SOCIAL MEDIA FOR THE PURPOSE OF MARKETING (CONTINUE)

The title of this blog describes precisely the main content; however, the blog is expected to bring you a new perspective of how customer participation plays an important role in a company's marketing strategy. Let's begin the discussion with the below four minutes video.

Source: Market Segmentation for Sport Participation. (2013). [video] Youtube: Australian Sports Commission.

In summary, customer participation in marketing research provides companies broader picture of customers desires and needs so that they can segment their markets based on their strength. As you probably see from the video, the number of non-members in any clubs is high and by understanding their wishes and desires, you can have a better strategy with flexible options gaining more registrations to your organization. It is true that customer participation brings your companies out-of-boxes, innovative ideas and customer loyalty. 

A worldwide famous company like Coca-cola also utilize the advantage of customer participation to gain more customer loyalty. 

Coca-Cola

In the United States, the average person drinks the equivalent of 275 (12oz) cans of Coke per year. So a company like Coca-Cola, which has already “acquired” most of the people in the United States, naturally shifts their marketing focus away from immediate sales transactions, and towards a more long-term emotional connection with consumers. Through their innovative campaigns, Coca-Cola has demonstrated that emotionally resonant marketing creates loyalty among your customers…which, in turn, sells you far more Coca-Cola.

The campaign generated huge customer participation, particularly online – there are a whopping 341,000 posts on Instagram with the hashtag #shareacoke. Coca-Cola also reports that 96% of consumer sentiment toward the campaign is either positive or neutral. For example, their “Share a Coke” campaign (replacing the logos on Coke cans with popular names among young people) encouraged customers to share a Coke with a friend. Essentially, Coke was inviting buyers to participate in a massive social/referral marketing experience. (Stocker, 2014)

 Another aspect of customer participation that the companies should take into consideration is customer reviews. Customer reviews are essential and trustful, and they reflect the value of products which your companies provide. Following your customer reviews is the best way to know more how your products are functioning and customer expectation of better version then having improvements if necessary. You can read further the importance of customer reviews of how to use them by a simple click. 

Twitter

Twitter is used to connect people, build relationships, create brand awareness, marketing new products, provide information, survey and feedback, manage online reputation, boost sales with special offers and discounts, and promote your company blog (Imarketingfactory.com, n.d.). 

There are million of users on Twitter and by using Twitter, companies can expand their connections with new customers and enhance existing ones. Through Twitter, the companies might have an idea how customers react to their brands' products. To keep followers and build positive relationships with them, the companies must try to minimize promotions and advertisements instead building up useful information to assist customers in finding suitable products. For a business with a small scale, Twitter is highly effective to gain customer trust. To do so, you should initially create a trustful profile of yourself and gain followers then building up a profile for your company and linking it to your profile. Another effective manner to spread your companies' news is through Twitter. With many followers and cheapest cost, you can easily announce news and get more attentions comparing to other public media. As I have mentioned above, Twitter can be used to obtain your customers' opinion about a product. You can use Twitter to find out their feedbacks by following their conversation about the product or asking their opinions by conduction a poll through your account. More and more functions of Twitter can be discovered in the following link: http://www.imarketingfactory.com/twitter/ 

If you have followed my other blogs, you will probably understand that I am not a social media person. But I have recently built up my interest to Zalando on Twitter. Their Tweets are organized and creative, and they response to customers' tweets as fast as possible. They introduce their products in uploaded pictures to be suitable for current events (famous models, mix-and-match and national events). They involve promotions and discounts smartly to avoid any disturbances to their customers. 

Virtual Games/World

The only virtual game which I have played till now is The Sims. I love the game because I can be creative in design and explore new things. However I don't believe on virtual education and believe that things in real life are more important and practical. 

References

Imarketingfactory.com. (n.d.). The Importance of Twitter for Small Businesses. [online] Available at: http://www.imarketingfactory.com/twitter/ [Accessed 13 Jul. 2016].

Market Segmentation for Sport Participation. (2013). [video] Youtube: Australian Sports Commission.

Stocker, M. (2014). How Coca-Cola and Yoplait Use “Customer Participation” Marketing – And How You Can, Too. [Blog] Marketo. Available at: http://blog.marketo.com/2014/09/how-coca-cola-and-yoplait-use-customer-participation-marketing-and-how-you-can-too.html [Accessed 13 Jul. 2016].