Social media has become one of the most common uses of media that society uses anymore. As I was scrolling through my newsfeed, I got to thinking, is it more effective to advertise on social media versus any other platform?
The biggest difference between advertising on TV and using social media sites is the cost. It can cost a substantial amount of a marketing budget to place your ad on TV, but social media is relatively free. There are many ways to advertise for free on social media and likely reach a much bigger crowd. This does however, depend on the target market. For example, if you are trying to reach baby boomers, Snapchat or Instagram isn't a reasonable option in choosing a platform. Though they are free, they will not reach a decent portion of your target market.
Another benefit to advertising on social media is the ability to interact with consumers. There are tons of companies that remain a large online presence due to the fact that they actually speak with and interact with posts by their followers. Having a strong online presence can increase a company's revenue indirectly by creating a larger brand awareness. A company that I have personally seen do this very well is Tarte Cosmetics. They have accounts on Instagram, Snapchat, Youtube, and Twitter. On all of these sites, I have seen Tarte reply to peoples comments, create interactive polls, address questions on Snapchat and Twitter, etc. Some examples of these are from Tarte's Twitter account to the right. This has reached so many new customers that they would not have necessarily reached before. They are a high end makeup brand and have a pretty steep price tag, but because of their brand awareness, they have become one of the largest makeup companies on the market.
A company such as this one can absolutely market their products through TV advertising, but would it be nearly as effective as it has for them online? There are tons of products and brands that have used this form of advertising to get their name out there and have succeeded in doing so. The opportunities on social media are endless!
Your comparison and overall analysis of social media advertising is very insightful. I would like to comment that also taking a look at the size, and purpose or values, of a company can also determine the effectiveness of this platform for advertising. For example, a small family, local kind of business may benefit the most from this social platform because they can promote community building and the reach of their products directly to their immediate consumers. Larger businesses and companies do have the financial recourses, and it would not make any sense to solely exist on social media when they have the means to be “in people’s faces,” for a lack of better words. But again, their values, or purpose may be to “sell, sell, sell,” so in turn, consumers can read a lot about a company based on the platforms that they choose to advertise or exist on entirely!
ReplyDeleteMore and more social media seems like the way companies are choosing to advertise to their consumers. Unless it is a big event like the Super Bowl, many individuals around the world are watching less and less TV and spending more time online and on social media sites and platforms. Although you mentioned that social media can dramatically help one's brand awareness, companies need to make sure they define themselves clearly and differentiate themselves from other companies' social media pages so they do not get lost in the endless amount of content. The really effective companies on social media use specific strategies and approaches depending on the platform, so to be the most effective, companies need to really consider their decisions on social media before posting because once it is on social media it lasts forever.
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