Businesses Rock Instagram

 

The YouTube Video that I watched was a tutorial for businesses trying to use Instagram as a social media Marketing tool. It gave five ways for businesses to do so, one being to promote the products. The second tip was to promote your customers. Post photos of your followers. Third, post photos behind the scene. These exclusive pictures make the customers feel like they are getting extra knowledge. Highlight a charitable site to your business. Show the giving side and more personal side to you company. The Fifth and final tip was to host contests.

 

Being an Instagram user myself who follows companies it always catches my eye when they post followers photos because then I want to take a picture and try to get them to repost my photo. Its a great marketing tactic for companies to post promotional items as well because when I saw that Starbucks was having a buy one get one promotion I planned on going to Springfield Sunday and getting my free Starbucks.

 

Instagram is my favorite form of social media because its very visual and easy to skim through the things I do or do not want to see. businesses that I follow on Instagram are most likely to get me as a repeat customer because it is easier for them to appeal to me through Instagram rather than Facebook or Twitter.



Business uses of Twitter



The article I read said that Twitter is used to meet four major functions within the marketing side of a business. The first major function met is "Inbounding Signals." This function is meet because customers are tweeting about what they are thinking and saying about a brand. By looking at consumers tweets businesses are able to more accurately learn what their customers' value. The second function twitter meets is "Direct Communication." This is businesses communicating with their customers, promoting products, promoting sweepstakes, or just interacting with what the consumers are saying about the company and the products. Third function being met by Twitter for companies is "Indirect Communication." This function is using Twitter to enhance a company's reputation, this is done by having clever and interesting tweets. The fourth and final function is "Internal Communication." This function is allowing employees to communicate via Twitter, informing their coworkers on what they are working on and any ideas they come up with.

"Every time a brand uses Twitter, an opportunity is created for customers to discover or learn more about a brand."

Original Site:
http://marketresearch.about.com/od/market.research.brand.equity/a/Effective-Use-Of-Twitter-In-Market-Research.htm

Facebook as a Marketing tool

http://www.oc-extensions.com/Facebook-Marketing

The article I read conducted five studies. The first was the average time Americans spent on Facebook. The study concluded that the average time spent on Facebook is seven hours, four hours more than Google. The second study was focused on what vehicle was most used for social sharing. Facebook came in first with 44% being shared through Facebook and then Twitter came in second with 29%. The third study was determining what the most popular sites are. In 2010 Facebook took the second place spot from Yahoo landing them right behind Google. The articles fourth study conducted was determining whether people were being truthful about who they really are on social media or if they are more likely to "fake it." The study focused on two social sites, Facebook and MySpace. It concluded that most people are being truthful with who they are on their social media networks. This helps marketers learn about their target market and easier to market towards them. The fifth and final study was looking at Facebook's impact on a companies boost in sales and customer loyalty. the study focused on a Bakery based in Houston, Texas. The bakery emailed customers from a mailing list to gather evaluations and shopping behaviors. They then launched their Facebook fan page where they made weekly posts consisting of promotions and pictures of their treats. after three months they resurveyed their customers and the findings were increases in word of mouth to non fans, increase in store visits after one became a fan, and that fans were more likely to choose the bakery over competitors.

I personally found the fifth study conducted the most interesting. The fact that a simple fan page can have such an impact on a businesses sales, visits, and word of mouth is very interesting. When I thought about that it made since due to the other studies the article conducted. Americans spend a significant amount of time on Facebook and they are using Facebook to connect and communicate their interests with their friends. Facebook has rapidly grown into a successful marketing vehicle for companies and I can only see it growing more in the future.

Original article:
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/5-new-studies-show-facebook-a-marketing-powerhouse/

Welcome to my Blog!!

My name is Kelsey Fankhauser and I am a student at Southwest Baptist University. If being a Business Marketing student wasn't hard enough how about we add that I am also on the volleyball team. I am in my senior year, 28 credits stand between me and the real world. YIKES! People often call me a cat lady but I'm just an animal person in general. I have an Australian Shepard named Rex and I also have a 6 month old kitten who's name is Jax'n. I am the youngest of three children in my wonderful family. My oldest brother is turning 25 this month and my other brother who is 23 has down syndrome. I have been born and raised in St. Louis Missouri. One of my many hobbies is reading. If Nicholas Sparks has written it you can bet I have read it. I am also Pinterest addict, if you were to walk into my apartment all of my decoration ideas are found on Pinterest. Vera Bradley is another one of my weaknesses, bags, wallets, folders, I have them all.