Social Media Marketing Entrepreneurs Brand Authority Discussion Defending the Practice of Social Media Marketing Social Media Marketing Social media is a

Social Media Marketing Entrepreneurs Brand Authority Discussion Defending the Practice of Social Media Marketing

Social Media Marketing

Social media is an online-based platform that allows people to communicate and network with each other amongst a community. It gives users a space to be creative and share ideas. There are many elements as to why companies should practice social media marketing, today in 2020. One of them mainly being that is where consumers are looking. “Marketers must go where the customers are, and increasingly that’s online” (Kotler & Keller, 2016, p. 616). Social media marketing benefits greatly from word of mouth, that could potentially propel a brand to go viral. It is also a great method to target the right consumers.

Digital Channels

There are many options for online marketing communication, and utilizing digital channels reap those benefits. Consumers are constantly moving about social media which allow marketers to monitor behavior and determine whether consumers would be open to using a digital channel through analysis. Digital channels allow consumers to interact with other consumers to get real-time feedback. More importantly, digital channels allow consumers to interact directly with the company (Torres de Oliveira et al., 2019).

With the recent stay-at-home orders, gyms have been mandated to close. Many athletes around the world were unable to access fitness equipment causing garage gyms to be a sensation on social media. Within weeks of the COVID-19 spread, fitness equipment suppliers were being depleted of their stock and the demand was unable to meet the supply. Online orders were happening at a rate that forced companies to halt transactions so they could work to get products shipped. Some companies were also receiving demand globally. “Digital sales channels allow managers of existing global brands to reach consumers in parts of countries that they could otherwise not reach without physical stores” (Steenkamp, 2020, p. 14). In the meantime, companies like Rogue Fitness and REP Fitness were still providing a presence on social media to show their consumers what they were working on. The digital channel paired with social media marketing influenced consumers to buy other products, such as clothing or accessories, while consumers wait for items like weights to become available. Additionally, each post would generate questions on expected arrival times for certain products and allowed the company to answer directly to consumers providing a personalized experience with the company. REP Fitness also used social media to push live updates on when the digital channel of their online store would open back up and went “live” to ensure all who had questions could be informed. Little to their knowledge, a small family company started in 2017, would be greeted with over 2,500 online participants during the reopening of their online store. “With the internet, every brand is just a keystroke away from a consumer overseas” (Steenkamp, 2020, p. 14). The knowledge could also be stumbled upon from almost anywhere in the world through social media.

Social Media Influence

A marketing manager can evaluate the field and research how their product could enhance lives or be of value to a consumer by simply searching for a hashtag or find what is trending. On Instagram, users can simply follow a hashtag labeled #garagegym and find pictures and ideas flow through their feed constantly. The user can click on the hashtag to bring them to a more concentrated feed of the subject. Social media’s real influence then comes from pictures of whomever the user respects using that product.

Social media’s influence of a brand can be boosted by ambassadors that market the brand through their own pages. According to Dreher (2014), employees play an important role as advocates and brand ambassadors and some do not even know it. When a member posts a selfie in their uniform with the brand on their shirt or hat, it can influence others to even just think about that company. Social media’s influence is rapidly evolving and should be of interest when trying to create a successful brand in today’s market.

Discussion Question

Can you recall a product marketed through your social media channels, i.e. ad, influencer, hashtag, or friend’s post that influenced you to go to their page or website and buy their product? If so, what was it about the social media marketing that influenced you and why do you think that was?

reply of at least 250 words. Your replies must do the following:
Answer the question posed in the thread.
Respond to the practical example in the thread by sharing a practical example that differs from the one in the thread.
Reference at least 1 scholarly source in addition to the course textbook for each reply.

Note about Responses: Seek to understand your classmates’ threads (including the marketing management theory, the facts presented in their posts, their points of view, and their real-world examples). Aim to communicate your own understanding of relevant facts, your values, and your perspective of the topic.