Factors Affecting Buying Decision of the Customers at the Store
There are several factors which affect the buying decision of the customers. Let us go through them one by one: Store Display and Presentation of Products The store display plays an important role in influencing the buying decision of the customers. It is the display of the store which attracts passing individuals into the store. […]
Customer Retention – A Strategic Process to Retain Existing Customers
It is difficult to exactly define customer retention as it is a variable process. A basic definition could be ‘customer retention is the process when customers continue to buy products and services within a determine time period’. However this definition is not applicable for most of the high end and low purchase frequency products as […]
Strategic Management Process – Meaning, its Steps and Components
The strategic management process means defining the organization’s strategy. It is also defined as the process by which managers make a choice of a set of strategies for the organization that will enable it to achieve better performance. Strategic management is a continuous process that appraises the business and industries in which the organization is […]
Methods of Measuring Customer Satisfaction
Managing customers’ satisfaction efficiently is one the biggest challenge an organization face. The tools or methods to measure customer satisfaction needs to be defined sophisticatedly to fulfill the desired norms. There are following methods to measure customer satisfaction: Direct Methods: Directly contacting customers and getting their valuable feedback is very important. Following are some of […]
Newsletters, Press Releases, and Writing for the Press
Press Releases and their Importance The previous articles discussed the various aspects of media and the role of media in shaping public opinion. We had also discussed how press conferences and press meets are to be organized and listed some points for the successful media management strategies. Continuing in the same vein, this article discusses […]
Digital Marketing entails marketing of goods and services using digital technologies and digital mediums. In this context, it would be pertinent to note that with the advent of Web 2.0 or social media, marketers now have the chance to utilize the opportunities offered by digital marketing using social media like Facebook. This article explores the advantages and disadvantages of using Facebook for digital marketing and discusses the various issues surrounding this concept.
Before launching into the discussion, it would be worthwhile to note that the unparalleled access to a large consumer base afforded by Facebook makes it the ideal medium of choice for marketers especially those in the business of consumer goods and FMCG or Fast Moving Consumer Goods. This is because Facebook has a combined user base of more than a billion people and reaches nearly one in four adults in the United States alone.
Apart from this, the use of Facebook in the emerging markets is even more pervasive with estimates suggesting that out of the 80 percent of the total Facebook users who are from outside of the United States, nearly half of them are active users making the medium a platform for brands to be noticed in the “noisy social media world”.
Continuing the points made above, it is indeed the case that Facebook offers penetration and reach to marketers especially those operating on shoestring budgets, as they do not have to spend large amounts of money on expensive marketing campaigns.
Moreover, unlike traditional media where the effectiveness and efficacy of a marketing campaign cannot be measured directly and instead, readership or viewership metrics are used, Facebook marketing can be measured for its efficacy as click through and conversion of eyeballs into purchases is readily available.
Further, Facebook offers the unprecedented chance for marketers to target a global audience and at the same time, consider local factors.
In other words, what this means is that marketers can create campaigns, which have a global theme and at the same time can reach out to their local audience as well. The conflation of reaching out to a wider audience without compromising on the local customers means that Facebook becomes the social networking site of choice when compared to Twitter and Instagram that are more focused in their reach.
Further, the “death of distance” and the removal of the geographical constraints mean that spatial and locational barriers are nonexistent with Facebook Digital Marketing. Already companies like Coca Cola and Starbucks have used the power of Facebook to integrate it with their marketing strategies for effective customer outreach.
Of course, there are downsides to using Facebook as a marketing tool and these include the rapidity with which negative publicity can travel around the world in a jiffy. For instance, a jealous competitor or a disgruntled employee might post negative comments or information about the brand or the product and considering the ways in which such comments can go “viral” in a matter of hours and even minutes, it is the case that marketers and companies have to be always on the lookout for what is being said and commented upon on their products.
The point to be noted here is that by the time, the marketer, the company representative comes up with a rebuttal, or the disproving of the negative comment or publicity, the damage would have been done.
Apart from this, using Facebook as the digital marketing medium means that instant gratification is the norm rather than any sustained engagement with the brand. This results in users (who are mostly of the Generation Y) forming opinions of the brand in a shallow and superficial manner which means that little attention is paid to deeper thought and nuanced marketing as is the case with traditional media.
We have considered the advantages and disadvantages of using Facebook for Digital Marketing. Apart from these, other issues count in favor of Facebook. For instance, marketing on Facebook is easy and inexpensive when compared to traditional media as all one needs to do is to integrate Facebook into the company’s online marketing strategy and create a fan page or a dedicated page in addition to providing for targeted messages aimed the focused consumer segment.
Further, marketing on Facebook can bring additional benefits as can be seen in the company’s recent moves to be more aggressive as far as e-Commerce and m-Commerce are concerned. This has long been a sticking point between Facebook and its corporate clients, as the latter wanted the former to integrate these aspects more into the overall strategy.
Before concluding this article, one must consider the fact that news travels fast in the online world and travels instantaneously in the social media world. Therefore, this can be a force for good and at the same time, can yield unpredictable results. Moreover, integrating Facebook into a company’s overall marketing strategy must be done only after due diligence is done as the cost benefit analysis works differently for different companies in the different sectors.
In conclusion, Facebook is a game changer for marketers and the emerging trends indicate that it would be used more by the marketers as they seek more bang for the buck in terms of the returns per dollar spent on marketing and advertising.
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