Optimizing Media Strategy in Marketing

FUNCTIONAL AREA PAPER ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
Discussion and elaborate on the current trends in this area.
Your paper should include an introduction of the topic that includes a historical definition based on literature, a discussion of the current research in the field (2017-2021), and a section that addresses future questions that will need to be addressed and/or explored in research.
This paper should use 12 substantial journal article resources all should be from 2017 to 2021 and will be 2200-2500 words in length (not including the title page, abstract, or reference pages) observing all APA style conventions.

The organization of your paper should be as follows:

Title Page

Introduction: Gives an overview of your topic and discusses the organization of your paper. You would also include your historical definition here based on the literature.

Current Research: In this section, you will include identified themes you have found in the research articles that you reviewed. You will support each of these themes with your research articles (Majority of the paper)

Future Questions: In this section, you will discuss the future research areas that were present in the articles you synthesized. You should list and discuss the question and use multiple articles to provide support. These should come directly from the research (2nd most important part)

ANSWER

Optimizing Media Strategy in Marketing

Introduction

Technological innovation has been effective in enhancing different organizations’ strategies in marketing their brands. The use of media in marketing has seen companies exploit a wide range of consumers, transforming companies from mere startups to multibillion companies. The optimization of media strategy can be attributed to the history of media, riddled with posters and magazines as the main marketing tools. Fast forward to 1946, where 6,000 households had television sets, media use in marketing was beginning to gain ground. So fast was the new media technological advancement growing that by 1951, 12 million television sets had already been sold in the United States (Beard et al., 2021). Technology is renowned for its ever-changing nature, with a new advancement better than its predecessors. In that regard, media optimization, currently, is at an all-time high, with the use of the internet, social media, mobile apps, and other digital communications technologies playing an important role in marketing. They are part of everyday life in modern society, with billions of people from all over the world having access to these devices. Recent statistics indicate that almost 59% of the world’s population has access to internet use, with 4.54 active internet users.

With the number of internet users, especially various social media platforms, set to grow, companies are taking advantage of the pool of consumers that they offer. Digital and social media marketing is a cheaper way of marketing products for companies, and this realization has seen social media platforms like Facebook have more than 50 billion registered businesses. The development of these digital and social media platforms has significantly changed how consumers behave. The current consumer market spends most of its time shopping online and asking relevant questions regarding the products and services they need. With just a touch of a button, e-commerce has helped make easy modes of purchases for consumers. This trend has necessitated companies to set up social media accounts and advertise their products. The use of digital and social media platforms also allows companies to create awareness of public services and politics. Organizations have developed methods of understanding the market segment and have designed their marketing techniques to best suit them. According to (Abed et al., 2015), organizations can greatly benefit by prioritizing digital marketing, as t is an entity that is sent to grow bigger. Social media and other digital platforms connect the customers and organizations which offer services. Thus, any complaints from customers due to unsatisfactory products and services are easily addressed effectively and promptly.

Therefore, this study will analyze various scholarly insights from different articles that give better insight into the opportunities, challenges, and future questions that initiate research to further better digital and social media marketing for organizations. The first section will be a literature of different authors, with the main themes surrounding optimizing media strategy in marketing. The other section will address potential research questions Gathering Strategic information that can prompt further research into how media optimization can best enhance marketing for the benefit of different organizations.

Analysis of Recent Literature

This section analyses different literature materials that have focused on digital marketing over the years. The main themes to be addressed in this section in support of the literature include; environment, company, outcomes, and marketing. The themes were derived as a result of using various keywords, including “social media marketing,” “digital marketing,” and “social media,” among others. The four themes give a deeper insight into the use of digital platforms by an organization to reach and broaden their consumer target, based on the most recent and relevant social media platform and analyzing consumer behavior.

Environment

According to Kang (2018), the most fundamental element of marketing is understanding consumer behavior and developing relevant communication techniques to suit their language. The innovation of technology has significantly changed consumer behavior over the years. It has changed how consumers and organizations interact, with e-commerce being the main form of shopping, thereby changing consumers’ attitude, tastes, and preferences. E-commerce organizations, like Amazon, have greatly benefited from e-commerce, and Alam et al. (2019), assert that this has been influenced by the change in consumers’ attitude due to technology. Hossain et al. (2019, 2020) assert that it is not only Amazon that has benefited, as almost every country has an online shopping channel, that has greatly influenced consumer behavior. In that regard, the environment theme addresses how digital and media platforms have affected consumers’ behavior, thus changing it from a traditional-oriented environment to a modern one.

In addition, mobile phones are the most common tool that many consumers use. Through using shopping apps, location-based services, and mobile wallets, phones have ensured that the bridge between the producer and consumer has been reduced significantly. Shukla & Nigam’s (2018) article asserts that mobile phones have changed the consumer experience, and in return, changed their behavior. According to the study conducted by Kang (2018) proposed that organizations have continued to prioritize the understanding of the online shopping community. By having a deeper insight into their behavior, organizations have created special offerings that are aligned with the needs of such customers, thereby increasing the satisfaction level of online consumers. Understanding the digital and social media environment is crucial for the success of any organization. Consumer attitude is also crucial when advertising on these platforms. For instance, Gaber et al. (2019) conducted a study that showed that advertisements on Instagram only attracted consumers who viewed the advertisements as positive, entertaining, their level of usefulness, credibility, and the ability to derive a positive attitude from them.

Marketing strategies

Organizations tend to analyze the market and decide which digital and social media platform best suits them according to their market strategy. According to Chen and Lee (2018), companies are now using almost every popular and available social media platform as part of their marketing strategies, including Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Chen and Lee (2018) conducted research on Snapchat as part of different organization’s endeavors to use it as a marketing strategy. The study’s findings found that young people had a positive attitude towards most of the advertisements on Snapchat. The research attributed these positive attitudes to the nature of the marketing techniques, as they were described as intimate, casual, and dynamic. The messages in the advertisement/marketing tools were considered entertaining, informative, and promoted socialization.

One of the key marketing strategies identified by Tafesse & Wien (2018) is transformational marketing. This form of marketing consists of experience and identity that organizations use to portray desirable psychological characteristics. A good example is Nike, which has perfected the art of developing marketing techniques that do portray not only their products as trendy but also a lifestyle that every customer wants. Another form of marketing technique is developing interactive brand posts. Tafesse & Wien (2018) identified that interactive brand posts were responded to more frequently by customers compared to informative posts. According to the study, informative posts were considered stale and traditional, with nothing captivating to convince the customers to be associated with the brand (Islam et al., 2018). The study concluded that Facebook worked better with interactive entertainment posts, Twitter with informative posts, and Instagram combined both interactive, entertaining, and informative message content. With this information, many companies are developing strategies and choosing which application best suits their target market for better execution.

Company

Various companies worldwide have exhibited conflicting attitudes towards the use of digital and social media marketing. Matikiti et al. (2018) conducted a study on the travel agencies and tour operators in South Africa, seeking to determine their attitude towards this mode of marketing. Their study found that out of 150 agencies, some of their attitudes were determined by both internal and external factors. The internal factors mainly comprised of managerial support and their level of education. The external factors were the assumption of the ease of social media use, pressure from competitors, and perceived benefits. According to the study, the majority of the agency owners understood the economic, social, and emotional benefits of using social media as a marketing strategy. However, the majority of them were far from exploiting them.

According to Iankova et al. (2019), the attitude towards using digital and social media marketing strategy depended on the type of the company. For instance, most Businesses to business companies have a negative attitude towards social media, with some of them regarding it as ineffective in regards to bringing success to their companies. On the other hand, most startups and small businesses exploited the use of social media to their advantage, hence having a positive attitude towards it. In addition, the lack of understanding of emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) has seen many companies fall behind their competitors who have a better understanding of them. These technologies have proved to be effective towards helping companies identify effective sales promotional targets to device intriguing personalized incentives for users. Companies that have failed to exploit digital and social media users fully tend to struggle with their competitor’s advancement in a hypercompetitive market.

Outcomes

The final literature them on the optimization of media strategy in marketing is the outcomes attributed by organizations’ positive and negative attitude towards the use of digital and social media marketing. According to Iankova et al. (2019), having a positive attitude towards social media has various benefits for the organization and the consumers. For instance, the study highlighted that social media marketing has a positive effect on customer retention.  Having customer retention within the company guarantees purchase intention, with customers who have a deep sense of impulse buying being an added advantage to the organization. Further use of digital and social media marketing can have a positive effect on the company’s brand. The value and integrity of the company’s brand are maintained by using social media, as it enhances an interactive relationship, with customer’s concerns and complaints addressed instantly. This creates confidence among the customers, hence promoting and preserving the integrity of the organization.

On the other hand, there are also negative consequences on the use of digital and social media marketing, especially on the organization. Iankova et al. (2019) assert that the negative effects can be experienced if the personnel behind the handling of social media marketing strategy is unskilled. Suppose the social media marketing posts are not handled properly. In that case, the organization can incur certain costs, including transaction costs, coordination costs, destruction in value, and the expected benefits deteriorating. Therefore, for any organization to experience better outcomes through digital and social media marketing, the company has to identify its potential market and develop positive marketing techniques that can promote a positive attitude with the customers. As mentioned earlier, different mobile applications are suitable, or the kind of marketing an organization wants to promote. Therefore, it is essential to choose the right asocial media platform to bring out the best for the befit of the organization.

Research Questions, Opportunities, and Propositions

Technological Personalization

The advancement of technology has allowed organizations to be in a pole position to analyze consumer behavior. Understanding consumer behavior is made possible through collecting their data, and in turn, companies create personalized offerings that maximize customer satisfaction. However, since companies have control over the customer’s data, including their personal information, there is a paradox between personalization and data privacy. However, to avoid any issues that may arise regarding handling such crucial private information, certain questions need to be asked and answered for better customer experience and to enhance the optimization of media strategy in marketing. For instance, what role does digital literacy play in the privacy of consumer data? How involved are the young generation (the majority of social media users) really conversant about data privacy? Will these concerns grow as they age? Such areas need further research, as companies rely on the integration of personalization and social media to best satisfy the needs of their customers.

Segmentation

Organizations are constantly using analytics to understand their product’s market segmentation. However, with the advancement of technology, and many companies adopting social media s part of their marketing techniques, many old companies that existed pre-social media still try to maintain their initial customers. A large number of these ‘original’ customers mainly include the elderly generation, who are not active users of social media. Therefore, understanding the market segmentation and creating a balance that is tailored to all parties is crucial. In that regard, there is still a challenge of what marketing techniques better suit the required balance in adopting digital and social media techniques while still preserving the attributes of the older generation. The first question is m for instance, which combination of variables is most effective in segmenting customers? What customer experience designs elements need to be tailored to meet different customer needs?

Conclusion

Technology has created an exemplary arena that has given a fair chance for every company, whether startup. This article has clearly highlighted the optimization of digital and social media in marketing and how companies are adapting to new technologies to suit their customer’s satisfaction. In addition, according to the different works of literature in the environment, company, marketing strategy, and outcomes, many companies are beginning to understand the concept of digital and social media marketing as a key entity for their success. However, there are still many questions that need further research to develop a conclusive argument on optimizing media strategy in marketing.

References

Abed, S. S., Dwivedi, Y. K., & Williams, M. D. (2015). Social media as a bridge to e-commerce adoption in SMEs: A systematic literature review. The Marketing Review, 15(1), 39-57.

Alam, M. S. A., Wang, D., & Waheed, A. (2019). Impact of digital marketing on consumers’ impulsive online buying tendencies with intervening effect of gender and education: B2C emerging promotional tools. International Journal of Enterprise Information Systems (IJEIS), 15(3), 44-59.

Alam, M. S. A., Wang, D., & Waheed, A. (2019). Impact of digital marketing on consumers’ impulsive online buying tendencies with intervening effect of gender and education: B2C emerging promotional tools. International Journal of Enterprise Information Systems (IJEIS), 15(3), 44-59.

Beard, F., Petrotta, B., & Dischner, L. (2021). A history of content marketing. Journal of Historical Research in Marketing.

Chen, H., & Lee, Y. J. (2018). Is Snapchat a good place to advertise? How media characteristics influence college-aged young consumers’ receptivity of Snapchat advertising. International Journal of Mobile Communications, 16(6), 697-714.

Gaber, H. R., Wright, L. T., & Kooli, K. (2019). Consumer attitudes towards Instagram advertisements in Egypt: The role of the perceived advertising value and personalization. Cogent Business & Management, 6(1), 1618431.

Hossain, T. M. T., Akter, S., Kattiyapornpong, U., & Dwivedi, Y. K. (2019). Multichannel integration quality: A systematic review and agenda for future research. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 49, 154-163.

Iankova, S., Davies, I., Archer-Brown, C., Marder, B., & Yau, A. (2019). A comparison of social media marketing between B2B, B2C and mixed business models. Industrial Marketing Management, 81, 169-179.

Islam, J. U., Rahman, Z., & Hollebeek, L. D. (2018). Consumer engagement in online brand communities: a solicitation of congruity theory. Internet Research.

Kang, J. (2018). Effective marketing outcomes of hotel Facebook pages: The role of active participation and satisfaction. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights.

Matikiti, R., Mpinganjira, M., & Roberts-Lombard, M. (2018). Application of the technology acceptance model and the technology–organisation–environment model to examine social media marketing use in the South African tourism industry. South African Journal of Information Management, 20(1), 1-12.

Shukla, P. S., & Nigam, P. V. (2018). E-shopping using mobile apps and the emerging consumer in the digital age of retail hyper personalization: An insight. Pacific Business Review International, 10(10), 131-139.

Tafesse, W., & Wien, A. (2018). Using message strategy to drive consumer behavioral engagement on social media. Journal of Consumer Marketing.