Social Media Marketing Chapter 1: The Social Media Environment

Defining Social Media and Its Core Philosophy

• Verbatim Definition: Social media are the online means of communication, conveyance, collaboration and cultivation among interconnected and interdependent networks of people, communities and organizations enhanced by technological capabilities and mobility.
• Philosophy of Participation: Social media is fundamentally built on a philosophy of participation. Users are encouraged to identify how they engage with these platforms, typically involving activities such as sharing, creating, talking, working, buying/selling, and learning.

Mind-Boggling Social Media Statistics and Growth Rates

• Historical Media Adoption Speeds:
  • Radio: Took $38$ years to reach $50$ million listeners.
  • Television (TV): Took $13$ years to reach $50$ million users.
  • The Internet: Took only $4$ years to reach $50$ million people.
  • Facebook: Added $100$ million users in less than $9$ months (Hird, 2011).
• Global Distribution and Demographics:
  • Just over $10\%$ of Facebook users are located in North America; more than a third of users are in the Asia-Pacific region (Aslam, 2022).
  • QQ, WeChat, and QZone (social networks with heavy user bases in Asia) are more popular than platforms like Tumblr, Instagram, X, and Pinterest in specific regions (We Are Social, 2022).
• Professional and Economic Impact:
  • More than $90\%$ of companies utilize LinkedIn as their primary recruiting tool (McCain, 2022).
  • Top-tier YouTubers, such as PewDiePie and Lilly Singh, earn tens of millions of dollars annually (A. Brown \& Freeman, 2022).
• User Engagement and Usage Time:
  • Users aged $16-24$ spend the most time on social networks, averaging $2$ hours and $54$ minutes daily.
  • The overall average daily usage across all age groups is approximately $2$ hours and $28$ minutes (We Are Social, 2022).
  • Facebook vs. Instagram: While Facebook dominates in total size and worldwide penetration, Instagram dominates in user engagement. Brands experience a median engagement rate of $0.31\%$ per Facebook post, compared to a higher median engagement rate of $0.75\%$ per post on Instagram (Cucu, 2023).

The Social Media Value Chain

• The Value Chain Components (Figure 1.2): The relationships among the Internet, channels, software, and devices are explained via this chain:
  • Infrastructure: The foundational technologies.
  • Channels/Hosts: The platforms where interaction occurs.
  • Supporting Software and Services: The tools that facilitate functionality.
  • Devices: The Internet-enabled hardware used for access and participation.
• Core Activities Supported: These components enable users to Share, Create, Talk, Work, Buy/Sell, and Learn.

Technological Evolution: From Web 2.x to Web 3.0

• Web 2.x: Established the defining characteristics of social media as we know them.
• Web 3.0 (The Modern Era): Characterized by several key principles:
  • The Web as a platform.
  • User participation and User-Generated Content (UGC).
  • Crowdsourcing.
  • Network effects.
  • Scalability.
  • Perpetual beta (continuous updates and improvements).
  • Reputation economy.

The Four Zones of Social Media

Social media is categorized into four distinct zones, each with specific modes, vehicles, and exemplary channels.

• Zone 1: Social Community: Focuses on relationships and the maintenance of a social connection.
  • Activities: Sharing, Socializing, Conversing.
  • Exemplar Vehicles: X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, LinkedIn, Reddit, Instagram.
• Zone 2: Social Publishing: Focuses on the dissemination of content to an audience.
  • Activities: Editorial, Commercial, User-Generated.
  • Exemplar Vehicles:
    • Blogs: Blogger, Tumblr, WordPress.
    • Media sites: Medium, YouTube, SmugMug, SlideShare, Scribd.
• Zone 3: Social Entertainment: Focuses on opportunities for play and enjoyment.
  • Activities: Games, Music, Art.
  • Exemplar Vehicles: Come2Play, Spotify, DeviantArt, YouTube, MySpace, Zynga, uGame.
• Zone 4: Social Commerce: Focuses on the use of social media to assist in the buying and selling of products and services.
  • Activities: CRM/Service, Retailing/Sales, Human Resources.
  • Exemplar Vehicles: Facebook, Shopify, Groupon, Etsy, VideoGenie, TripAdvisor, Payvment.

Evolution of Marketing Communications

Marketing has evolved through three primary stages (Figure 1.5):

• Traditional Marketing:
  • Mass media focus.
  • Push orientation (outbound messaging).
  • Attention is gained via orientation/interruption.
  • Channels: Broadcast, Print, Radio, Outdoor.
• Tradigital Marketing:
  • Mass and targeted online media.
  • Push orientation with outbound messaging where interactivity is enabled.
  • Personalization and relevance become key.
  • Channels: Display Ads, Microsites, Email, Search.
• Social Media Marketing:
  • Niche online media.
  • Attraction orientation (Pull).
  • Content attracts inbound traffic.
  • Attention gained via interactivity.
  • Core components: Dialogue, Participation, Sharing.
  • Channels: Networks, Communities, Blogs, Microblogs.

Social Media Marketing: Definition and Priorities

• Verbatim Definition: Social media marketing is the utilization of social media technologies, channels and software to create, communicate, deliver and exchange offerings that have value for an organization’s stakeholders.
• Top Business Priorities for SMM (% of Companies):
  • Brand awareness and brand building: $84.2\%$
  • Customer retention: $54.3\%$
  • New customer acquisition: $51.1\%$
  • Brand promotions (e.g., sales promotions, contests): $48.4\%$
  • New product introduction: $45.1\%$
  • Customer service: $39.1\%$
  • Employee engagement: $38.0\%$
  • Market research: $22.3\%$
  • Targeting new markets: $17.4\%$
  • Identifying new product opportunities: $15.2\%$

SMM Objectives and the LARA Framework

• Specific Marketing Objectives: Social media can be used to:
  • Recover from service failures.
  • Cement brand loyalty.
  • Facilitate purchase.
  • Encourage trial.
  • Influence desire.
  • Increase awareness.
• The LARA Framework: A process for managing social media customer service and engagement:
  • L: Listen to customer conversations.
  • A: Analyze conversations.
  • R: Relate information within enterprise systems.
  • A: Act on customer conversations.

Types of Media across the Social Media Zones

Media is categorized into Paid, Earned, and Owned across the four zones (Table 1.3):

• Zone 1: Social Communities
  • Paid: Ads, Native ads, Paid influencers.
  • Earned: Conversations, Shared content, Influence impressions, Likes, followers, fans.
  • Owned: Brand-owned social networks.
• Zone 2: Social Publishing
  • Paid: Endorsements, Sponsored content.
  • Earned: Embeds, Comments, Shares, Links, Search rankings.
  • Owned: Corporate blogs, Branded content.
• Zone 3: Social Entertainment
  • Paid: Ads in games/entertainment sites, Sponsored social entertainment experiences.
  • Earned: In-game interactions, Engagement in social TV.
  • Owned: Advergames, Branded ARGs (Alternate Reality Games), Branded entertainment, Brand-controlled media-sharing sites.
• Zone 4: Social Commerce
  • Paid: Sales promotions, Retargeted ads on social sites.
  • Earned: Reviews and ratings, Recommendations and referrals, Group buys, Social shopping interactions.
  • Owned: Social storefronts.

Running Case and Ethical Reflection

• Case Study: JOAH Beauty: JOAH Beauty maintains an active presence across multiple social channels including Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, and TikTok. Marketers must evaluate how participating in these multiple zones enables the brand to meet its unique objectives and marketing mix.
• Reflective and Ethical Questions:
  • How do algorithms influence our view of reality?
  • What are the ethical implications associated with the use of algorithms?
  • Are modern users living within a "filter bubble"?