Mastering Social Media Marketing Fundamentals

Introduction

Marketing is about communication and is the process of creating messages that persuade people to buy products or services. About my learning, some of the key concepts covered include POEM (Paid Owned Earned Media) and social media metrics. POEM is a marketing term that refers to the three ways companies can generate brand exposure¹. Paid media is advertising that a company pays for, such as TV or radio commercials, banner ads, or sponsored content. Owned media refers to content that a company creates and controls, such as website articles, blog posts, social media posts, or videos². Earned media is any unpaid company exposure through news stories or word-of-mouth recommendations. Social media marketing has several strategies to reach clients to increase sales.

Main Body

The goals of POEM are to create a media ecosystem in which paid, owned, and earned media all work together to support one another. In marketing, “earned media” is any unpaid media coverage or publicity that a company or individual receives. Earned media can be incredibly valuable because it is essentially free advertising³. One of the best examples of earned media is the Facebook post by a fan of a company. When a fan posts about their favorite company on Facebook, they are essentially giving that company free advertising.

Sponsored stories on Facebook are considered a form of paid media in marketing. When businesses pay to promote their stories on Facebook, those stories show up in the newsfeeds of that business’s fans and friends of fans (depending on the settings chosen)⁴. These newsfeeds look just like any other story posted by a friend. Paid media is a common way for businesses to reach new customers, and it can be effective when done correctly. By targeting specific demographics and interests, businesses can ensure their sponsored stories are seen by people who are most likely to be interested in what they have to offer.

Owned media is any type of media that a company creates and controls. Company Facebook pages are considered owned media because businesses can use them to directly communicate with customers, create and post content, and track how customers interact with the page⁵. Since Facebook pages are owned media, businesses can use them to create more personal customer relationships. Customers are more likely to trust a company if it is transparent and easy to communicate with reliably. Lastly, businesses can use Facebook page analytics to track how customers interact with the page, which can help inform future marketing decisions.

I have learned that social media listening software is a powerful tool for marketers. It allows them to track what is being said about their company and its products on social media and raise issues about their competitors. This information can be used to create more effective marketing campaigns, as well as to improve customer service. Additionally, social media listening software can be used to track how customers interact with the company’s website and its various online assets. This information can then be used to improve the design of these assets and make them more user-friendly. Likewise, social media listening software can help companies identify potential brand ambassadors and develop relationships with them⁶. Social media listening software can equally be applied in tracking competitor activity. This information can aid marketers in staying ahead of the competition and developing new strategies that will allow them to outperform their rivals. Finally, social media listening software can also be used to gather data about consumer behavior, and then create more effective marketing campaigns in the future.

I have developed knowledge from the lessons learned in different ways, especially concerning live streaming in marketing. I developed my marketing understanding, especially in Livestream marketing; live product demonstrations are a great way to connect with the audience and build trust. When customers can see the product, they are more likely to buy it⁷. Live product demonstrations are especially effective on social media, where customers are already looking for information about products and services. By streaming a live product demonstration on social media, the marketer can reach a large number of potential customers and help them learn more about the product. Plus, one can build trust by answering questions and addressing customer concerns in real time.

I have to mention that learning about live questions and answers on social media has developed my marketing knowledge. For example, I have learned that it is important to be responsive to questions and comments from customers to build trust and loyalty. Additionally, I learned that providing valuable content and engaging with users regularly can assist in attracting new followers and keep current followers interested. By using live question-and-answer tools on social media, marketers learn more about what their target audience wants and needs, which can help them in creating more effective marketing campaigns.

I equally, found the participatory principle to be an important part of social media marketing. When customers are actively involved in the conversation, it builds a connection with the brand and helps to develop trust. One of the earliest adopters of the participatory principle was Dell Computers⁸. They allowed customers to submit ideas for new products, vote on their favorite ideas, and even help design the products. This gave customers a feeling of ownership and involvement in the brand. It similarly developed customer trust since they knew that their suggestions were being heard and taken into account.

Similarly, through the authentic principle, I learned a lot and developed my marketing knowledge. Social media has played a huge role in helping businesses to connect with their customers more authentically. By sharing authentic content (truthfully)– such as customer stories, images, and videos; businesses can build brand loyalty and increase sales. False information can hurt businesses in the marketing world.

For example, if a business is running a social media campaign and posts false information, it could lead consumers to believe that the product or service is not legitimate. This could then result in decreased sales and damage to the company’s reputation. Additionally, if false information is spread about a competitor, it could give that competitor an edge in the market⁹. Some of the ways to remain truthful include being honest about the company, what it stands for, and what it offers its customers. Additionally, it is vital to be transparent about company policies and practices and to always be truthful when sharing customer feedback or reviews¹⁰. Finally, make sure that the content posted online is accurate and up-to-date so that the followers can trust the information shared.

Similarly, I understood the roles of likes, comments, and sharing in social media, and from that, I can create successful marketing online. Likes are a way of showing support for a post, while comments add to the discussion. Sharing can help amplify the message and reach a larger audience. Monitoring these interactions can help me tweak my content to best engage the followers, and further grow the brand’s reach.

Several specific skills can be learned from social media marketing. One of the most important is the ability to create engaging content. This involves understanding what types of content are popular on different platforms and knowing how to produce content that will appeal to followers and generate clicks and shares. Another key skill is analytics; which entails understanding how to read and interpret data from social media platforms to help determine which strategies are working and which ones need to be abandoned¹¹. Additionally, social media marketing teaches skills such as campaign planning and team communication. These are all essential for any organization looking to succeed in today’s digital landscape.

The ability to create engaging content is essential in today’s complex digital environments. Similarly, when I can create content that engages an audience, I will be able to hold their attention for longer. That means they will be more likely to remember the key communicated. Likewise, good content will aid me in building trust between a brand and its customers or followers¹². When people know they can count on me to produce high-quality, engaging content regularly, they will be more likely to stick around. Some followers may even recommend me to others, and I will be better equipped to attract a new customer base.

Likewise, social media marketing analytics will help me understand complex digital environments and better manage my social media marketing campaigns. By evaluating user engagement and traffic data, I will identify which content is most popular and resonating with my audience and adjust the campaigns accordingly. Additionally, social media marketing analytics will aid me in measuring the effectiveness of the campaigns in terms of generating leads or sales to tweak the efforts for even better results¹³. Ultimately, understanding social media marketing analytics will give me a competitive edge in managing successful digital marketing campaigns.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the POEM framework is important for social media marketing because it provides a structure for thinking about and planning social media campaigns. It helps marketers to identify their goals, target their audience, develop their message, and plan their execution. By using effective metrics, one can track the success of the campaigns and make necessary adjustments along the way. By tracking engagement metrics like likes, comments, shares, and views and conversion metrics like leads and sales generated from social media traffic, the marketer can get a complete picture of how well the campaigns perform.

Bibliography

1. Module 1. Communication Fundamentals.
2. Module 5. Social Publishing.
3. Module 7. Earned Media.
4. Module 4. Paid Media.
5. Module 6. Brand’s Owned Social Media.
6. Muninger, Marie-Isabelle, Wafa Hammedi, and Dominik Mahr. “The value of social media for innovation: A capability perspective.” Journal of Business Research 95 (2019): 116-127.
7. Module 2. Digital Environment.
8. Gera, Gitika, Bhavna Gera, and Akash Mishra. “Role of Agile marketing in the present era.” International Journal of Technical Research & Science 4, no. 5 (2019): 40-44.
9. Villeda, Marysol, Randy McCamey, E. Essien, and C. Amadi. “Use of social networking sites for recruiting and selecting in the hiring process.” International Business Research 12, no. 3 (2019): 66-78.
10. Jacobson, Jenna, Anatoliy Gruzd, and Ángel Hernández-García. “Social media marketing: Who is watching the watchers?” Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 53 (2020): 101774.
11. Sterne, Jim. Artificial intelligence for marketing: practical applications. John Wiley & Sons, 2017.
12. Ahuja, Vandana, and Shirin Alavi. “Using Facebook as a digital tool for developing trust amongst consumers using netnography and social media analytics: A study of Jet Airways.” Journal of Relationship Marketing 17, no. 3 (2018): 171-187.
13. Module 3. Digital Consumer.