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What has Kim K done now?!

When it comes to Social Media Marketing, one of the most effective ways to advertise a product is through a celebrity or expert.  This is using the concept of affinity and authority, which both state using a figure to gain trust or exemplify the product. To begin with, the concept of authority states using an expert in the field to back the product which builds trust with the person and gains their confidence in said product. Moreover, affinity believes in utilizing people or characters that are often attractive or likable by the general public. Essentially, you want the product because if you see your favorite celebrity endorsing it, it influences you to get one as well relying on the logic that if it is good enough for them, it is good enough for you.  For example, brands who want to reach out to a large population of people use celebrities to market their product.  Airbnb is a vacation home rental service, where users can rent out their own homes to other uses for their stay. They partnered with Kim Kardashian to both build reliability and attract users to the service. Kim Kardashian is very famous, so the fact that she uses Airbnb will attract users. Being famous touches the affinity aspect, whereas the authority aspect is built since she travels a lot and is experienced in staying at various vacation homes.  Through this, Airbnb’s popularity is multiplied by utilizing these concepts.

#fall2016comm494smm

https://twitter.com/apolad4/status/791851463295270913

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Why can’t all brands do this!

TOMS is not just a brand that sells stylish shoes for both men and women… it is also a brand that strives to serve back to the community. How could you not want to be apart of this?! On a consumer's end, it is as simple as deciding the look you are going for and purchasing that shoe.  It is the work done after that makes this brand so unique.  TOMS donates a pair of shoes to a person in need for every pair of TOMS we purchase! Talk about an impact!

Traditionally, there has been an asymmetric relationship between brands and the customers that offer them loyalty. Recently, to reciprocate this loyalty, brands have been implementing a strategy known as “Return of Emotion”. Here, they engage in conversations with brands through social media and stay engaged. TOMS, through the use of their Instagram page, they frequently talk to customers by responding to their questions and enthusiasm, and liking photos of customers wearing toms that are shared to them and sometimes even featuring said customers! However, as with any branding scheme, there are ethical risks involved. First off, brands have to maintain professionalism as their brand image is on the line, so training employees who respond to these comments is crucial. Second, another ethical concern is the privacy of customers. In an attempt to engage in conversations, brands cannot compromise their privacy by publishing messages or photos. 

#fall2016comm494smm

https://twitter.com/apolad4/status/784230230818955264

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Word of mouth meets Social Media

If you had the option to choose between two restaurants you have never been to, how would you decide? A place many people go to is check the web for reviews and ratings.  There is no better site than Yelp. It is a platform for user generated content to post their reviews, images, and ratings of restaurants and businesses they have visited. Users make logins that can be linked to their social media accounts, leading to owners marketing their business’. An example of how Yelp is used as Social Media Marketing is when a business is advertised on social media, shared by those who visited, and given free advertising by word of mouth. Of course, as with any type of social media marketing, there are certain ethical risks that are associated with it. Since reviews posted are by complete strangers, some may be fabricated to either praise or ridicule the business in question. Certain companies had emerged, such as Webtools, that wrote fake reviews for clients and were ordered to pay $350,000 in a false advertising lawsuit. All in all, word of mouth advertising on social media is a powerful tool that often surpasses the success of paid advertisements.  #fall2016comm494smm https://twitter.com/apolad4/status/779159844804853760

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The Emergence of BirchBox!  For those of you who have no idea what BirchBox is, let me explain!  BirchBox is an online subscription where you pay $10 a month for sample beauty products from all kinds of beauty brands.  Although not too many people know too much about BirchBox, plenty of people know about YouTube. YouTube is a big vehicle for marketing, as popular uses can post videos that can reach thousands of different viewers at once. “Youtube vlogger, you can promote, ...absolutely nothing short of most marketers’ dreams. (Danny 2011) “ With a big niche in the YouTube market being Makeup tutorial and videos, with some users having up to eight million subscribers who actively made videos about Birchbox, the word got out about the company which lead to an immense growth in sales even leading to myself having Birchbox now for the last nine months. There are many risks and concerns related to social media marketing. A few concerns with social media marketing always include the extent to which advertisers go to display their product, including making viral videos. Many big corporations will make viral videos then later reveal they were behind it to gain brand recognition and sell more product. The ethical concern is some viral videos were on touchy subjects, and may have reached extremes. An example that comes to mind is a man falling off a building catching a ring while proposing, meanwhile everyone on the roof is holding a drink which was being advertised.  http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2011/05/02/how-social-media-has-helped-to-reshape-marketing/#gref

Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/apolad4/status/771555773910396928?p=v