PR Case Study Part 3: Internet and Social Media
Has to be about Amazon
ANSWER
Internet and Social Media
Amazon
Started at a garage as what was only an online book store platform, Amazon has become one of the largest online retailers in the world. It is the world’s marketing leader in electronic commerce, offering a wide range of products and services. The staggering numbers that Amazon gunner speaks for themselves and is a great reference for any successful business. Amazon has 310 million active customer accounts. Of the 310 million customers, 90 million are Amazon prime members that spend an average of $1300 annually (Klaus, 2013). The remaining 220 million spend an average of $700. In 2017, Amazon sold physical goods worth $52.4 billion through its platform. The company boasts of a net value of $1.7 million.
The success story of Amazon has been greatly influenced by a good marketing strategy dominated by a solid internet and social media presence. The internet and social media play a crucial role in marketing, as it is the most influential way of communication (Hennig-Thurau, 2013). Amazon uses almost every social media platform, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and also advertise through several internet websites in the form of pop up ads (Luxem, 2013. Therefore, this essay will analyze these social media platforms and how Amazon uses them for marketing to stay relevant and successful.
Amazon on Social Media Platforms
Amazon uses different social media platforms for advertising its goods, services and promotions. This enables them to reach a wide range of potential customers that, in turn, raise their sales (Albane, 2019). Amazon makes more sales than any other online platforms, which is partly achieved in the way they exploit social media (Marvin, 2017).
Amazon has perhaps one of the best customer relations techniques, and this is seen by the way they engage their Facebook page. Amazon has over 29 million likes on its Facebook page. They use this page for advertising all their goods and services and ways through which people can access them (Stelzner, 2019. They also alert their follows which goods have discounts and any promotions customers can get. The way they respond to the comments is what makes them stand out. Scrolling down their comments, one notices how they answer and responds to almost all of the comments. They respond quickly and politely. They are also open to critics and are always on the lookout for them. According to former CEO Jeff Bezos, Amazon takes these critiques seriously and use them to better their services.
Amazon has also made it possible to maintain the customers’ accounts with the Facebook page. This allows the customers to have quick access to products reviews in case of any questions and concerns. They also advertise the promotion of goods, especially days or months before important calendar dates; for instance, they offered a 15% discount on every purchase during the festive season.
Twitter users are known for their brutal honesty and do not shy away if they do not feel contented. Amazon, therefore, uses their Twitter account to look into these concerns and quickly respond to them. Incidences of lost or stolen goods before delivery are common, and Amazon uses the platform to engage the customers and advice if these situations occur. However, Amazon does not commonly use the platform on product promotions as they previously did. It uses Twitter to advertise its additional services. The most common services that they advertise include Prime Video and Amazon Music (Tode, 2020). Amazon has their own blog content that has additional and informative features about the company, and they use Twitter to adverse it. Customer relations and engagement are still a priority for Amazon, and Twitter is no exception for them.
Pinterest is a fast-growing application that features a wide range of products. Users basically scroll and look for product ideas and look for what suits them best (Chaffey, 2020). Amazon has also not left this marketing opportunity to chance as they also have their pin about the company. It makes it easy to analyze products and purchase goods through this platform. For instance, if a customer likes a product advertised by Amazon, they can click on the item, and the feed takes them directly to Amazon’s website. It also uses Pinterest as an extension of its main online store. It also offers additional amazon features like bespoke products advertised through Handmade at Amazon and Amazon Style for Women.
Amazon Spark
It is seemingly evident that there is nothing that Amazon cannot achieve if they set certain goals. This ambitious attitude leads to the development of its own app, Amazon Spark (Rubin, 2017). The app basically functions in the interest of the customer. It allows the user to have a personalized account and indicate their interest, and amazon shows the products that are in line with the user’s interest. This is a good marketing strategy, as it makes the user feel that they are in control of their exploration and purchases. Users receive images of products that have reviews that allow customers to comment and also feature recommendations.
Conclusion
The internet and social media are constantly changing due to technological advancements. It offers a wide range of advertising opportunities and companies to enhance public relations through customer engagements (Saravanakumar & SuganthaLakshmi, 2012). Amazon, thus, has fully exploited the internet and social media and has made it part of their operation. Therefore, it has greatly contributed to Amazon contributed to Amazon becoming the most successful online company in the world.
References
Klaus, P. (2013). The case of Amazon. com: towards a conceptual framework of online customer service experience (OCSE) using the emerging consensus technique (ECT). Journal of Services Marketing.
Hennig-Thurau, T., Hofacker, C. F., & Bloching, B. (2013). Marketing the pinball way: Understanding how social media change the generation of value for consumers and companies. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 27(4), 237-241.
Saravanakumar, M., & SuganthaLakshmi, T. (2012). Social media marketing. Life science journal, 9(4), 4444-4451.
Luxem, K. (2020). Amazon Social Media Marketing: 11 Ways to Boost Sales- retrieved from https://www.ecomengine.com/blog/amazon-social-media-marketing
Albane (2019). Amazon’s marketing strategy: 5 ways to win on social media. Retrieved from https://www.talkwalker.com/blog/amazon-marketing-strategy
Marvin, G. (2017). Amazon’s latest marketing and sales growth strategy: a social platform. Retrieved from https://martechtoday.com/5-ways-amazons-new-social-network-spark-lift-booming-business-even-higher-201427
Stelzner, M. (2019). Amazon ads: What marketers Need to Know. Retrieved from https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/amazon-ads-what-marketers-need-to-know-brett-curry/
Tode, C. (2020). Amazon boosts social prowess with Snapchat, Instagram, but more needed. Retrieved from https://www.retaildive.com/ex/mobilecommercedaily/amazon-boosts-social-prowess-with-snapchat-instagram-but-more-needed
Chaffey, D. (2020). Amazon.com marketing strategy: A business case study. Retrieved from https://www.smartinsights.com/digital-marketing-strategy/online-business-revenue-models/amazon-case-study/
Rubin, S. (2017). Social Media strategy of Amazon. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/ShelbyRubin1/social-media-strategy-of-amazon
