BRAND AND SOCIAL MEDIA

Brand and Social Media

Brand and Social Media

Literature Review

In recent years use of internet by business organizations has increased drastically for the purpose of marketing their brands, as it enables to target a large audience that is spread across national boundaries (Moor, 2007, Pp.117-121). Internet has made it certain for organizations to gather sufficient data about different customers, getting an insight on their demographics, psychographic and geographic information. This in results enables marketers to formulate effective strategies for targeting their customers (McGreevy, 2012). Consequently it enables them to develop effective customer relationship management. Many organizations are engaged in marketing their brands to create awareness and persuade customer to buy these brands. Social media marketing can be defined as a process which allows organizations to target customers through social media sites (Kotler & Pfoertsch, 2010, Pp. 15- 19). Often marketers wonder if using social media for marketing would be an appropriate approach for their businesses, the importance of social media for businesses can be determined by stating that it is a great way for attracting new customers and drive repeat business (Silverstein, 2001, Pp.1- 5).

Social media is a technology that connects people; they might use it for sharing content or to communicate with their friends and families, some of the most famous social networking websites include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and many more (Kotler & Pfoertsch, 2010, Pp. 15- 19). However social media marketing is an approach that uses technology for building relationships with customers and retains them from switching to brands of other companies, and hence drive repeat business (Anderson, 2010, Pp. 144- 151). Social media marketing can also attract new customers through word-of-mouth by sharing information with their friends (Silverstein, 2001, Pp.1- 5). Today organizations do not only face competition from companies operating in domestic market but they also have to overcome the threat of international competition. Thus it is essential for businesses to develop brands for distinguishing their products from other companies (McGreevy, 2012).

According to Kinsley (2008), Brands are promises that attract customers, assist them in reducing their perceived risk and make it easier for them to make the decision for purchase. The ultimate aspect of brand is that it is helps to identify the seller or maker of the product. It protects consumers and producers from competitors from their competitors are engaged in providing identical products (Healey, 2008, Pp. 6- 11). A shift from traditional 'push market to a conversation with consumers' marketing strategy has been experienced from the year 2009 (Keillor & Hult, 1999, Pp. 65- 82). Thus, this shift from push marketing indicates that marketers have begun to recognize the importance of interacting with consumers online to develop a positive image of the brand and build brand loyalty. Social media marketing can also be determined as an approach that can be used by public relation personnel to interact with customers and gather their feedback, rather than merely relying on one-way advertisement to attract key audiences (Moor, 2007, ...