Posting with a Purpose in IMC

November 14, 2022

By: Amberlyn Pearce

(Photo by: Josh Krakauer via LinkedIn)

What does it mean to post with a purpose?

Posting with a purpose means understanding the goal behind what you are posting in order to achieve the results you are looking for. It’s posting with intent; this will help you get information across successfully and make the difference you are hoping for.

Building a Plan

Many people associate quality with quantity, and most of the time that is not the case with social media. You can post multiple times a day, but if the content isn’t good, it will either be ignored or misunderstood. It is important to be passionate about your brand. Whether it’s a product, a service, or an idea, you must be willing to stand behind it 100%. People want to see content they can connect with. This will change depending on your audience. This starts with evaluating your audience, having a plan, and finding ways to attract customer engagement.

Attracting your Target Audience

In IMC it is very important to be able to alter your communication depending on the target audience. For example, if you were trying to gain a child’s attention, you wouldn’t post the same thing as you would if you were trying to gain an adult’s attention. You first must figure out what your target audience likes, you can do this by practicing different posting strategies to see if you can attract a bigger audience. You can do things like posting more frequently, “centering posts on topics of interest, such as coming up opportunities for scholarships, continuing education credits, conferencing, or other upcoming events” (Rieger & Rozmus, 2019). You can also try adding more visuals such as photos, videos, and website links along with the usual weekly posts to make it more appealing to look at. Feedback from your audience can also be very helpful. You can request feedback by engaging in participatory posts. Examples of this would be surveys, asking questions, or posting opinion polls. Your post becomes more personal when your audience can interact and feel as if they are a part of your brand. This has been proven to be a successful way to learn about your audience. After experimenting, you can compare the engagement from before to the engagement now. Navigating new strategies to attract engagement and making the changes necessary is crucial to success.

(Photo by: Neil Patel)

Keeping your brand diverse!

Having a diverse brand is essential for the success of your business. Diversity is having a variety of genders, sexual orientations, cultural backgrounds, races, ethnicities, and skills in the workplace. It is important to acknowledge and support differences and celebrate the change in the communities. This will not only help satisfy your customers but will also bring in new customers. That’s why it is key to be able to communicate in a way that relates with these different groups of people so that they will see personal value in their belonging.  “The generational diversity of the workforce continues to evolve and, with it, the communication strategies to reach and engage each cohort” (Rieger & Rozmus, 2019).  

How to maintain your growth

When trying to maintain the growth of your brand it is important to know your consumers, understand the market of your brand, stay updated on the latest trends, and keep up with what is going on throughout the world in relation to your business. Keep your content inviting and interesting, this will make your customers want to come back for more. Stay dedicated to your brand and focus on your long-term goals. In efforts for your brand to continue to grow, you should always be on the lookout for new opportunities and ideas. Analyzing your competition, identifying their weaknesses, and capitalizing on their mistakes will only make your brand stronger. It is also good business practice to keep records of your progress and make sure to have a solid plan moving forward to keep your business moving in the right direction. Be willing to make sacrifices and take losses in order to find out what works best for your business. Stay openminded to new ideas, think outside the box, and be willing to accept change. It is important for your brand to be unique, having something that makes you stand out over the rest is crucial when growing your brand. Remember, your customers should always be your top priority, for they are the main source of your revenue. Lastly, make the most of every opportunity and don’t take your success for granted.

(Photo by: Kayla Matthews)

References

How COVID-19 affected Social Media

November 14, 2022

Mary McArthur

(Michigan State University College of Communication Arts and Sciences)

Picture this… it is March 2020. UNCW made the announcement that they are going to switch to online classes for the rest of the semester, toilet paper is gone, and you have to use hand sanitizer and plastic gloves just to go get some milk. This time was very scary for everyone. Nobody has ever experienced anything, so we took to social media to find out information about what is going on. However, the information was not always correct. For instance, CNN reported that a region in Italy, Lombardy, was going on a lock down before receiving official information from the Italian Prime Minister. This resulted in a complete panic of people flooding trains and airports to leave Lombardy before they were stuck. Instead of social distancing, the citizens of Lombardy created a super spread of COVID-19 all because of information that was not true. This example shows how spreading false information over social media can create catastrophic events. 

Interaction Patterns on different apps

In the article The COVID-19 Social Media Infodemic the authors, Matteo Cinelli, Walter Quattrociocchi, Alessandro Galeazzi, Carlo Michele Valensise, Emanuele, Brugnoli, Ana Lucia Schmidt, Paola Zola, Fabiana Zollo and Antonio Scala, review the interactions that users have with COVID-19 topics on Gab, Reddit, Youtube, Instagram, and Twitter. Gab is a crowdfunded social media company whose structure and features are Twitter-inspired. It performs very little control on content posted; in the political spectrum, its user base is considered to be far-right. Reddit is an American social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website based on collective filtering of information. As you can see in the graphic below, each platform had similar mentions about the pandemic.

(The COVID-19 Social Media Infodemic)

The study also conducted the number of new posts each day of 2020. For all the platforms, there was a change of post around January 20th, which was the first day the World Health Organization (WHO) released the first situation report on COVID. The largest increase in the number of posts was on the 21st of January for Gab, the 24th of January for Reddit, the 30th of January for Twitter, the 31st of January for Youtube and the 5th of February for Instagram” (Cinelli, Quattrociocchi, Galeazzi, Valensise, Emanuele, Brugnoli, Schmidt, Zola, Zollo and Scala,2020). Thus, social media platforms seem to have specific timings for content consumption; such patterns may depend upon the difference in terms of audience and interaction mechanisms (both social and algorithmic) among platforms.

Information Spreading

The article states that “In accordance with the criteria established by MBFC, by questionable information source we mean a news outlet systematically showing one or more of the following characteristics: extreme bias, consistent promotion of propaganda/conspiracies, poor or no sourcing to credible information, information not supported by evidence or unverifiable, a complete lack of transparency and/or fake news” (Cinelli, Quattrociocchi, Galeazzi, Valensise, Emanuele, Brugnoli, Schmidt, Zola, Zollo and Scala,2020). As you can see in the figure below, in mainstream social media the number of posts produced by questionable sources represents a small fraction of posts produced by reliable ones; the same thing happens in Reddit. Among less regulated social media, a peculiar effect is observed in Gab: while the volume of posts from questionable sources is just 70% of the volume of posts from reliable ones, the volume of reactions for the former ones is 3 times bigger than the volume for the latter ones. Such results hint the possibility that different platforms react differently to information produced by reliable and questionable news outlets. These results hint the possibility that different platform react differently to information produced by reliable and questionable news outlets.

(The COVID-19 Social Media Infodemic)

Social media is a very powerful tool. It can persuade people into believing information that may or may not be true. In this case, the study found out that Gab is the most likely social media form to spread misinformation. This makes sense because it is not very popular and is known to be a far right platform, which may result in spreading information from a conservatives perspective. The analysis suggests that information spreading is driven by the interaction paradigm imposed by the specific social media or/and by the specific interaction patterns of groups of users engaged with the topic. Understanding social dynamics between content consumption and social media platforms is an important research subject, since it may help to design more efficient epidemic models accounting for social behavior and to design more effective and tailored communication strategies in times of crisis.

References

Cinelli, M., Quattrociocchi, W., Galeazzi, A., Valensise, C. M., Brugnoli, E., Schmidt, A. L., Zola, P., Zollo, F., & Scala, A. (2020, October 6). The COVID-19 social media infodemic. Nature News. Retrieved October 2, 2022, from https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-73510-5.

Connecting With Customers Through Social Media Marketing Strategy

November 14, 2022

Morgan Britt

Through social media, businesses can grow their relationships with their consumers more than ever because, in today’s society, we rely on social media as a source of communication. So, therefore, firms have found it easy to relay their brand using different social media platforms. There are many ways to make sure that businesses are doing what it takes to make the adjustments as needed to keep the engagement of their consumers on a tight rope while using different strategies to do so. In this blog, we will go over what it takes for a business to ensure they are taking the correct steps to keep their customer up to par and understand why it is essential to keep a close connection with them through social media.

Why Should We Use Social Media To Connect With Our Customers?

Businesses use social media to network and share information about their brand to help build those connections with their customers. It is the same way we use social media to connect with our friends and share little bits of our lives with the world.

Social media makes it easier for businesses to connect with their customers in ways that were impossible before. Some platforms make this possible with one click of a button, such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, and the list can go on.

With these platforms, businesses can be as creative as possible to help catch customers’ eyes and attract new customers. Businesses have different ways of connecting with their consumers, such as replying to comments under a post or retweeting someone’s tweet. This engagement helps hold connections between the two. It is crucial to show that they are interested in customer feedback to grow their business.

Social media data has helped companies manage what they want to put out to their customers. With the current information that technology puts out, a large amount of social media data from many platforms can be easily collected and used effectively for their knowledge.

Gathering and reviewing this data helps improve new strategic resources for marketing outcomes. In addition, this data can help with customer insight and new ideas to help firms perform better using social media.

What Exactly is Marketing Strategy?

Marketing strategy is “to create, communicate, and deliver value to customers in exchange for accomplishing its specific objectives” (Varadarajan, 2010).

A business should always have a marketing strategy to differentiate itself from others in the industry and create products of superior value relative to comparators. They will get stuck in the middle if they do not have a plan.

As a firm, you should be able to plan things and adjust them if needed due to the feedback from other team member in the industry or even the customers.

Building a marketing strategy first for what needs to be done for the business itself will lead you up to the social media marketing strategy.

Social Media Marketing Strategy

A social media marketing strategy is an overview of the goals your company wants to reach, as well as an outline of how you will reach such goals. It directs your behavior and allows you to assess whether you are accomplishing your stated strategies. This is essentially a marketing strategy strictly for social media use.

Businessman trading online stock market on teblet screen, digital investment concept Technology Stock PhotoWhen making your social media marketing strategy, it should list all your business’s current social media accounts and the goals for each platform. This should also list the roles that each team member has to be able to achieve this social media marketing strategy.

Depending on the company and its values, different strategies will be taken to ensure its social media content is reaching the company’s standards. Building relationships with customers should be the core of marketing strategy. Customer participation and connection can be built into priceless relational assets.

Having a plan to achieve a company’s goals by understanding and seeing what your customers interact with on your social media platforms as a business can help you develop new ideas on how to keep their engagement or build others’ engagement.

As a firm, you should be able to understand what your customers want to know or keep up with so that they are up to speed on the latest news and essential information that is being released.

Having qualified people or specialists in this field can make it much easier to gather everything that needs to be known for a business to get the correct exposure.

References

Pro Web Marketing. “Which Social Media Platform Should I Use for My Business?” Pro Web Marketing, 30 June 2020, https://prowebmarketing.com/which-social-media-platform-should-i-use-for-my-business/. 

scyther5. “Like and Share Social Media. Hands Holding Smartphone with Social…” IStock, https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/social-media-concept-gm1205703732-347429651?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=srp_photos_top&utm_content=https%3A%2F%2Funsplash.com%2Fs%2Fphotos%2Fsocial-media-interaction&utm_term=social+media+interaction%3A%3A%3A. 

Nespix. “Businessman Trading Online Stock Market on Teblet Screen, Digital…” IStock, https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/businessman-trading-online-stock-market-on-teblet-screen-digital-investment-concept-gm1311598658-400654264?phrase=digital+marketing+strategy. 

Social media marketing strategy: definition, conceptualization, taxonomy, validation, and future agenda. Shibboleth authentication request. (n.d.). Retrieved September 10, 2022, from https://bi-gale-com.liblink.uncw.edu/global/article/GALE%7CA650698800?u=wilm99594&sid=summon 

SM Influencers and Their Influence

November 14, 2022

Logan Bjorson

Photo by Alexander Shatoy on Unsplash

Macro vs Micro SM Influencers

            Addison Rae, Bryce Hall, Charli D’Amilio; all are huge social media influencers that have gained a large following on apps such as TikTok, and in turn, picked up brand deals with large companies. Creators/influencers like these have a major impact on those brands because of their large influence on their followers. But what about smaller influencers like Olivia Shannon, Nayrout Jock, and Lydia Bielfeldt who also have brand deals with large companies such as Vera Bradley and Amazon? Do they have as much influence as the “macro” influencers?

Overall Impact of Social Media Influencers

         “Social media influencers’ posts have two purposes: to increase their fans’ purchase intention, and enhance product knowledge or product attractiveness” (Kay et al., 2020). For those that make an income on social media, the more interactions they get with a post, the larger the check they will receive from whatever brand they work with. As with anything, the impact these influencers have on the brand can either benefit both parties in a major way or cause substantial damage to the brand and/or influencer alike based on followers’ reactions to the post(s).   

One influencer that has continually done a good job of this is Charli D’Amilio. Most people consider her to be one of the very first “social media influencers”. Her following grew at an exponential rate, and brands started wanting to work with her to reach her audience on TikTok in new ways. She had a very successful campaign with Dunkin Donuts back in 2020. Charli worked out a partnership with the coffee company and even had her own drink “The Charli” at Dunkin Donuts. In return, she posted regularly of herself and her family/friends enjoying coffee and donuts from the chain coffee shop. The combination of “The Charli” and the posts of her eating/drinking Dunkin Donuts helped Charli D’Amilio’s influence for the brand become large and very positive. In fact, “This partnership triggered a 57% increase in people downloading the Dunkin’ app and helped the popular donut franchise sell hundreds of thousands of drinks” (Tsvetkova, 2022).

Photo by: Charli D’Amilio

Influence of Macro Social Media Influencers

            Macro social media influencers are those huge names that everyone knows, some of them have even achieved “celebrity” status. Some examples are Charli D’Amilio, Bryce Hall, Cameron Dallas, and LeLe Pons. These people all have obtained a mass following on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter; so much so that they have partnered with major brands, walked on red carpets, and have become wealthier than they ever imagined they would be. To be considered a “macro-influencer” by most, one needs to have at least 100,000 followers and at least a 3% engagement rate on their posts. Once this status is achieved, that is typically when large brands/celebrities/companies will start to reach out to try and make deals with an influencer for them to post “ads” for them (Trend, 2022). 

            Unfortunately, social media users may not always agree with, or like certain posts influencers make. There have been many instances where influencers have received an extensive amount of backlash from followers and non-followers alike due to a post they made in partnership with a brand they work for. One of the most recent examples of this is when macro-influencer Addison Rae posted a photo of herself in a bikini by the brand “Praying” called the “Holy Trinity Bikini Set” in which the parts that cover the female private parts are labeled “Father and Son” bikini top, and “Holy Spirit” bikini bottoms. Addison immediately caught negative attention for this, and so did the brand. Most of the backlash in this instance was from Christians because the Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is sacred in the Christian religion. Once the image was spread, even those that aren’t religious commented on Addison’s post about how wrong and disrespectful to the religion something like that was. The brand, in partnership with Adidas, has since also deleted the post from its page and was told by Adidas that this was a complete disaster. There aren’t any concrete findings of how much business or money has been lost as of yet, but it is safe to say this was a bad move by all parties involved (Mohammed, 2022).

Influence of Micro Social Media Influencers

            “Micro-influencers tend to have higher engagement rates than macro-influencers. Based on data from our network, we see their engagement rates in the 7%  – 20% range” (Trend, 2022). Even though these influencers have fewer followers, they receive more engagement on their posts which can lead to stronger influence. Their followers tend to trust them and feel more connected to them since they are on a smaller scale, and typically much more transparent.

            A good example of this is Lydia Bielfeldt who only has 8,600 followers on Instagram, and 14,200 on TikTok, but has recently struck a huge deal with Amazon because of her engagement rate and the content she creates. Lydia and Amazon came to an agreement, and she now has an Amazon storefront to promote Amazon fashion products (aiming primarily for women in the 18-24 year age range); these are products that she personally chooses with Amazon to help boost them and get more young women to buy them, thus making great profits for both herself and Amazon. Her influence for Amazon has been extremely more positive than Addison Rae’s situation with Praying/Adidas (Cucci, 2022).

Compare & Conclude

Does a macro-influencer have more reach for the brands they have deals with than a micro-influencer? When less is more: the impact of macro and micro social media influencers’ disclosureand the additional research presented throughout this blog post would say no. Although macro-influencers have more followers, the engagement that micro-influencers get tends to be seemingly more effective for the brands they partner with. Followers are important, but engagement with posts is what opens the doors to people actually buying what the influencer is selling.

Works Cited

8 shining examples of influencer marketing campaigns. Brandwatch. (n.d.). Retrieved September 16, 2022, from https://www.brandwatch.com/blog/examples-of-influencer-marketing-campaigns/

Cucci, D. (n.d.). 4 micro influencers explain how they make thousands of dollars without a lot of followers and share the exact messages they send to get brand deals. Business Insider. Retrieved September 17, 2022, from https://www.businessinsider.com/microinfluencers-brand-deals-instagram-followers-2022-7

Kay , S., Mulcahy, R., & Parkinson, J. (2020). When less is more: the impact of macro and micro social media influencers’ disclosure. When less is more: the impact of macro and micro social media influencers’ disclosure. Retrieved September 17, 2022, from https://content.ebscohost.com/ContentServer.asp?T=P&P=AN&K=143138073&S=R&D=bsu&EbscoContent=dGJyMNHr7ESep7Y40dvuOLCmsEqeqK5Sr6i4SrOWxWXS&ContentCustomer=dGJyMPGrtkqxprBIuePfgeyx44Dt6fIA

Macro vs. micro-influencers: Who’s best for your campaign? Trend. (n.d.). Retrieved September 18, 2022, from https://www.trend.io/blog/macro-influencers-micro-influencers-influencer-campaigns#:~:text=Before%20you%20decide%20what%20Instagram,least%20a%203%25%20engagement%20rate.

Mohammed, L. (2022, August 6). Addison deleted a “blasphemous” and “disrespectful” “Holy trinity” bikini pic after facing backlash. BuzzFeed News. Retrieved September 17, 2022, from https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/leylamohammed/addison-rae-christianity-themed-bikini-backlash

How Social Media can be Utilized to Benefit Tourism and Small Business

November 14, 2022

Jacob Hertwig       

Each day hundreds of thousands of people travel across the globe for vacation. About 1.4 trillion dollars was spent globally in 2020 on travel for tourism. It is clear that people like to pay for travel. But what is the one thing that enables all of it? Technology. Technology gives us the ability to plan our trips. We use it to look up destinations and activities in the area. Most people now use their phones or laptop to book the trip too!

Small Business

Small businesses are a dying breed. “According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 20% of all small businesses fail within the first year, 50% by the fifth year, and 80% by the tenth year.” (Jones et al. 1, p. 2) This is an alarmingly high statistic that has grown over the last few years due to COVID-19. Thankfully, there are steps that can be taken to reduce the likelihood of businesses shutting their doors for good. Imagine you are a social media manager for a small business. You know people use technology to research and book trips, but you do not know how to promote your brand to them. The solution to this problem is once again technology and a social media strategy.

The Power of Social Media

At some point in our life, we have heard about or used social media. Most people use social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter every single day. In fact, about 69% of adults say they use Facebook, and 81% say they use YouTube. (Auxier & Anderson, 2021) Small businesses can use these media platforms to their advantage. Creating an account for your business does a few things. First, it creates a brand image. A brand image gives people a perspective on how you want them to view you. If done correctly, you can a positive perspective that increases the favorability and loyalty of your business within the community and across the world. Most importantly, social media increases your market reach.

Strategy

When looking at methods on how to reach different audiences, there are options. As a business, you can take advantage of paid, earned, shared, or owned media online. Each type of media has its own advantages and disadvantages. All of them are extremely beneficial to a brand, but of the four types, the most impactful is paid media. Paid media is paying to promote posts to people on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. You can even pay an influencer to promote your brand on these social media platforms. In simple terms, you are paying for someone or something to promote you.

Why they Work

Small business owners need to utilize paid media. A study done in Maine found that “When a small business does not place an advertisement on Facebook, the business generally accumulates approximately 16 Contributions (likes, loves, shares, and wows). However, when the same small rural business places an ad on Facebook, they are likely to gain an average increase of approximately twenty-five likes, loves, wows, expanding the Contribution from 16 to 41.” (Jones et al. 9)

Small but Mighty

This may not seem like much, but as your engagement increases with your posts and account, you will begin to grow your audience. When you grow your audience, you will see more contributions to your brand online. This can be things like positive comments or reviews recommending that others engage with your brand. When people are using technology to plan and book these trips, they will see your brand. If you have successfully created a positive perspective online, it becomes more likely that you will be able to leverage people to engage with your business online and within reality. Great public relations go a long way.

Other Resources

For those brands that might now be able to fulfill a full paid social media campaign, there are other options. Another powerful choice could be to utilize shared media. This includes content such as employee and customer stories or an official website with a blog. This can be a more affordable option that helps in creating a positive view of a business while increasing brand recall and recognition! The only drawback is you are responsible for creating engagement whereas paid advertising helps do it for you.

So, if you ever find yourself in a position where you need to manage marketing for a business and you are looking for a simple solution, look no further than paid advertising. A few weeks of an aggressive paid social media strategy can mean the difference between the life and death of your brand!

References

Jones, Nory B., Patti Miles, and Tanya Beaulieu. “The Value of Social Media Advertising Strategies on Tourist Behavior: A Game-Changer for Small Rural Businesses.” Journal of Small Business Strategy, vol. 31, no. 4, 2021, pp. 64-75. ProQuest, https://www-proquest-com.liblink.uncw.edu/scholarly-journals/value-social-media-advertising-strategies-on/docview/2603250410/se-2, doi:https://doi-org.liblink.uncw.edu/10.53703/001c.29478.

Auxier, B., & Anderson, M. (2022, May 11). Social media use in 2021. Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/04/07/social-media-use-in-2021/

How a Millennial Fashion Industry is Enforcing Our Knowledge of IMC

November 14, 2022

Cody Fields

(Photo by Cleo Vermij via Unsplash)

            One of the fastest growing markets in the world today is the Luxury fashion goods market. In 2017, its value exceeded $1.2 trillion United States dollars. By 2030, it is expected to be a market of about 500 million consumers. But what is it? The Luxury fashion market consists of brands that carry prestige through being expensive, rare, and higher quality than average clothing. Millennials, or adults born roughly between 1980 and 2000, are crucial. As the first generation to grow up during the rise of the Internet, they recognize the power of digital technology and expect brands to effectively communicate information online.

In this ever-growing market, marketing scholars and practitioners see opportunity—an exciting chance to better understand how digital technology co-mingles with the success of a brand. About 80 percent of the global luxury market is already influenced by digital technology. In just three short years, online sales are expected to account for nearly one quarter of all transactions. The interplay between digital technology and the success of this market can reinforce so much of what we already know about integrated marketing communication, help us refine practices, and show us areas where we still need improvement. A new entry by Zollo et al. in the Journal of Business Research seeks to explore this area more.

Marketing, but only with a purpose

            Observation of the Luxury fashion market, and an abundance of past research, has shown that effective social media marketing is key to maintaining a successful brand. There is an important emphasis on the word “effective,” though, as previous studies have shown that poor social media marketing can sour consumers’ attitudes toward a brand and cost them online followers.

Consumers are not mindless zombies scrolling through social media brands for the sake of it. They have specific goals. Consumers utilize digital technology in order to gain information, to seek answers to their questions, and to understand the appeal of a brand. Thus, social media marketing campaigns should first and foremost be informative. Scholars of integrated marketing communication have long stressed the importance of effective social media marketing, and the Luxury fashion market shows that it is not just preferred, it is expected by younger adults in today’s society (Zollo et al., 2020).

(Photo by Austin Distel via Unsplash)

Benefits of social media marketing

            When done properly, effective social media marketing can repeat significant benefits for brands by enhancing the consumer’s brand experience and leading to brand equity. Effective marketing should involve customized digital content, which strengthens the bonds between the brand and consumer. Now more than ever, consumers also enjoy entertaining content, which stimulates brand memories and a favorable attitude toward that brand (Zollo et al., 2020). For example, the Wendy’s Twitter account has amassed a large following by purposely “roasting”, or jokingly insulting, strangers online. While the account walks a fine line in professionalism, it is a source of good fun for millions of social media users who will then think back on those moments and view Wendy’s favorably.

To that point, professional and attractive imagery increases the appeal of a brand. Consumers – and in the Luxury fashion market, Millennials in particular – also seek celebrity or influencer endorsements to fully grasp or be persuaded toward the appeal of a brand. Finally, interactivity online is a large part of success. Consumers are interested to know when perceptions of a brand are deteriorating and being able to interact in some way with other consumers is the means by which they can learn this information. Consistent community input encourages brands to remain trendy and fashionable over time (Zollo et al., 2020).

There’s more to learn

            The Luxury fashion market is reinforcing so much of what we already know about integrated marketing communication. We know that consistent posting and an effective strategy online is important. We know that content for the sake of content does not increase the appeal of a brand but that conveying information that assists in understanding the brand certainly does. We know that professional imagery is one key to success, and we know brands that can inject entertainment into their content do well. Still, there are several areas that can be explored further.

In the context of the Luxury fashion market, it makes sense to study Millennials. But how do findings in this age group vary among even younger consumers, as well as older ones? How does the effectiveness of these techniques vary across social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.? How does it vary across different demographics: gender, race, income level, etc.? All of these questions may be pertinent toward refining our views toward integrated marketing communication.

Works Cited

Zollo, L., Raffaele, F., Rialti, R., & Yoon, S. (2020, June 10). Unpacking the relationship
     between social media marketing and brand equity: The mediating role of consumers’ benefits
     and experience. Journal of Business Research, 117, 256–267.
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.05.001

Consumers’ Desire to Mimic

November 14, 2022

October 2, 2022

By: Molly Remillard

Figure 1 Photo By: Mateus Campos Felipe via unsplash.com

Would you immediately buy a product if a random person told you, it was their favorite? Why do we all fall into that with online influencers? In a world of social media, online shopping, and the new craze, amazon storefronts, it is easy to get sucked into online shopping. Online shopping is already almost as low maintenance as it gets, and social media influencers make it that much more accessible and easier to be a consumer. TikTok influencers especially have taken the world by storm with their catchy 30 second hauls full of clothes, shoes, toiletries and almost anything else you can think of. But why do we blindly trust these “influencers”? How do these people convince us to not only buy something but think we absolutely need almost anything they show us.

What Makes a Social Media Influencer?

To transform from a regular social media user to a social media influencer, one must win over audiences with their personal taste. This is called Taste Leadership. Factors that play a role in social media influencers attempt at persuading or influencing large masses are, attractiveness, prestige, expertise, information, interaction. These all play a role in taste leadership. After proving their personal taste is good, they grow the power to influence large masses of people or followers. Their ability to persuade an audience to buy something or subscribe to a membership or essentially just sell a product is what gets them involved with brands. Brands will pick up on their ability to sell just by simply saying they use or like a product and will put these people on PR lists and promote them with brand deals.

Personal Taste

Personal taste is something everybody has but what makes an influencer able to persuade a large audience is their proof of elevated or elite personal taste. Attractiveness and aesthetic appeal play a large role in what makes those somebody seem to have elevated or good personal taste. A great example is Emma Chamberlain. She has proven herself time and time again to have an aesthetic, appealing, and attractive personal taste. She is the “it girl” when it comes to influencing and her unique personal taste is what sets her apart and makes her wildly influential.    

Doppelganger Effect

As consumers we develop a desire to mimic especially with “consumption role models” otherwise known as social media influencers. The consumer doppelganger effect is a phenomenon where consumers desire to mimic specifically consumption behaviors subconsciously to look like the influencer they are modeling. This is important to note as consumers of goods and of content on social media. It is very easy to view social media influencers and idolize them. Social media is a large highlight reel where influencers can paint a picture of their life that looks perfect.

Relevance to Integrated Marketing Communication  

This topic discusses how one becomes a social media influencer and is able to convince mass amounts of consumers to buy a product just because they recommended it. This is directly related to IMC because it is how an individual markets a product to consumers through communicating their taste or relevance. Their communication of their taste and relevance is what determines how influential they are in their marketing of items

References

Ki, C-W‘C’,  Kim, Y-K.  The mechanism by which social media influencers persuade consumers: The role of consumers’ desire to mimic. Psychol Mark.  2019; 36: 905– 922. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21244