Question :
This assessment will cover the following questions:
- Explain the current trends in the marketing communication which includes digitalisation, online and offline.
- Analyse the relevance of the internet in the context of modern marketing concept.
- Provide the benefits and limitations of the social media.
Answer :
Task 1
Disadvantages and advantages of social media
Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook are important in today's modern life as it helps individuals to connect with friends instantly in real time. Crosby (2017) opined that connectivity stands as the advantageous point of social media as it helps in connecting people from different locations of the world. It is found that users on Facebook can interact with their long-lost friends, relatives and again reconnect with them. Facebook is helpful in socializing and reconnecting with friends and sharing feelings and thoughts with them. The awareness stage of AIDA helpful is helpful for making people aware of addiction issue that arises out of social media. On the contrary, Felix, Rauschnabel & Hinsch (2017) argued that people are developing an addiction to social media, which is disrupting their personal lives. It is noted that teenagers are highly affected by social media as they are found to be very extensively involved in Facebook or Instagram. It is cutting them from society and simply wasting their time, which they could have used in performing productive activities. Therefore, it can be said that if social media is helpful for connecting people across the world, it is also a source of addiction; especially for young children.
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Social media is helpful in the educational sector as it provides teachers and students to connect with professionals and experts via social media. According to Montazeribarforoushi, Keshavarzsaleh & Ramsøy (2017), AIDA theory stresses on interest component, which makes users develop an interest in social media. The interest component, therefore, helps in evaluating the benefits of social media are seen in the educational field. The platform of social media is equal for all, which means people from any geographical location, caste, age or gender can educate themselves. Moreover, the education that is derived from social sites is free of cost. Contrarily, Rashidi et al., (2017) argued that an individual gets addicted to alcohol and drugs from social media, which means users, start to follow different people. It is found that different people share their posts on social media, which inspires other users to follow. In such cases, drug or alcohol-addicted people also share their videos and views on the web, which eventually makes other individuals get addicted to alcohol or drug. It is therefore found that social media is beneficial for education, but it cannot be ignored that it glamorizes alcohol and drugs.
In the business sector, it is found that social media is used for promoting business to a huge audience. Stoyanov (2017) mentioned that the desired stage of AIDA theory is helpful for creating desire or want among individuals. The desire component of mentioned theory highlights the benefits of social sites that organizations use social media to develop a desire for their brand among customers and bring large profits. Promotion on social media is free and benefits derived from it are profitable for business growth. On the contrary, Drahošová & Balco (2017) argued that the hacking issue is commonly seen in the modern world due to excessive use of social media. It is noted that personal privacy and data can be easily hacked on social media, which can make huge financial losses for an organization. AIDA theory emphasizes an action component, which is making people deactivate their Facebook profiles for eradicating security issues, hacking, fraud addiction, and cyberbullying from society.
Task 2
Evaluating how Morrisons are employing digital advertising practices
Pay-per-action (PPA) stands as the online advertising strategy that is used by organizations for attracting great value to the business. As opined by Tuten & Solomon (2017), PPA digital advertising practice is a costly method as advertisers of an organization have to pay for specified acquisitions, such as form submission, click, and sale. In the current context, it is found that Morrison prefers the PPA strategy for advertising its grocery products to its targeted customers. Felix, Rauschnabel & Hinsch (2017) stated that PPA is considered the best way for driving huge targeted traffics toward the website. It is noted that Morrisons is able to easily track the advertisements in real time.
It provides knowledge about the perception of customers towards their services and brands. Crosby (2017) noted that Maslow's theory of marketing emphasizes physiological needs that need to be met for providing customer satisfaction. The PPA advertising practice of Morrison provides the company with the chance to analyze the needs of customers by understanding their perceptions. PPA is beneficial for reaching its potential customers at the right time and with the right ads. On the contrary, Stoyanov (2017) argued that security is considered the most important component of Maslow's theory. It is noted that financial security issues can arise in the case of Morrisons for using PPA as people can ignore the sponsored ads.
People miss the ads while searching on Google or scrolling the pages of social media; like Facebook. In addition to this, the security issue is also noticed on the part of customers of Morrisons as PPA does not enable means of conversation. The reason is that attracting content grabs the attention of customers and makes them click ads, even when they are not sure about the quality of products. Drahošová & Balco (2017) opined that organizations need to focus on going socially for enhancing their business growth and gaining competitive advantage, which meets the social step of Maslow's theory. In the present case, it is found that Morrison not only uses paid advertising but also focuses on marketing through social media, which is free. Furthermore, SEO marketing tool and email advertising (owned) is also practiced by Morrisons for going socially both on local as well as international platforms (Morrisons, 2018).
PPA helps the company to make its brand known to a large number of audiences quickly. Based on the viewpoint of Ismail (2017), esteem stands as an essential component of Maslow's marketing theory, which the company needs to develop by improving its reputation. In the present case, Morrison can use Maslow's theory to further improve its brand recognition in its targeted market. On the contrary, Rashidi et al., (2017) argued that the disadvantage of PPA is that every click requires costs, which can affect the economy of an organization. In most cases, it is found that people browse for fun, which adds cost to the organization. The self-actualization stage of Maslow's theory is helpful in the present situation as Morrison can use it for developing their PPA advertising strategy. Compelling ads, keyboard management, and optimization of landing pages are required for improving it.
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Reference List
Crosby, L. (2017). How effective is social media marketing at driving brand loyalty? American Marketing Association, Chicago, 4. [online] Retrieved from How Effective Is Social Media Marketing at Driving Brand Loyalty retrieved on 13th October 2018
Drahošová, M., & Balco, P. (2017). The analysis of advantages and disadvantages of the use of social media in the European Union. Procedia Computer Science, 109, 1005-1009. Retrieved from The analysis of advantages and disadvantages of use of social media in European Union retrieved on 10th October 2018
Felix, R., Rauschnabel, P. A., & Hinsch, C. (2017). Elements of strategic social media marketing: A holistic framework. Journal of Business Research, 70, 118-126. Retrieved from Elements of strategic social media marketing, retrieved on 17th October 2018
Ismail, A. R. (2017). The influence of perceived social media marketing activities on brand loyalty: The mediation effect of brand and value consciousness. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 29(1), 129-144. Retrieved from The influence of perceived social media marketing activities on brand loyalty retrieved on 25th October 2018
Montazeribarforoushi, S., Keshavarzsaleh, A., & Ramsøy, T. Z. (2017). On the hierarchy of choice: An applied neuroscience perspective on the AIDA model. Cogent Psychology, 4(1), 1363343. [Online] Retrieved from On the Hierarchy of Choice, retrieved on 11th October 2018