Chapter 3 - social and mobile marketing
Experience the product or service
Being able to experience a product or service before buying it has expanded the market significantly; for example, a trial run of a program such as photoshop, option of reading a chapter of a book before buying it, or watching a clothing review on Youtube, or a makeup tutorial by Sephora showing how "to get this look";
Which is the best pricing model for apps?
Unsure but it appears that freemium apps may be the winner (free with in-app purchases);
Four basic ways of generating revenue from apps
ad-supported apps, freemium apps, paid apps, and paid apps with in-app purchases
Return on investment (ROI) for sites
calculating the incremental profit increase divided by the investment on the site improvement (Return on investment or ROI is harder to determine for social media, so have to ask other questions)
Paid apps
charge the customer an upfront price to download the app ($0.99 most common), but offer FULL functionality once the app is downloaded
Thought-sharing sites
consist of different types of blogs: corporate, professional, personal and micro; blogs are particularly effective at educating and engaging users, and in many ways enhance their experience with products and services being discussed.
Microblogs
differs from a traditional blog in size—uses short sentences, short videos, or individual images (Twitter is considered a microblogging site - provides opportunity to educate and engage)
Categories of social media
marketers rely on three types of social media: social networking sites, media-sharing sites, and thought-sharing sites (or blogs) to achieve three objectives: 1. Members promote themselves to gain more friends, 2. the sites promote to get more members, 3. outside companies promote their products and services to appeal to the potential customers who are active on the sites
Hits
total requests for a page
Apps can meet several needs at once
true
LinkedIn helps users share their professional (or business) lives
true; network with other professionals, share resume, and search for jobs
A company can create company-sponsored results on search engines (such as Google) so that these stories show up first and negative stories can be more hidden under these positive, company approved messages
true; the brand Under Armour has mastered this
keyword analysis
used to determine what keywords people use to search on the Internet for their products and services (can refine their site and choose these keywords that their customers use)
Personal blogs
written by people who receive no products or remuneration for their efforts; out of all three types of blogs, marketers have the LOWEST level of control over this type, however, they are useful for monitoring what's going on in the marketplace and for responding to customer complaints or compliments
Bounce rate
percentage of times a visitor leaves the site almost immediately, such as after viewing only one page (analyzing which pages are the most frequent entry and exit locations provides direction on how to make a website more effective)
Paid apps with in-app purchases
require the consumer to pay initially to download the app and then offer the ability to buy additional functionality
Media sharing sites
share content from videos to pictures; companies use these sites to highlight how consumes can EXPERIENCE their goods and services as well as encourage customers to ENGAGE with the firm, its other social media outlets and other consumers; YouTube, Instagram, Flickr
Seven primary needs that apps meet (seven primary motivations for mobile app usage)
the need to find "me time" (seeking relaxation or entertainment), socialize (interacting with other people), shop (seeking a product or service), accomplish (managing finances, health and productivity - example: myFitnessPal), prepare (planning for upcoming activities - trip planning apps, calendars), discover (seeking news and information - weather and news apps), and self-express (participating in hobbies and interests)
page views
the number of times any page gets viewed by any visitor
The Information Effect
the outcome of social media in which relevant information is spread by firms or individuals to other members of its social network; information is the KEY to turning the wheel. The relevance of the information, and therefore its impact, depends on its context and the receiver; marketers work hard to provide information that is somehow contextually relevant (whether is a humorous advertisement into a social media network of users who like to joke around); As marketers, what do we do with this information (and information we know about consumers)?
Professional blogs
those written by people who review and give recommendations on products and services; marketers often offer free products to top-rated professional bloggers in the hopes of getting a good product review; marketers have less control over professional blogs than do their own corporate blogs; consumers trust professional blogs more BUT this trust may be fleeting because customers are realizing that these professional bloggers may be getting compensated for positive reviews
Click paths and conversion rates can reveal what users might have wanted but did not find at the site
true
Facebook allows individuals a way to connect with others but also gives marketers the ability to target their audience carefully
true
People who discuss products are more likely to buy them
true
Relevancy (of offers) can be achieved by providing personalized offers, which are determined through insights and information obtained from customer relationship management and/or loyalty programs. To obtain these insights and information, the firm must use online analytic tools such as Google Analytics; can use location-based software to help bring the offer to customers when they are in the process of making a purchase decision - while customer is in the store (on an app or something)
true
Social media engagement offers a profitable way to engage customers by taking their current behavior into account while also setting the stage for future behavior
true
Social media posts contain rich information that a well-equipped company can mine to understand its customers better
true
Some social media platforms such as Instagram and Pinterest have "buy" buttons to immediately initiate a sale
true
The second E of the 4E framework, EDUCATE the customer, constitutes a method to develop a sustainable comparative advantage (social media tools assist in doing this)
true
To excite customers, an offer must be relevant to its targeted customer
true
Try to find an audience that is big enough to include all those who might adopt their product, but not so big that they end up trying to appeal to someone way outside of their target audience
true
Understanding how to engage effectively with consumers is important for marketing managers
true
Using real-time interactivity with social media and tv shows can be used as a beneficial form of marketing (for example, the Jimmy Fallon adverting for Lexus - offered customers something in it for them, something fun for them to get involved in, allowed Fallon to use social media to connect with his audience; makes his audience excited and willing to contribute and engage with him)
true
firms need to USE all this information + connections to implement and build their business!!
true
several companies specialize in monitoring social media (can also provide analytic tools to present this data)
true
Paying professional bloggers to use and review products without disclosing the monetary benefits they have provided to them becomes an ethical dilemma
true (and is it ethical to offer special treatment to people who claim simply to be reporting on their experience?)
Success on social media demands the ability to respond actively and promptly to customers' comments
true (for example, an ask twitter account for direct customer social media communication with customer service)
Social networking sites work to form close relationships with famous and influential people to help boost their membership and revenue (may even offer one on one training for celebrities on how to use these sites for most engagement etc.)
true; Snapchat will NOT engage in this because they want their users to have an authentic experience (this is a part of their brand); Snapchat benefits from this because companies will pay Snapchat directly for advertising instead of paying these celebrities for advertising social media posts - snapchat offers more meaningful and personal connections for fans of celebrities
A way companies can extend their network effects is by paying celebrities with large followings (bigger networks), hiring them to write posts about or upload pictures with their products
true; for example, if Katy Perry posts about CoverGirl, CoverGirl will have just accessed and reached all of her millions of followers
Blog
was originally confined to a journal or diary in a person's room; has allowed us to make our thoughts open to the world through thought-sharing websites
Freemium apps
Apps that are free to download, but include in-app purchases that enable the user to enhance an app or game
How firms should go about engaging customers through social and mobile media: three-stage process
LISTENING (listening + monitoring what they say on their social networks, blogs, etc.) to what customers have to say, ANALYZING the information available through various touch-points, and IMPLEMENTING (or doing) social media tactics to excite customers = listen, analyze and do.
Ad-supported apps
free to download, but ads appear on the screen; generate revenues while users interact with the app; there are many types of these apps but the majority of app revenue is generated from the other pricing models in apps
Sentiment analysis
marketers can analyze the content found on sites like Facebook, Twitter, and online blogs and reviews to assess the favorableness or unfavorableness of the sentiments; allows marketers to analyze data from these sources to collect consumer comments about companies and their products (new insights into what consumers REALLY think)
Educate the customer
need to have a clear call of action to draw customers through their computers, tablets, and mobile devices into online websites or traditional retail stores; once the customer arrives in the stores, have the golden opportunity to educate customer about its value proposition and communicate the offered benefits (kind of like Carrabbas and educating customers about family promises)
What is the most popular need that apps meet (motivation for mobile app usage?
"me time"; all about entertainment and relaxation (seeking fun)
Three main categories of analysis used for understanding data collected from social media
1. Determine amount of traffic using their sites, visiting their blogs, or tweeting about them (measures used for this purpose include hits, visits and page views); 2. Learn who these visitors are, what they are doing, and what engages and excites them; 3. some companies want to analyze data that come from other sites, such as measuring where people have come from to get to the company's site (did they reach through Google or Amazon? - can use keyword analysis for this)
How to Do a Social Media Marketing Campaign
1. Identify strategy and goals 2. Identify target audience 3. Develop the campaign: experiment and engage (includes images, designs etc. as well - these images should change constantly on social media) 4. Develop budget (budgeting is key) 5. Monitor and change
the Wheel of Social Media Engagement
A unifying framework that comprises fundamental drivers of social media engagement as five related effects; in this wheel, we propose that the hub is a repository of past and current social media engagements, and the circles around the wheel are the five effects that drive social media: information, connected, network, dynamic and timeliness
ENGAGE the customer
All the first three E'd set the stage for this one: ENGAGE THE CUSTOMER; with engagement comes action, the potential for a relationship, and possibly even loyalty and commitment;
The Timeliness Effect
Concerned with the firm being able to engage with the customer at the right place and time - that is, 24/7 from any location (to be effective, firms must respond quickly or the timeliness effect benefit diminishes); responding in a timely manner can positively impact customers' buying intentions; many customers enjoy the timely interactions with firms when they engage with them at the point of purchase (beacon technology - detect where customers are at each moment through their smartphones).
Showrooming
Customers visit a store to touch, feel, and even discuss a product's features with a sales associate, and then instantly compares the prices online to see whether a better deal is available
the 4E Framework
EXCITE customers with relevant offers, EDUCATE them about the offering, help them EXPERIENCE products, whether directly or indirectly, and give them an opportunity to ENGAGE with their social network
Social network sites
Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+
Excite the customer
Get customers excited about the idea, product, brand, or company using things such as mobile applications "apps", mobile games, social networks - facebook, twitter, etc.;
click paths
Shows how users proceed through the information—not unlike how grocery stores try to track the way shoppers move through their aisles; can use this information to provide users with an easier navigation experience through the site
The Dynamic Effect
The impact of the Dynamic Effect of social media is twofold. 1. It describes the way in which information is exchanged to network participants through back-and-forth communications in an active and effective manner (back-and-forth manner promotes engagement, which makes consumers more likely to buy) - example of this is being able to immediately contact snapchat support on twitter; 2. It expands the impact of the network effect by examining how people flow in and out of networked communities as their interests change - being able to track varied interests (what customers what to know, for example for a chocolate company, customers wanting to know the health benefits or wanting to know where to find the best chocolates); this allows marketers to provide very specific information, which should be well received by the interested parties.
Conversion rates
a measure that indicates what percentage of visitors or potential customers act as the marketer hopes, whether by clicking, buying, or donating
social media
refers to the online and mobile technologies that distribute content to facilitate interpersonal interactions (helps consumers and firms build connections - through thoughts, uploaded images, music, videos etc.); social media has changed marketing from the more traditional forms of mail, telemarketing, print, radio, etc. to social, mobile and online marketing - has lead to a different way of thinking about marketing communications.
Corporate blogs
released by the company themselves; have the highest level of control because for the most part, they can control what is posted on them (minus the comments section).
The Network Effect
The outcome of social media engagement in which every a firm or person posts information, it is transferred to the poster's vast connections across social media, causing the information to spread instantaneously. The connected effect enables human interaction on a one-to-one basis; but the network effect enables the impact of the interaction to expand exponentially; (sharing on facebook is an example, expands the information to a wider network of people)
The Connected Effect
an outcome of social media that satisfies humans' innate need to connect with other people; this connection in social media is bidirectional - people learn what their friends are interested in, but they also broadcast their own interests and opinions to those friends.(Create this connection by posting pic on instagram, Facebook, Youtube etc.); Increased connection of social media allows consumers to seek social approval for themselves and provide social approval to others (liking someones posts etc.)