Marketing Communications of Facebook - Essay Example

? Marketing Communications of Facebook Executive Summary The success of marketing decisions is depended on a series of factors. Marketers need to take into consideration the position of the firm involved in its industry but also the market trends, which they are likely to change continuously. A series of marketing techniques is available to marketers in order to develop effective marketing plans. However, in many cases marketing initiatives fail in achieving the goals set. The reasons are many; failures in planning and monitoring the relevant processes have been found to negatively influence marketing plans worldwide. On the other hand, when a firm operates in a highly competitive industry, the challenges for marketers are increased. Firms that are already well known in the market are more capable of preparing effective marketing schemes. Such case is Facebook. The particular social networking site has become quite popular within a short period of time. In this case it was not only the fact that the site was the first of such kind that entered the global market. Indeed, through the years other sites, with similar features appeared; still, Facebook remained the key competitor of its sector. Its marketing practices had a key role in this success. The marketing communications of Facebook are analyzed below using appropriate theoretical models and theories. Table of contents Introduction 4 1. Consumer Buying Process for Facebook 1a. What is the Facebook customer experience throughout the 6 stages of the Consumer Buying Process. 4 1b. What 4 internal and 4 external factors can influence Facebook customers during this process 5 1c. The 3 roles that customer can play throughout this process 6 2. Promotional Mix Tools for Facebook 2.1 Conduct a report to critically evaluate the characteristics, features and effectiveness of any 3 marketing communications tools 2.1.1 Advertising 6 2.1.2 Public relations 7 2.1.3 Direct marketing 7 3. Facebook Communications Process 3.1 How all the 9 elements of Communication Process specifically apply to global social networks such as Facebook. 7 3.2 What 4 limitations, and 3 Barriers Facebook marketing department should be aware of before planning their global marketing campaign. 8 4. Market Research prior Facebook Campaign 4.1 Comparison of the characteristics and benefits of Qualitative and Quantitative research methods 9 4.2 Why Facebook marketing department can still benefit from both research methods 9 4.3 Diagram of the Continuum of Research Techniques 10 5. AIDA at Facebook 5.1 How the AIDA model can still be utilised by Facebook to organise the Promotional Mix message into 4 phases 10 References Introduction The development of effective marketing strategies can be a challenging task, especially when referring to highly competitive industries. Social networking is a rather recent activity, compared to other market sectors. The services of firms operating in this industry could be effectively promoted using traditional marketing methods, which are appropriately customized for meeting current market trends. Moreover, qualitative and quantitative research techniques can be employed for identifying the changing customers’ preferences in regard to this sector’s activities and features. Facebook has become the key competitor in the specific industry. The effective use of marketing for promoting the site’s features can be considered as the key advantage of Facebook compared to its rivals, in the context discussed below. 1. Consumer Buying Process for Facebook 1a. What is the Facebook customer experience throughout the 6 stages of the Consumer Buying Process. The 6 stages of the Consumer Buying Process can be described as follows: a) Problem recognition; at this phase, the needs of the customer in regard to a product/ service are identified; in terms of Facebook, the customer realizes that he needs to communicate with other people and share his experiences/ knowledge, b) Internal and External research; after identifying his needs, a customer proceeds to the research required for covering these needs; in regard to the specific case, the customer is expected to make a research among available social networking sites, in order to decide which fits best to his needs, c) Evaluation of alternatives; after conducting a research on the products/ services available the customer has to evaluate the findings; the consumer who looks for a social networking site will evaluate the status/ performance of existing social networking sites using the information retrieved through the research conducted in the previous phase, d) Purchase decision; at this phase, the customer has to proceed to a decision, meaning that he has to choose which product will buy; in the case under examination, the customer needs to decide in which social networking site will be subscribed as a member; e) Purchase; at this stage, the customer is subscribed in the social networking chosen, following the relevant guidelines; f) Post purchase evaluation; after his subscription, the customer evaluates the quality and the effectiveness of the social networking chosen, as related to the needs of the customer (Roger, Stanford-Smith and Kidd 1998). 1b. What 4 internal and 4 external factors can influence Facebook customers during this process During this process, the customer is likely to be influenced by 4 internal and 4 external factors (Burrow 2008, 168-171), as presented in the diagram that follows: Internal factors Personality Gender Ethnicity Race External factors Culture Social environment Media Reference group* * meaning the group, in which a customer participates; an example of reference group: ‘a high school’s college students’ (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel 2011, p.208) 1c. The 3 roles that customer can play throughout this process Through the buying decision process, the customer can play 3 roles: a) The customer is the decision-maker; he has the power to decide the product he thinks as responding mostly to his needs, b) The customer is an influencer, meaning that he can influence the buying process of other persons around him, c) The customer can be a champion, promoting the qualities of a product/ service to other people, i.e. highlighting the quality or the exceptional performance of the product or service involved (Capon and Hulbert 2007, p.92). 2. Promotional Mix Tools for Facebook 2.1 Conduct a report to critically evaluate the characteristics, features and effectiveness of any 3 marketing communications tools Marketers are likely to use the promotional mix in order ‘to organize the variables necessary for achieving the promotional objectives’ (Kurtz 2010, p.500). The elements of the promotional mix vary in accordance with the targets set by marketers, the market trends and the resources available. 2.1.1 Advertising In Facebook, advertising a particular form. In fact, advertisements related to the specific social networking site are promoted through the Internet, not the media or the press, as commonly with all products and services. This means that the Internet is the key advertising tool of Facebook, a practice that is considered as justified taking into consideration the characteristics of the specific service, as a social networking site. The Facebook addresses people who are likely to use the Internet as a key communication tool, a fact that explains the promotion of the specific site mainly through the Internet. 2.1.2 Public relations Usually, public relations are based on the development of events, seminars and other similar initiatives aiming to make the product/ service known to the public. In the case of Facebook, a similar practice has been used. At a first level, the particular site has been made known through the Internet, as explained above. Then, the features and the role of the site have been analyzed in discussions and forums developed in educational institutes and business sites worldwide. 2.1.3 Direct marketing Direct marketing is developed through a series of practices. The most common practices of this type of marketing are the following ones: ‘a) direct mail, b) phone calls, c) directory listings/ Yellow pages listings, d) former employers and e) the Internet’ (Cohen 2001, p.21-22). Among the above-mentioned practices, Facebook use mostly one: the Internet, a fact related to the role of the specific site, as analyzed above. In accordance with Roberts and Berger (1999), the transformation of direct marketing, meaning the incorporation of new media features, such as the Internet, can be considered as fully justified taking into consideration the development of technology worldwide; the above fact should be also taking into consideration when evaluating the choice of marketers in Facebook to prefer the Internet as the site’s key marketing tool. 3. Facebook Communications Process 3.1 How all the 9 elements of Communication Process specifically apply to global social networks such as Facebook. The marketing Communication Process is constituted from 9 elements, including the sender, the media, the response and the feedback (Hollensen 2009). The marketing Communication Process, as constituted from 9 elements, can be also used in social networks, like Facebook. The potential structure of such process is presented, indicatively, in the diagram below. The term user below represents both the system’s users and the system’s administrators/ acting as marketers. User Send a message to another user Communication Platform (User Interface) Access the messages sent Respond Media Other users/ receiver 3.2 What 4 limitations, and 3 Barriers Facebook marketing department should be aware of before planning their global marketing campaign. Marketers in Facebook should take into consideration 4 limitations and 3 Barriers before planning their global marketing campaign. The 4 limitations would be: Regulation in regard to social networking, Culture differences, Differences in technology infrastructure among countries worldwide, Marketing costs in each country are different. On the other hand, there are 3 Barriers that would create constraints in the development of the site’s marketing activities: a) Political environment in certain countries is opposed to social networking, b) Regulation in certain countries imposes severe restrictions on social networking sites, c) Economic activity of individuals is not equally developed worldwide; in certain countries the average income of the population is quite low not allowing the use of Internet and similar technology (Hollensen 2009). 4. Market Research prior Facebook Campaign 4.1 Comparison of the characteristics and benefits of Qualitative and Quantitative research methods In the case of market research, two are the most known research methods, the qualitative and the quantitative research. The qualitative research is based on group discussions or individuals’ interviews (Nash 2000, p.82). The quantitative research is mainly based on surveys, through appropriately structured questionnaires (Nash 2000, p.84). The key benefit of the qualitative research is the following one: the group which will participate in the research can be selected setting a series of criteria; a similar option is available in quantitative research but the criteria used there are quite wide, not offering clarifications on critical issues, as through the qualitative research (Gill, Johnson and Clark 2010). Also through the qualitative research, the researcher can be informed on issues which were not set under discussion through the questionnaire and which are important for the study involved, a benefit related particularly to the interviews (Nash 2000). On the other hand, the quantitative research, due to its structure, can be used for reaching a high number of individuals, compared to qualitative research, the findings of which usually involve in a specific number of people (McQueen and Knussen 2006). 4.2 Why Facebook marketing department can still benefit from both research methods Facebook marketing department could still benefit from the above research methods for the following reason: market trends are not standardized; using qualitative research, especially the group discussions, the site’s marketers would be informed on the customers’ current preferences in regard to social networking. The quantitative research could provide an extended sample of the customers’ current views on networking, giving valuable information on potential improvements and updates of the specific site. 4.3 Diagram of the Continuum of Research Techniques Continuum of Research Techniques Qualitative research Quantitative Research Developed through group discussions and/ or interviews Developed through surveys The findings are not numerical It involves numerical data No statistical analysis of the findings is available Statistical analysis (usually in the form of regression analysis) is used for analyzing and presenting the data Usually not graphs can produced in regard to the findings Variations among data can be represented through graphs Not relied on objectivity Objectivity is used for evaluating findings 5. AIDA at Facebook 5.1 How the AIDA model can still be utilised by Facebook to organise the Promotional Mix message into 4 phases The Aida model is constituted by 4 phases: Action, Desire, Interest and Attention. The model is presented in the graph that follows. AIDA model (Source: http://consumerpsychologist.blogspot.com/2010/10/flipping-aida-why-its-much-more.html) The AIDA model, as presented above, can be appropriately customized, incorporating the Promotional Mix message for Facebook, as indicatively presented below. References Burrow, J. (2008) Marketing. Belmont: Cengage Learning. Capon, N., Hulbert, J. (2007) Managing marketing in the twenty-first century. Walldorf: Wessex Publishing. Cohen, W. (2001) How to make it big as a consultant. New York: AMACOM Division American Management Association. Gill, J., Johnson, P., and Clark, M. (2010) Research Methods for Managers. London: SAGE Publications. Hollensen, S. (2009) Essentials of Global Marketing. Essex: Pearson Education. Kitchen, P., and de Pelsmacker, P. (2004) Integrated marketing communications: a primer. London: Routledge. Kurtz, D. (2010) Contemporary Marketing. Belmont: Cengage Learning. Lamb, C., Hair, J. and McDaniel, C. (2011) Essentials of Marketing. Belmont: Cengage Learning. McQueen, R., Knussen, C. (2006) Introduction to research methods and statistics in psychology. Essex: Pearson Education. Nash, E. (2000) Direct marketing: strategy, planning, execution. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional. Roberts, M., Berger, P. (1999) Direct marketing management. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Read More