Social Media Marketing Strategy - Essay Example

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING STRATEGY. by Introduction Dimensions of corporate model in the physical world and the traditional world are transitioning into dimensions of a new social media-based business model. Social media have defined online communities that symbolize the real world in the context of participation and complexity. Many indicator points towards quick and tremendous change in companies’ business model and tactics to accommodate the rapid diffusion of social media. Companies like Sony have developed guidelines, protocols, policies, processes and templates for the use of social media. Such companies like Sony are facing unprecedented force from clients to adopt social media. According to Martinez (2010), most customers prefer social media as their root of communication, thus prefer a tweet instead of receiving a phone call. Currently, increasing evidence suggest that word of mouth, consumer-generated product reviews and user generated content are beginning to define how consumers perceive a company as well as its products (Clemons, 2008). Social media tools are out to transform the way companies advertise, promote and set prices on their product. The study will analyze the effects of social media on Sony. The paper seeks to understand the maximum goals that Sony Company can attain using social media and certain action the company can take accomplish those goals. Social media tools (Facebook and Twitter) A study by Razorfish (2009) suggested a positive correlation between the increased percentage of an internet user who assess commercial social media sites and their role in purchase decisions. According to the findings, use of social marketing strategies in U.S had increased to $109 million by 2009 compared to $40 million in the previous year. By April 2010, Twitter provided its details for it a revenue generating initiative. Twitter announced that companies can pay to link their pages and profiles on Twitter (Brandau, 2010). Sony was among the companies who are currently participating in promoted Twitter. Although many businesses have not invested in social media marketing, Sony has utilized such platform to its advantage. Sony has specifically made utilization of the reach that Facebook profits stage for advancing motion pictures and theater items. For example in mid-2010, Sony picture created Dear John, a movie that activated more than one million association with the Dear John Facebook page. This affirmed Nielsen study that Facebook crusade handled 20% increment in general purchase thought of an organizations item. Roused by the results of Dear John, Sony has effectively started utilizing the surveying component accessible on Facebook to screen the enthusiasm of the crowd on the released titles. Besides, Sony has adopted a system of availing social customer service that encompasses providing customer-focused services through social media platform. This has reduced the need for Sony to respond to every customer’s query since related customer questions and concerns popup up in the social platform enabling the answers to come from within the social media community. Sony strategy of using social media included identifying active fans to Sony products and train as well educating them thus allowing them to respond to queries on behalf of Sony. Besides, the services provided through the social media platform is personal, chatty and helpful. Among the benefits that Sony has benefited from social marketing strategy include a high level of brand loyalty, transaction intensity, reduced cost of advertising budget, increased sales and a high level of awareness. Sony Marketing Strategy Concepts such as width and depth will be significant in understanding the dynamic of Sony’s campaign. The width of social media adoption can be understood as the various activities like targeting, messaging, and new product generation as well as the incorporation of social media in PR campaign for which a company employs. Also, the depth of social media adoption is considered as the quantity of social media usage by business like weekly hours spend on social media. The higher the width of social media usage, the greater the number of employees in a company are using the social media (Dholakia et al., 2004). Therefore, Sony achieves higher social media performance by widening and deepening the adoption of social media. Width and depth social media adoption alone will not necessitate Sony’s reliable predictors of success rate. “You can not simply set up a Facebook page and that is the end of it. You need to have somebody running that page, perusing remarks, reacting to inquiries and verifying you are advancing the development of that association” (Martinez, 2010, pp. 23). In this context, the notion of internalization is significant in understanding efficient and costing use of networking tools over time. The degree of internalization determines the extent to which a company has formal and informal guidelines affecting social media. Internalization involves reconceptualization activities to utilize significantly social media. Sony must have been adopting, integrating, and configuring internal and external organizational resources to account for the rapid growth of social media. Success in social media hinges on a company’s capability to match community and company’s needs (Spaulding, 2010). Creation of intra-organizational network and interactive features such as survey tools and message boards have assisted Sony to attain an effective compression of the community. Consequently, social networking communities have a likehood to improve the quality of information about customers and avail a compelling reason for customers to release the information to suppliers. An observation is that by reducing or even eliminating the information advantages, social media community shift power from business to consumers. Some theorist argues that this shift is not necessarily bad for marketers. However, Sony has welcomed the social media led redistribution of power and has increased customer involvement to enhance value delivery. The outcome of these inclinations is that marketers are incorporating customer ideas in designing and commercializing products and services and promoting them. One of the most visible results of Sony’s social media advertising can be observed in the online gaming industry. The gaming industry has adopted business models that allow it to deliver target interactives ads. Besides Sony can also measure the impact of its ads with a higher level of accuracy than traditional advertising. Since online gaming has a strong appeal to the youth, Sony is exploring online games to attract this segment. Effects of using social media tools A fan or a follower of a social media campaign may have symbolically accepted the notion behind the campaign. Nevertheless, this is not sufficient to lead to a trial of the company’s product, which resultantly may or may not lead to a recurrence of purchase. In other words, becoming a fan avails only a figurative response. It is problematic to know whether the fans believe in the company or whether this is only a symbolic response that is a hope that they will increase their purchase of the company. Scholars have found out that symbolic changes at one point may result in more substantive changes (Campbell, 2004). For instance, an investigation conducted by iModerate Research Technologies concluded that 70% of Facebook fans and 80% of Twitter followers are more likely to recommend those brands. The study also suggested that 50% of Facebook fans and 68% of Twitter factions are more probable to buy the brands they follow (Renfrow, 2010). Similarly, Dholakia and Durham (2010) conducted a study in a Bakery and Café Chain in Houston and found that Dessert Gallery Facebook fans spent nearly the same amount of money per visit but increased frequency of store visit once they were fans and produced more promotion though word of mouth than those who were not fans. The advantage of social media marketing includes their ability to target with a high level of accuracy, a simple yet actual messaging approach and generation of new product ideas. Social media are therefore pushing through a significant transition in the way Sony is run in the Orthodox world as well as in the cybernetic world. Sony involvement in social media is essential in protecting and maintaining reputations. Advances in technologies and innovations in social media advertising also have a potential to lower the costs of marketing products directly to consumers. Potential benefits linked to social media have however changed the lens through that Sony looks at complex social issues like privacy. Resources from competitors are being used to enhance the experience of online communities. The most issue concerning social media are their contribution to an increasing percentage of cybercrime in coming years (Kshetri, 2010; Andersen 2005). There is an indication that malware networks are progressively operating through the misappropriation of social media tools and platform of cloud computing. Latest social media technologies have assisted these offenders to expand reach and impact (Shadowserver Foundation, 2010). For instance, in April 2010, it was conveyed that Gmail accounts of more than 100 South Africans were nicked and used to send junk mail to entire contact lists (Jones, 2010). Consequently, the failure to control cybercrimes linked with company’s social network would have potentially adverse effects. There is, therefore, a need for Sony to maintain a close tab on the activities of social media communities. Conclusion Sony’s social media campaign are still driven significantly by metrics like the number of participants and the amount of time spent in the community. Adoption of social media has been narrow and shallow among most companies. With increasing admiration, one is anticipated to see a wider and deeper integration of social media into business activities. Social media is also likely to increase both products efficiently and process efficiency. Undoubtedly, social media have shifted the balance of power towards the customer in business transactions. Momentarily, companies are living in a time of unprecedented opportunities to deepen and broaden their relationship with the customer. A case study of Sony has rekindled the debate about whether social media led customer empowerment will result to more favorable corporate attitude and behavioral intentions. The study analysis suggests that Sony is likely to gain more if the company works to build a better world incorporated into the community rather than fighting to retain power and control. Marketers that use social media correctly are likely to relish a higher level of customer devotion than that would be likely with traditional media. Reference list Andersen, P, H, 2005, Relationship marketing and brand involvement of professionals through web enhanced brand communities: The case of Coloplast, Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 34, No.1, pp. 39-51 Blackwell, R., Miniard, P. & Engel, J, 2006, Consumer Behavior 10th ed, Belmont, CA, Thomson South-Western Campbel, J. L. 2004. Institutional change and globalization, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Clemons, E. K. 2008. How information changes consumer behavior ad how consumer behavior determines corporate strategy. Journal of Management Information Systems, Vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 13-40 Dholakia, U.M. & Durham, E. 2010. Café Chain’s Facebook experiment, Havard Business Review, Vol. 88, No.2 pp. 23-27 Jones, C. 2010. SA falls prey to Gmail hacks, available at http://www.itweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=32027%3Asa-falls-prey-to-gmail-hacks&catid=234%3Asecurity&Itemid=58 (Accessed on June 22, 2015) Martinez, A. 2010. Reatiler jump on social media bandwagon with Facebook, Twitter, Seattle Times, available at: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2011539429_socialmedia07.html. (Accessed June 22, 2015) Renfrow, J. 2010. Facebook, Twitter make customers more likelyto buy, recommend. Response, vol. 18, No. 7, pp. 9-13 Shadowserver Foundation. 2010. 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