Marketing Perspective

After reading the transcipt of the 60 Minutes interview with various young social media influencers, I realized I do in fact follow influencers. I have heard of the young people in the 60 Minutes transcript, and seen a few of their videos. There are other influencers I've experienced as well. One of them is The New Darlings blog. They are a young couple located in Arizona, and their blog and social media include gorgeous photography and inspiring subjects.They inspire me in my home decor, my travel dreams, and even my fashion choices. They consistently include various products and companies in their blog and social media posts. However, they do it in a way that doesn't seem to be constantly selling something, and their methods are very tactful.

It seems like a lot of people can be influencers. The requirements to become an influencer are simply having a large following and a fun brand that people enjoy interacting with. To this end, influencers are generally people who have become very popular on social media, have developed a specific brand of their own, and have been asked by bigger brands and companies to push various products or show these products in use. This type of marketing is extremely in-the-moment - if you blink, you might miss it. It is also very unpredictable - the only thing that can be predicted is that once an influencer has enough followers, he or she will undoubtedly receive multiple views/likes/interactions with a post. 

The strategies they employ are varied, but can include showing the product in use, using a problem/solution scenario with a product, or issuing a challenge to their followers regarding the product in some way. An influencer might post about a specific situation they found themselves in, and how they used a product to solve the problem. Or, if that product is running a specific ad campaign, the influencer might publish a post that follows along with that campaign.

These influencers play a spotlight role in marketing. That is to say, they are the ones using and selling whatever product has been given to them to sell. They can become the face of a product, especially if they use one consistently and are long-time proponents of a specific product. They also have a lot of freedom over how they market the product, as shown by Logan Paul's Dunkin' Donuts ad (Whitaker, 2016). The use of marketing perspective impacts the relationship between company and consumer in a strong way, as companies view this type of marketing as a very effective way of reaching their consumers and target audiences.

Reference:

Whitaker, B. (23 October 2016). The Influencers. CBS News. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-kim-kardashian-logan-paul-social-media-influencers/

Effectively Impacting the Consumer Through Digital Media

Whirlpool is a home appliance company that sells dishwashers, refrigerators, washers & dryers, and more. Their reputation has long been a positive one, as their products are reliable and their customers satisfied. However, it wasn't until Whirlpool decided to implement a customer-driven marketing campaign that their customer relationships began to improve immensely.

Up until this particular campaign, Whirlpool was a household name that sold products and was just 'used' by customers - there was no customer interaction and no need for the customer/company relationship to go beyond buying and selling. To change this, Whirlpool began a campaign designed with authenticity in mind, in order to meet the needs of a target audience that cared more about sincerity than numbers. By collecting real stories from people and sharing those stories all across digital media, Whirlpool did a great job of meeting the need for authenticity in their audience.

The social and consumer experiences were addressed very well. The social experience was created by including real stories from real people, which led to a very positive consumer experience because the social experience led to more customer interactions with Whirlpool.

The digital media followers were invited to participate in the discussion by using the hashtag #EveryDayCare in their social media posts. Whirlpool's campaign included various posts on Facebook and Twitter to include their audience on digital media. This led to many more people getting involved in the campaign and sharing their own stories.

Not much could have been done differently in this campaign to make it a bit more efficient, unless Whirlpool had decided to do a similar campaign earlier on in the game. This could have grown their company sooner and led to more significant growth. However, their execution of the plan went very well, and they saw a significant rise in unit and sales growth - 6% in unit growth and 4.9% in sales growth, to be exact! (Shorty Awards, n.d.)

Today, Whirlpool is continuing to meet the need for authenticity among its consumers. They do not have a mobile app as of yet, but they promote various charities they work with (including Habitat for Humanity). They are effectively continuing to include personal touches throughout their website, and they are still running the Every Day Care campaign. Their website even has a place for current Whirlpool product owners to find great customer support, lists of helpful resources, and more (Whirlpool, 2017).

Ethical engagements are helping tremendously with Whirlpool's campaigns - their campaign to collect stories is run on an invitation line, not one that forces customers to take part. 

References

N.a. Whirlpool. 2017. Retrieved from https://www.whirlpool.com/owners.html
N.a. Shorty Awards. #EveryDayCare: Whirlpool, Digitaslbi, and Crowdtap. N.d. Retrieved from http://shortyawards.com/8th/everydaycare-whirlpool-digitaslbi-and-crowdtap-2

A Day in the Life

A typical day in my life includes lots of social media usage. The applications I tend to use most throughout my day are Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and my email. Instagram is a very popular social media app that is visually-based. Facebook is another popular social media app that is mostly used for keeping up with friends and family, and can make for some interesting reading material. Pinterest is used for collecting ideas from the web to create mood boards and inspiring collections.

I feel very positive when using Pinterest. There is no competition there - it is solely a means to collect ideas, inspiration, and how-to's. I love using it to come up with new design ideas or find a new recipe, and to find inspiration for decorating my apartment or learning a new photography skill. Instagram also inspires positive feelings - the visual aspect of it is very appealing and it's fun to take and put together my own pictures to create a visually pleasing feed.

I sometimes have negative reactions when using Facebook. I think some of that comes from self-identity issues, as well as what certain people share. Although it can be a great place to share news with friends and family or look at fun pictures of someone's life, it can also be tough to not envy others or feel the need to compete with interesting events, stories, or photos.

I have a need for creative inspiration, and this need is most satisfied using Instagram and Pinterest. The visual focus of those two apps is invaluable when it comes to filling that particular need. I also have a need for interaction and community, and Instagram and Facebook are great resources for those things. I tend to value a 'heart' on Instagram or a 'like' on Facebook because I know someone took the time to look at my photo or read my post. 

I receive promotional emails from many companies, but the ones I am most likely to look at are Anthropologie, newsletters from small, independent creative businesses, and Etsy's newsletter and seller emails. I tend to look for a way the email can help me or add to my day, such as tips & tricks, sales, or inspiration. I tend to look for lots of pictures, a personal voice, and low-pressure writing.

Because we live in such a digital world, companies using digital media in the majority of their marketing strategies. This comes from the growing number of people relying on their devices and the internet for information. I see a lot of potential for creativity in digital media marketing, and a lot of companies are capitalizing on that by using beautiful imagery and compelling copy. A few strong examples of this are the campaigns of Anthropologie, TOMS, and Old Navy - I have seen a lot of beautiful photos and compelling CTA's (calls-to-action) in their digital marketing efforts. By telling a story with their images, they are more likely to gain loyal and interested followers of their brand.