - International Communications Association

1. Exposure

2. Engagement

3. Influence

4. Impact

5. Advocacy

Campaign-Specific and Platform-Specific Social Media Marketing Objective

• Business Objectives

• Marketing Objectives

• Social Media Marketing Objectives

• Campaign-Specific Pllatform-Specific Objectives

SMART objectives

• Specific

• Measurable

• Action-oriented

• Realistic

• Time-lined

SMM has many marketing applications such as

• SM can be a delivery tool to build buzz and word of mouth communications.

• It can effectively deliver coupons and other special promotional offers.

• Social platforms can be the primary venue for the execution of contests and sweepstakes.

• They can collect data to build databases and to generate sales leads.

• Can also serve as efficient channels to manage customer service relationships

• And to conduct research for new product development.

• Not to mention, social media are relatively inexpensive ways to increase reach and frequency of messages that are otherwise delivered via more traditional, big media methods

Key considerations when developing social media profile of a target audience:

• The target market will have to be defined in the brand’s marketing plan in terms of demographics, geographics, psychographics, behavioral and product usage characteristics.

• The target audience’s social profile will take this understanding of the market one step further.

• It will include the market’s social activities and

Buyer persona 

 fictional representations of your ideal customers. Taking into account factors such as demographics, desires and pain points, personas paint a picture of the individuals you're trying to sell to

• Age

• Location

• Language

• spending power and patterns

• Interests

• Challenges

• Stage of life

Key considerations when setting social media marketing strategies

• What are your overall goals?

• What was learned from listening?

• Who is your target market? Where does a company’s target audience hang out, and what do they do there? What will truly resonate with them, how can you engage with them, how can you build trust, how can you foster a sense of community, what type of content will they like and will choose to engage with?

• What best practices can be applied?

• Goals may change

• How is the brand positioned?

• Is there another group of people who can persuade the target audience to follow them? What are the existing creative assets?

• How can we integrate with other branded media such as blogs, podcasts, videos being used by the organization?

• What type of content will be needed – educative, entertaining or informative based on your product fit & brand positioning?

• How can experience engagement be extended and shared throughout the social channels?

The Eight C’s Of Strategy Development For Campaign/Content Marketing

1. Categorize

2. Comprehend

3. Converse

4. Collaborate

5. Contribute

6. Connect

7. Community participation

8. Convert

Categorize

social media platforms by target market relevancy

Comprehend

the rules of the road on the platform by listening and learning how to behave, successfully spark conversation, and engage and energize the participants

Converse

Acknowledging and responding to other users of  the platform, always remembering to be a contributor, not a promoter

Collaborate

other brands, platform members as a means of establishing a mutually beneficial relationship with other players.

Contribute

Content to build reputation and become a valued member, helping to improve the community. For example – Home Depot YouTube channel

Connect

with the influencers so that you can enlist them to help shape opinions about your product or service

Community participation

Can elicit valuable consumer suggestions for improving products and innovative suggestions for new products or service, encourage customers/creators to become co-creators of content( creator’s economy!), campaigns - participatory campaigns, UGC

Convert

Strategy execution into desired outcomes such as brand building, increasing customer satisfaction, driving word-of-mouth recommendations, producing new product ideas, generating leads, handling crisis reputation management, integrating social media marketing with PR and advertising, and increasing search engine ranking and site traffic

Brand advocates

Typically unpaid, loyal customers who voluntarily promote a brand because they genuinely like its products or services.

• Their advocacy stems from personal experiences and satisfaction with the brand.

• Often seen as more authentic since their promotion is voluntary and unpaid.

• May have a smaller but more engaged audience, often within their personal network.

• The brand has little control over their messaging or activities.

• Generally free for the company, as advocates promote the brand of their own accord.

Brand Ambassadors

Usually hired or contracted by a company to represent and promote the brand.

• While they may like the brand, their primary motivation is often financial compensation or other benefits.

• Can be perceived as less authentic due to the formal relationship with the brand.

• Often have a larger audience, which may include followers on social media platforms.

• The brand has more control over their messaging and activities, often providing guidelines or specific campaigns.

  • Long-term, ongoing relationships with a brand

  • Represent the brand's overall image and values

  • Often compensated with products, discounts, or retainers

  • Usually exclusive to one brand in a given industry

  • May have varying levels of social media influence

  • Success measured by brand loyalty and long-term impact

Types of influencers

Micro-influencers: Typically have 1,000 to 100,000 followers

Macro-influencers: Usually have 100,000 to 1 million followers

Mega-influencers: Often have over 1 million followers

Celebrity influencers: Well-known public figures with large followings

• Short-term, campaign-based relationships

• Focused on specific content or promotions

• Often paid per post or campaign

• May work with multiple brands simultaneously

• Typically has a large social media following

• Effectiveness measured by engagement metrics

Best Practices for Organic Viral Marketing Campaign Strategies

• Personalization & Timing

• Community Challenges

• Purpose-Driven Content

• Educational Value

• Experience Creation

Market segmentation

Is the process of dividing the market into distinct groups that have common needs and characteristics.

• Geographic

• Demographic

• Psychographics

• Benefits sought & behavioral

Strategies to segment the market

• Niche Product Niche market

• One product multiple markets

• Multiple products multiple markets

• Mass Customization

One Product, One Market

Strategy: Focus on a single product tailored to a specific market segment.

Example: Rolex targets luxury watch enthusiasts with high-quality, prestigious timepieces.

One Product, Multiple Markets

Strategy: Market the same product across different regions or demographics, adapting marketing messages to fit local contexts.

Example: Coca-Cola sells the same beverage globally but tailors it's advertising to resonate with local cultures and preferences.

Multiple Products, Multiple Markets

Strategy: Develop and market different products tailored to the unique needs and preferences of various markets.

Example: Unilever offers different personal care products in different countries, such as Dove in the U.S. and Lux in Asia, each customized to local tastes.

Mass Customization

Strategy: Combine the efficiency of mass production with the personalization of custom-made products, allowing customers to personalize certain features.

Example: Nike's "Nike By You" program lets customers design their own shoes, choosing colors, materials, and other features.

Behavioral segmentation

• How much time prospective customers spend online and on social media

• What activities they participate in on social media (social technographics)

• Which social networks do they use & the devices they use to access social media

• Tracking their social footprint

7 Social Technographics

The Social Technographics Profile consists of these 7 personas:

• Creators

• Conversationalists

• Critics

• Collectors

• Joiners

• Spectators

• Inactives

Creators

24%

Develop blogs, articles, videos, music, images, and art, and then upload them to social media platforms; they are at the top of ladder.

Conversationalists

33%

Participate in group discussions, engage in conversations on Twitter, and update their statuses on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Critics

37%

Evaluate and comment on content produced by creators and conversa-tionalists, post product ratings or reviews, comment on blogs, and participate in community discussion forums, as well as correct wiki articles.

Collectors

20%

Upload and save favorites on bookmarking sites, vote on content on sites, tag photos, subscribe to RSS feeds to automatically receive new blog posts, and perform the valuable function of helping to organize and categorize content on the social web.

Joiners

59%

Interact on social networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn.

Spectators

70%

Consume the content that others produce, such as blogs, videos, podcasts, forums, reviews, and so on.

Inactives

17%

Are Internet consumers who are not involved in social media.

Steps in Targeting Social Media Campaigns

1. Define Target Audience and Segments

2. Create Personas for Each Segment

3. Develop Media Plan for Each Targeted Segment

4. Optimize Media Schedule and Posts

It’s important to define persona

Marketers are better able to identify, understand, acquire, engage, and retain the target audience.

Each persona will have a different set of interests, needs, and communication styles

Detailed client personas help you understand your target audience and design a content strategy that is targeted at specific, defined audiences.

Content Strategy

• what you want to share

• where you want to post it

• how you want to promote it

• when is the best time to post it

Key Traits - Gen Z Buyer Persona

Tech-savvy: Comfortable with digital platforms and social media.

Socially conscious: Supports brands aligned with environmental and social values.

Value authenticity: Prefers genuine and transparent brands.

Influencer-driven: Influenced by social media influencers.

Visual content preference: Drawn to engaging and aesthetically pleasing visuals.

Research-oriented: Thoroughly researches products online.

Price-sensitive: Looks for deals and discounts.

Diverse interests: Wide range of interests and hobbies.

Important Considerations for Marketing to Gen Z

Engage on Social Media: Pay attention to online conversations and trends.

Youthful and Energetic: Gen Z is cause-driven, business-minded, and globally curious.

Trending Interests: Focus on #Travel, #MarchForOurLives, #KPop, #Bitcoin, #Fitness, and #Entrepreneurship.

Financially Savvy: Many Gen Z individuals are already financially independent and entrepreneurial.

Cause Marketing: Align your brand with social causes, as seen with Imagine Dragons and Airbnb.

Listen and Adapt: Understand their unique interests and preferences to effectively deliver your message.

Three-Step Persona Development Cycle

• Identify Persona Roles, listing all relevant personas by role

• List Needs and Situational Triggers from personas’ perspectives, defining concerns, symptoms, and problems

• Create Messaging Objectives suited to each persona’s needs that you have the expertise to address (and note those that you don’t)

Three sets of personas exist in the overall market

1. Personas with a need that the product being marketed satisfies

2. Personas with enough money to purchase the product

3. Personas generally interested in receiving information about new products

Social identity

Persona + Social Footprint

• Is part of our self-concept (a sense of who we are)

• Depends on our aspirational and our actual groups we refer to as the basis of our self appraisal

• Can influence where, when, how, and what you contribute as a social media participant

• Marketers are interested in along with other information useful for segmenting & targeting you!

Big social data (BSD)

Data generated from technology mediated social interactions and actions online, which can be collected and analyzed.

Marketers assess this information, the portrait they paint of you is their view of your social identity

Altimeter

• Defines the marketer’s view of social identity as “the information about an individual available on social media, including profile data and ongoing activity”

• Believes using social identity data helps brands to build richer customer profiles, efficiently use marketing budgets, and engage across channels

Behavioral targeting

Based on purchases or intents like searches

Connection targeting

Based on the type of connection to your brand page, such as a Facebook fan

Interest targeting

Based on self-reported interests and page-related behaviors
like search

Look-alike targeting

That identifies people like the ones who have been successful targets in the past

Custom targeting

That allows the marketer to upload his own data, such as an email list

Location targeting

Based on the location provided in the user's profile or by geo-targeting data, which determines the user's current

Social footprint

Is the mark a person makes when he or she is present in a social media space

• As we visit websites and web communities, we leave a digital trail behind

• Creating your social brand

• Your social brand in the Age of selfies

Brand Personification

Characters with unique personas allow the public to identify with a brand and its offerings in a way no other tactic can, helping to establish connection & relationships with consumers that wouldn’t otherwise be possible.

And brand personality makes it much easier to tell a story through your brand.

Brand strategy

Is the process of building a distinctive and cohesive identity for your company that aligns with your mission, values, culture, and goals.

The first step is researching your target audience and their needs. You can use this data to create a brand identity that resonates with them on an emotional level. That way, they instantly recognize your content and products and trust your brand.

What Is Social Media About?

• Authentic conversations between real people

• Discussions about topics they genuinely care about

• Community-driven, not brand-focused

Social Media Marketing Reality

• You must earn attention, not demand it

• Play by community rules and standards

• Become a valued participant, not an interrupter

• Add value before promoting

Success Formula

Listen first → Understand conversations → Contribute genuinely → Build relationships→Market WITH people, not TO them

Interruption Marketing

• Purchased right

• Focused on selling a product

• Creates a persuasive case for purchase

• Continued advertising implies quality and profitability of product

Permission Marketing

• Attention earned

• Adds value to consumers’ lives

• Passion and compelling personalities

• People choose to be engaged with brands resulting in ROI

Passive Strategy

Search out mentions, handles of your business, its competitors, and the category or industry; listen to what people are saying; and respond to start a conversation.

Active Strategy

Create and build social media profiles, connecting with key influencers; and engage by starting or participating in conversations.

Principles for SM Campaign Success

• Participatory

• Authentic

• Resourceful

• Credible

Rules of Engagement

1. Use Social Media Channels As Intended

2. Don’t Be A Dirty Spammer

3. Have A Personality

4. Respond to Negative Posts

5. Be Transparent

6. Talk About The Topic

7. Be strategic with the frequency of posts

8. Be nice

Brand Personality Framework

1. Sincerity

2. Excitement

3. Competence

4. Sophistication

5. Ruggedness