MKTG 443 Digital Marketing & Social Media Flashcards

Social Media Activities and Core Strategies

• A Company’s Social Media Engagement: Involvement on social media is categorized into three primary activities with the ultimate goal to create and keep a customer:   - Social Media Page Management: The creation of content and posts on owned profiles.   - Paid Advertising: Utilizing the paid distribution tools of social media platforms.   - Reputation Management: Actively monitoring and responding to consumer interactions.

• Functions of Posting on Social Media Profiles:   - First-time Customer Acquisition: Highlighting effectiveness at a level noted as *.   - Increasing Customer Loyalty: This is the most effective use of posting, noted at level ****.   - *Supplementing Search Engine Optimization (SEO)*: Listed with an effectiveness level of **.

• Interaction-Based Visibility:   - Companies should post content that encourages high levels of interaction from followers.   - Social media platforms use algorithms to determine the visibility (liability) of a post based on the interaction it generates.   - Video Views: These count as an interaction and are often more easily generated than "likes" or re-shares.

• SEO and Social Media Signal Impact:   - Social media activity generally has a minimal impact on overall search engine rankings.   - It is specifically recommended for SEO in two scenarios:     1. When a company has already exhausted all other primary SEO optimization factors.     2. When a company depends on local search results, as social media signals influence local rankings more than non-local ones.

Paid Advertising vs. Display Networks

• Targeting Precision: Social media platforms possess extensive user information, allowing for more precise ad targeting compared to general display networks.

• Engagement Rates: Because social media ads appear directly in the user's feed, engagement is significantly higher than on Google’s display network.

• Engagement Options: Platforms offer diverse, immersive options, such as:   - Facebook: Immersive ads.   - Snapchat: Lenses.

• Customer Generation: Paid advertising is generally more effective at generating new customers than organic posting on owned profiles. The ideal strategy is to "Pay to advertise + post."

Reputation Management and Social Listening

• Reputation Management via Monitoring: Companies must conduct active management by responding to both positive and negative comments.

• Response Strategy:   - Positive Feedback: Acknowledge the feedback (e.g., "Thanks for the feedback Jonathan!").   - Negative Feedback: Acknowledge the issue and respond with a fix.   - Example Scenario: A frustrated customer complained about orders arriving an hour late despite being told the driver was close. The company response: "I'm sorry, slow isn't my style and I wanna send this to my customer service team. Can you DM me the store location, your delivery address, order #, and contact info?"

• Resource Requirements:   - High resources are needed because consumers expect responses within hours.   - Social media staff require extensive training to maintain high-quality conversations.

• Social Listening: This involves analyzing aggregate data from public social conversations to gain insights into customer sentiment.   - Process: Scraping public mentions, coding mentions as positive, negative, or neutral, and summarizing average sentiment.

Social Media Planning and Objectives

• The Social Media Plan Framework:   - Determine objectives.   - Choose social media platforms.   - Plan content.   - Distribute and promote content.   - Measure success.

• Activity Prioritization: Start with efforts that are easily accomplished or measured:   - Advertising: The easiest activity to implement and measure.   - Posting: Creation of organic content.   - Conversing: Engaging back and forth with users.

• Platform Selection by Objective:   - First-time Customers: Primary platform is YouTube.   - Customer Loyalty: Primary platforms are Facebook and Instagram.   - SEO: Primary platform is Instagram.   - Advertising: Primary platforms are Facebook and YouTube.   - Reputation Management: Primary platforms are review websites, industry forums, and LinkedIn.

Platform Synergies and Content Distribution

• Platform Synergies:   - Facebook and Instagram: Image-based content works well on Facebook, while video performs even better; content is easily cross-posted.   - Facebook and YouTube: High-quality video production is expensive but information-rich. Content produced for YouTube can be reused on Facebook to maximize ROI.   - Pinterest Limitations: While Pinterest and Instagram both focus on images, a Pinterest pin requires more metadata and specific attention, making the synergy less advantageous than expected.

• Content Types:   - Original Content: Created by the company (majority of content).   - User-Generated Content (UGC): Submissions using specific hashtags; driven by intrinsic or extrinsic motivations.   - Co-created Content: Unique collaborative efforts.   - Curated Content: A small proportion of content gathered from external sources.

• Marketing Media Values:   - Utilitarian Value: Discounts, product tips, or educational training.   - Entertainment Value: Humor, inside knowledge, or news from a company icon.   - Community Value: Building a fanbase or connections with brands.

Content Promotion and Earned Media Factors

• Owned Media Promotion: Use descriptive "Calls-to-Action" (CTA) and strike while interest is high to keep customers engaged.

• Earned Media (Publicity from Unpaid Efforts): Success is driven by six factors:   1. Social Currency: Sharing things that make us look good.   2. Triggers: Things associated with the environmental context.   3. Emotion: Deepened connections increase the likelihood of sharing.   4. Public: Highly observable things are discussed more.   5. Practical Value: Useful things that solve problems.   6. Stories: Humans love narratives; companies should be the protagonist.

• Earned Media Examples: ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, Kansas Basketball, Chewbacca Mask with Kohl’s.

• Paid Media Strategy: Sophisticated targeting does not guarantee effectiveness. Distribution requires constant testing and measurement.

Measurement and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Measuring Reach:   - Total number of Likes/Subscribers/Followers.   - Follower growth.   - Impressions/Views.

• Measuring Engagement:   - Re-posts/Re-Tweets/Re-Pins.   - Likes/Comments.   - Engagement Rate: The $\text{\%}$ of users engaged with content within a specific period.

• Measuring Loyalty:   - Conversion Rate.   - Purchase Frequency/Likelihood.

• Social Listening Measures:   - Volume of mentions.   - Sentiment analysis.   - Topic analysis.   - Changes in volume/sentiment over time.

Email Marketing and A/B Testing

• A/B Testing Durations:   - Testing usually involves $\text{10\%}$ to $\text{50\%}$ of the total list; measured by open rate.   - Fast-moving/Flash Sales: $4$ to $6$ hours.   - Regular Newsletters: $12$ to $24$ hours.   - Automated/Drip Series: $24$ to $48$ hours.   - B2B Campaigns: $2$ to $3$ business days (due to slower work email patterns).

• Reasons for Increased Email ROI:   - Combinations of automation, segmentation, and behavioral data.   - Highly relevant triggered emails (e.g., cart reminders).   - Cost Factor: Marginal cost per email is nearly $0$, much cheaper than Meta or Google ads.

Platform Deep Dive: Facebook

• Characteristics: Largest platform, diverse user base (all ages), most sophisticated advertising platform.

• News Feed Content: Posts from friends, ads, liked pages, group activities, Reels, and "Suggested for You" content.

• Algorithm Factors:   - Past Engagement: History with the posting entity.   - Recency: Prioritizes content less than $48$ hours old.   - Content Type: Original/native content is prioritized.   - Content Popularity and Account Type (company pages are often handicapped).

• Advertising:   - Ad Types: Image Ads (basic with button), Story ads, Instant Experience.   - Placements: News Feed, Marketplace, Stories, and Audience Network (Instagram, Messenger, other apps).   - Payment Models: CPM (Cost Per Mille), CPC (Cost Per Click), CPA (Cost Per Action).

• Targeting:   - Core Audiences: Based on demographics, interests, and behaviors.   - Custom Audiences: Based on uploaded email lists or website/app activity.   - Lookalike Audiences: Created based on the profile of existing custom lists.

• Best Practices: Since Facebook handicaps business reach, companies should pay to "boost" posts. CTAs should appear in the first $140$ characters.

Platform Deep Dive: X (Formerly Twitter)

• Overview: Purchased by Elon Musk in October 2022 for $\$44$ billion. Recent decline in value has led to lower advertising competition and prices.

• Features:   - Approximately $400$ million monthly active users.   - Rapid response expectations.   - Public message board format with a $280$-character limit (expanded from $140$ in November 2017).   - Hashtags (#) were pioneered here.   - Company Bio: $160$ characters limit.

• Advertising:   - Promoted Posts, Cards (extra content), Promoted Accounts, and Promoted Trends.   - Quick Promote: Simplified ad function for accounts with long history/large following.   - Targeting Challenges: Apple’s App Transparency Tracking (iOS 14.5) hampered X's ability to retarget.

Platform Deep Dive: Pinterest and YouTube

• Pinterest:   - Mostly visual content; users process images faster than words.   - Overwhelmingly female users with higher income levels.   - Ad Types: Promoted Pins, Promoted Video (silent until tap), Promoted Carousel ($5$ images), and Promoted App Pins.   - Shopping Ads: Facilitated direct purchases since 2019.   - Best Practices: "Shop the Look" (Collection) pins and use of "Pin it" buttons on company websites.

• YouTube:   - Statistics: $2$ billion monthly users; $80\%$ reside outside the US.   - Functions as the second-largest search engine behind Google.   - Accounts: Personal and Brand accounts (Brand allows multiple logins).   - Ad Types (6 Options): Display, Overlay, Skippable video, Non-skippable video, Bumper ($6$ seconds), and Sponsored Cards.   - Payment: CPV (Cost Per View); uses an ad auction based on bid amount + quality score.

Platform Deep Dive: LinkedIn and Instagram

• LinkedIn:   - Largest professional networking platform.   - Ad Types: Sponsored Content, Dynamic ads (retargeting), Text ads, Sponsored InMail (email style), and Lead Gen Forms.   - Payment: CPS (Cost-Per-Send) for InMail. Rates are generally higher than other platforms.   - Best Practices: Positioning as a "Thought Leader"; using employees to amplify content.

• Instagram:   - Mobile-first platform founded in 2010; user base primarily $18$ to $30$ years old.   - Features: Reels (< 90 seconds), Stories, and Shop functions.   - Bio: $150$-character limit.   - Influencer Marketing: Identifying and engaging influencers to increase demand; must maintain FTC compliance.

Platform Deep Dive: Snapchat and TikTok

• Snapchat:   - Youngest user base: half are $15$ to $25$ years old.   - Content ("Snaps") disappears after $10$ seconds; Stories disappear after $24$ hours.   - Commercials: $6$-second non-skippable video ads.   - Payment: Based on CPM.

• TikTok:   - Over $1$ billion monthly users ($85$ million in the US).   - Content is often < 1 minute (max $10$ minutes) and loops continuously.   - Features: Duets (split-screen) and copycat behavior (which forced competitors like Instagram and YouTube to launch Reels/Shorts).   - Advertising: Promoted video ads with a "sponsored" icon; they can be skipped and do not loop.