Chapter 14 - Exploring Social Media and e-Business

Listening to Stakeholders

- Listening is the first step when developing a social media strategy Negative comments - admit the mistake - apologize when criticism about a product or service is justified

Targeting Customers

- Millennials are a very valuable target market (60% of world's consumers under 30) - identify who the customer is and what characteristics make the customer unique

Step 5: Implement and Integrate the Plan

- Social media plan doesn't have a start and stop date (continue and have a life of their own) - it's important to key the content and presentation to each social media site, and to coordinate the timing of promotions. F

Why people are using the Internet?

- ability to connect with other people - to obtain information - to purchase a firm's products or services.

Generating New Product ideas

- build communities to obtain information and receive new ideas from consumers. - crowdsourcing

Step 4: Select Social Media Tools

- choose the right social media tools to reach the right customers. - crowdfunding

Step 1: Listen to Determine Opportunities

- listen to what customers like and don't like about a company's products or services. - can enter the conversation and tell the company's side of the story - gather information about competitors - listen to what is being said about the industry

Crowdfunding

A method of raising money from a large group of people who donate small amounts of money using the internet and social media.

External Forces that Affect an e-Business

Forces a company cannot control - globalization - demographic - societal - economic - competitive, - technological - political and legal forces.

Why are there ethical and legal concerns regarding the internet?

Internet is a new "frontier" without borders and with little control by governments or other organizations.

Key performance indicators (KPIs)

Measurements that define and measure the progress of an organization toward achieving its objectives. ( are quantitative)

Crowdsourcing

Outsourcing tasks to a group of people in order to tap into the ideas of the crowd.

Reducing Expenses

Providing online access to information that customers want can reduce the cost of dealing with customers.

Business Model

Represents a group of common characteristics and methods of doing business to generate sales revenues and reduce expenses.

Social Media Ratings

Shoppers are able to access opinions, recommendations, and referrals from others within and outside of their own social circles. based on the idea that consumers trust the opinions of others when it comes to purchasing products and services.

Social Media Communities

Social networks based on the relationships among people.

Internal Forces that Affect an e-Business

Takes place within a firm: - Planning activities - organizational structure - human resources - management decisions - information database - available financing

Millennials

Tech-savvy digital natives born after 1980. - America's largest generation; surpassed baby boomers.

social media community manager

a high-level executive who is responsible for all of a company's social media activities

Internet Growth Potential

- 3.7B of 7.5B people currently use the internet (50%) - U.S. - 89% currently use the internet (limited growth) - number of internet users in the world's develop9ing countries is expected to increase dramatically. - Experts also predict that the number of companies using e-business to increase sales and reduce expenses will continue to increase. (dominate development)

Social Content Sites

- Allow companies to create and share information about their products and services via blogs, videos, and photos.. - businesses selling to other businesses includes webinars and online promotional

Recruiting Employees

- Current employees' friends and family may prove to be good job candidates. Use LinkedIn: - to save time - reduce recruiting costs - see more information about individual candidates

Other measurements for determining customer sentiment include:

- Customer satisfaction score—the relative satisfaction of customers; - Issue resolution rate—the percentage of customer service inquiries resolved satisfactorily using social media; - Resolution time—the amount of time taken to resolve customer service issues.

How popular are social media sites and internet sites?

- Facebook - 79% of U.S. adults : 2 billion users - YouTube - 1.3 billion users - Twitter - 24% of U.S. adults : 700 million users. - Instagram - 32% of U.S. Adults - Pinterest - 31% of U.S. Adults - LinkedIn - 29 % of U.S. Adults

Why are many companies and non profit organizations using social media to build communities?

- In order to achieve important objectives - a way to interact with customers - nonprofit organizations use it to promote and fund their programs

The Six Most Important Benefits for a Business That Uses Social Media

- Increased Exposure - Increased Traffic - Developed Loyal Fans - Provided marketplace insight - Generated leads - Improve search rankings

Why are businesses using social media?

- people are sharing their likes and dislikes online - Better than advertising on traditionally marketing (television, newspapers, and magazine ads) because the audience won't have an opportunity to give feedback - While companies no longer have much control over what is said about their products or services, they still often respond to negative comments about the company and its products or services made by their customers. allows the company to - connect with its customers and stakeholders; - provide another means of customer service; - provide information that is valuable to customers - engage customers in product development and formulation.

When should planning for a crisis begin?

- planning for a crisis should begin before the crisis happens

Step 3: Segment and Target the Social Customer

- typical customer in terms of age, income, gender, ethnicity, etc. It also helps to know: - how they think - how they spend their time - how much they buy - how often they buy. Important to understand how customers use social media: - Do they create content like photos, videos, blog posts, etc.? - Do they use social media for ratings and reviews? - Do they spend a lot of time using social media? Lack of information about customers can lead to wasted time and money and the inability to successfully achieve the firm's social media objectives.

Step 2: Establish Social Media Objectives

- use information to develop specific objectives. - objective should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and oriented toward the future - linked to specific actions to accomplish each objective. most popular objectives - Improving customer service; - Increasing brand awareness; - Building brand presence; - Acquiring new customers; - Developing loyalty programs. Other objectives - introducing new products - improving search engine ranking - Increasing the number of people who visit the company's social media sites

Other Business Models That Perform Specialized e-Business Activities (4)

1. Advertising e-business model Advertisements that are displayed on a firm's Web site in return for a fee. (pop-up and banner advertisement) 2. Brokerage e-business model Online marketplaces where buyers and sellers are brought together to facilitate an exchange of goods and services. (ebay) 3. Consumer-to-consumer model Peer-to-peer software that allows individuals to share information over the Internet. (Craigslist) 4. Subscription and pay-per-view e-business models Content that is available only to users who pay a fee to gain access to a Web site. (investment information)

Types of Information That Can Help Target Different Social Media Customers

1. General Information - age, income, gender, ethnicity, education, occupation, family size, religion, etc. 2. Identifying Factors - What do they consider important? - How do they spend their time? - What do they buy and how often do they buy? 3. Social Media Usage - How often do they use social media? - Do they use Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other social media sites? - Do they create videos, Web pages, or other content? - Do they read ratings and reviews? - What other factors can help you identify potential social customers? 4. Potential social media customers

Organizing e-Business Resources

1. Human Resources - Website designers - Programmers - Web masters 2. Material Resources - Computers - Software - High-speed internet connection lines 3. Informational Resources - Customer tracking systems - Order fulfillment and tracking systems - Online content- monitoring systems 4. Financial Resources - Investors interested in supporting e-business firms - Electronic payment from customers

What are two types of social media measurement?

1. Quantitative 2. Qualitative

What factors should managers and employees consider before participating in media sharing? (3)

1. Who will create the photos, videos, and podcasts that will be used? 2. How will the content be distributed to interested businesses and consumers? 3. How much will it cost to create and distribute the material?

Measuring success or failure of social media activities with KPIs steps

1. connect KPIs with objectives 2. set a benchmark (number that shows what success should look like)

Steps to Build a Social Media Plan

1. listen to determine opportunities 2. establish social media objectives 3. segment and target the social customer 4. select social media tools 5. implement and integrate the plan

Wiki

A collaborative online working space that enables members to contribute content that can be shared with other people.

Malware

A general term that describes software designed to infiltrate a computer system without the user's consent.

Inbound Marketing

A marketing term that describes new ways of gaining attention and ultimately customers by creating content on a website that pulls customers in. Tools used: search engine optimization, blogging, videos, and social media.

Sentiment Analysis

A measurement that uses technology to detect the mood, attitudes, or emotions of people who experience a social media activity.

Business-to-Business (B2B) Model

A model used by firms that conduct business with other businesses. Two types: 1. focus is facilitating sales transactions between businesses. 2. involves a company and its suppliers. (more complex type) - Suppliers use the Internet to bid on products and services they wish to sell to a business customer and learn about the customer's rules and procedures that must be followed.

Social Game

A multiplayer, competitive, goal-oriented activity with defined rules of engagement and online connectivity among a community of players. - people like the competition and social status they can earn through playing. - can be profitable

Cookie

A small piece of software sent by a website that tracks an individual's internet usage.

Revenue System

A source of revenue flowing into a firm.

Green IT

A term used to describe all of a firm's activities to support a healthy environment and sustain the planet.

Cloud Computing

A type of computer usage in which services stored on the internet is provided to users on a temporary basis. - a third party makes processing power, software applications, databases, and storage available for on-demand use from anywhere.

Blog

A website that allows a company to share information in order to not only increase the customer's knowledge about its products and services, but also to build trust. Effective on: - developing better relationships with customers - attracting new customers - telling stories about the company's products or services - providing an active forum for testing new ideas

Hashtag

A word or a short phrase preceded by the pound sign (#), to identify different topics.

Successful E-Business Planning

A. Starting a new Internet business - Will the new e-business provide a product or service that meets customer needs? - Who are the new firm's potential customers? - How do promotion, pricing, and distribution affect the new e-business? - Will the potential market generate enough sales and profits to justify the risk of starting an e-business? B. Building an online presence for an existing business - Is going online a logical way to increase sales and profits for the existing business? - Are potential online customers different from the firm's traditional customers? - Will the new e-business activities complement the firm's traditional activities? - Does the firm have the time, talent, and financial resources to develop an online presence?

Media Sharing Sites

Allow users to upload photos, videos, and podcasts. - photo sharing is the most popular (provides a method for a company to tell a compelling story about its products or services through posting on either the company's website or a social media site.) - Videos is also gaining popularity for their ability to tell stories.

Forum

An interactive version of a community bulletin board that focuses on threaded discussions.

The Cost of Maintaining a Social Media Plan

Basic assumption: Social media is not free and can be quite expensive. - social media costs both time and money - important to measure the success of a social media plan and make adjustments and changes if needed - determine if company is receiving positive return from social media investment - social media must be constantly updated or risk losing customer interest or return customers

Mobile Marketing

Communication with and selling to customers through mobile devices.

How are companies shifting their advertising money? Why?

Companies are taking money from traditional marketing (television and magazines) and moving money to digital marketing (internet search engines and social media). - The primary reason is simple: People are spending more time on social media sites

Research shows that products developed using ____________________ sell better because the people who will use the product are involved in the development of the product or service.

Crowdsourcing

Podcasts

Digital audio or video files that people listen to or watch online on tablets, computers, MP3 players, or smartphones.

Crisis and Reputation Management

Employees should: - be trained in social media etiquette - monitor social media sites (What is being said about company and products?) During a crisis companies use social media to: - answer questions with carefully worded posts - reassure the public - Present positive information to help rebuild reputations

The _______________ provides individuals the legal right to be forgotten online, under certain circumstances.

European Union

Increasing Sales Revenue

The goal is to find new customers and generate new sales so that total revenues are increased. Ex/ - sell merchandise or services online - using intelligent information systems (store information about each customer's purchases, along with a variety of other information about the buyer's preferences) - Commissions - subscription fees and advertisement placements on web pages

Social Media

The online interactions that allow people and businesses to communicate and share ideas, personal information, and information about products and services. - Social media is about people.

e-Business (electronic business)

The organized effort of individuals to produce and sell, for a profit, the goods and services that satisfy society's needs through the facilities available on the internet. - all business activities and practices conducted on the internet

Data Mining

The practice of searching through data records looking for useful information.

Qualitative social media measurement

The process of accessing the opinions and beliefs about a brand and primarily uses sentiment analysis to categorize what is being said about a company. (primarily uses sentiment analysis)

Outsourcing

The process of finding outside vendors and suppliers that provide professional help, parts, or materials at a lower cost.

Social Media Marketing

The utilization of social media technologies, channels, and software to create, communicate, deliver, and exchange offerings that have value for an organization. - also to sell goods and services, invite customer feedback, and reinforce a positive brand image.

Satisfying Needs Online

Two basic assumptions: - The Internet has created some new customer needs that did not exist before the creation of the Internet. - E-Businesses can satisfy those needs, as well as more traditional ones. the Internet can be used by both individuals and business firms to obtain information. For example: - Internet users can access newspapers, magazines, radio, and television programming at a time and place convenient to them. - The Internet provides the opportunity for two-way interaction between an Internet firm and the viewer. For example, many new-car dealers have a "chat" option on their Web sites for customers who want more information about their automobiles or service. - Customers can respond to information on the Internet by requesting more information or posing specific questions, which may lead to purchasing a product or service. - Finally, the Internet allows customers to choose the content they are offered. For the advertiser, knowing that its advertisements are being directed to the most likely customers represents a better way to spend advertising dollars.

Quantitative social media measurement

Using numerical measurements, such as counting the number of website visitors, number of fans and followers, number of leads generated, and the number of new customers. Advantages: can determine the amount of likes, followers, and the number of times the company is mentioned each day Disadvantage: - determining how social media activities lead to sales contacts and then to purchases can be difficult

Business-to-Consumer (B2C) Model

a) A model used by firms that focus on conducting business with individual consumers. b) a business firm that uses this model must answer the following questions: - Will consumers use Web sites to simplify and speed up comparison shopping? - Will consumers purchase services and products online or end up buying at a traditional retail store? - What sorts of products and services are best suited for online consumer shopping? - Are consumers willing to wait for purchases to be delivered, will they pay for next-day delivery, or will they collect online purchases from a convenient pickup site? c) Provides round-the-clock global access to all kinds of products and services d) Attempt to build long-term relationships with their customers. e) Specialized software f) "little special attention" can increase cost, but can be repaid by customer's repeated purchases.

Ethics and Social Responsibility for companies active on the internet

a. Cookie - can be used without user knowledge to track where user goes in the internet (may produce valuable customer information) - can be viewed as an invasion of privacy b. Electronic Beacons - shoppers can be tracked when they enter stores equipped to follow beacons sent by the store's mobile apps - app must be downloaded c. Data Mining - can provide private and confidential information about individuals d. Monitoring an employees computer usage. - may be used to help police employees - provides an opportunity to observe what otherwise might be considered private information.

Internet Crime

a. Malware - includes computer viruses, spyware, deceptive adware, and other software capable of criminal activities. b. Identity theft - thieves hack major firms to steal sensitive data of 10 million customers. c. Fraud - it is almost impossible to know with certainty that the Web site, organization, or individuals that you believe you are interacting with are what they seem.

What is digital marketing compromised of?

a. search engine optimization—using keywords in a company's Web site in order to rank higher in search engine results; b. search engine marketing—buying ads like Google's AdWords to increase traffic to a company's Web site; c. display advertising—buying banner ads; d. email marketing—targeting customers through opt-in email campaigns.

Creating e-Business Profit

can increase profits either by increasing sales revenue or reducing expense through a variety of e-business activities