Social Media Essay

09/22/12 Future Issues: Social Media and Direct Marketing FMK 783

Growing up in a fast paced wired world has changed the way people communicate, socialize, research, shop, and much more. There will always be a generational gap between age groups that differ in culture and concepts and it is evident as I make observations of my workplace, social interactions, and family life how large the gap is between digital natives and digital immigrants. It is increasingly difficult to connect with people not utilizing the tools technology and social media provide. Acme Markets within just the last few years has started using social media to market to consumers but has found it to be challenging. 65% of Acme's customers base is over the age of 50 and is less likely to use social media than younger demographics. Many people abstain from using the internet and may not be exposed to social marketing efforts. It is important for organizations to research what social media, if any, their target markets uses so as to invest resources wisely. People use social media for many purposes such as social community, social publishing, social commerce, and social entertainment. Because of technological advances and the participation of social media Information and research is no longer a one way download of information. Web 2.0 allows for users to contribute information and collectively solve problems. Marketing no longer has to be simple push messages but can be interactive and users can participate in creating other consumers into customers. To interact with our guests Acme has tried to engage consumers with a Facebook page that posts trivia, recipes, and asks for feedback from customers. Also on the store level Store Directors have started twitter accounts to post local Acme news. To effectively reach consumers and convey a message it is imperative to strategically plan. First a situation analysis will help identify opportunities and strengths so marketing objectives can be set, and then develop marketing strategies for the 4 p's. Finally you can implement and control the marketing plan. Organizations should also plan their their social media maturity, cycling through the trial phase, transition phase, and strategic phase. To capture the right audience marketers have to research what people in their target market typically use the internet for, and what impulses they are satisfying. Millennials may use the internet not only to email, but to also bank, shop, watch videos, and socialize, whereas the G.I. Generation may still be learning how to master emailing a friend. Also, users participate in social networks for different motivations such as the affinity impulse, the prurient impulse, immediacy impulse, altruistic impulse, and validation impulse. Acme has not quite mastered why people should like the Acme Facebook page or follow the Store Director on twitter, and needs to satisfy peoples impulses or have a benefit such as discounts or coupons available to followers. Acme's marketing campaign has not been as successful as the organization would like. Only 36,599 people "like" the acme page which also includes employees. For Acme to be reach new consumers they must more strategically plan how to attract people. Market Segmentation and identifying distinct groups that have common needs and characteristics is key to targeting consumers. Ways to identify groups is geographic segmentation, demographic segmentation, psychographic segmentation, benefit segmentation, and behavioral segmentation. Another consideration in how to reach certain consumers is to look at groups of people by social technographics which outlines the involvement a person has in social media from Inactive's up the ladder to spectators, joiners, collectors, critics,

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