Social Media Marketing Steps Up It’s Game

Currently, I’m in three other marketing classes this semester and one of the topics that has been frequently addressed is the success of social media marketing. Many professors wanted to know whether or not we thought it was an effective way of advertising or simply a trend that coincided with the popularity of sites like Twitter, Instagram, etc. Interestingly enough, many students in my classes felt that it is not as effective as traditional advertising. However, after spending last summer as an intern at a digital advertising firm, I think that digital marketing in one of the most efficient and successful strategies to surface during the 21st century. While it could be easy to claim that traditional forms are still the most powerful, I think that it is important to consider the decline of mediums like print and radio. Still, it’s understandable that many people don’t seriously consider social media marketing, because isn’t often executed properly. There have been few cases that have really stuck out in the last few years but I think they prove how legitimate this form can be. In the spirit of the fast approaching Super Bowl, Oreo’s “You Can Still Dunk in the Dark” Twitter ad not only rocked the nation with it’s quick response but proved how social media can be an efficient and creative outlet for any brand. 

 As someone who is hoping to become an account planner for digital media, I recently read an article entitled “5 Social Media Advertising Trends to Watch for in 2014.” The author listed Facebook videos, Twitter ads as power players in the upcoming year and stressed the importance of fragmentation and including smaller outlets such as Instagram and Snapchat. While I agree with some of this, I think it would be much more interesting to see the affect that an app like Instagram or Vine could have on the advertising world, as opposed to Facebook. In my opinion, Facebook advertising has received much more negative response than Instagram, Twitter, etc. in part because it doesn’t execute advertisements as creatively. If users choose to view ads and are entertained by them, they respond better than if they’re forced to look at conventional images/videos on the side of their Facebook screen. Simultaneously, if a company is advertising on it’s own feed rather than paying to have images appear on feeds, home pages, etc., it could cost them less money and garner them more traffic by forcing interested consumers to visit their pages. 

 This summer, I was able to take part in launching a marketing plan for Mercedes on Instagram and Youtube. The campaign garnered a lot of attention not only from interested buyers, but also from others who found Mercedes’ approach to marketing both entertaining and interesting. Mercedes launched a competition on Instagram that gave six well known users access to their newest car and allowed them to take pictures of the car in a variety of locations. The account that received the most likes won the car and the pictures generated word for the release of the car. I’m definitely interested to see how companies plan on using these new mediums to create new marketing platforms because I think there is a lot of potential in these new apps. Facebook isn’t necessarily a dying platform, but it isn’t gaining a lot of popularity amongst newer generations and therefore companies shouldn’t focus all their attention on websites losing steam. I’m looking forward to the upcoming year and seeing the trends and whether or not social media marketing will in fact trump traditional platforms.

http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2320367/5-Social-Media-Advertising-Trends-to-Watch-for-in-2014

http://nitrogr.am/blog/most-innovative-instagram-contests-2013/ (Mercedes)

http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2242074/set-it-forget-it-will-ruin-you-and-4-more-super-bowl-takeaways (Oreo)