Social Media Marketing Management: A Conceptual Framework

Managers today face many challenges when using social media in their marketing strategies. Drawing from social media literature, this study introduces a new framework to assist managers in developing and using social media as a marketing tool. This framework has four dimensions related to the actions managers perform when implementing and engaging with social media: messaging/projecting, monitoring, assessing, and responding. Each dimension of the framework may be applied differently based on the firm’s strategic direction or focus. The framework provides an opportunity for a firm to examine the entire scope of social media marketing from a broad strategic perspective as well as a more tactical perspective. Propositions formulated by the authors suggest how organizations with different strategic characteristics may manage social media differently. The study provides an understanding for managers of the variety of issues related to the specific aspects of maintaining a firm’s online presence based on a firm’s scope, culture, structure, and governance.     

North Carolina's Social Marketing Matrix Team: Using Social Marketing Concepts to Institutionalize Social Marketing Capacity in a State Health Department

SUMMARY

The North Carolina Division of Public Health has employed traditional marketing concepts to increase the capacity of its programs to use the social marketing process. A Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Turning Point grant enabled this capacity building. During a three-year period there has been over a two-hundred-percent increase in programs attempting to use social marketing in the division. This article describes the division's application of social marketing concepts, reviews other theories useful to the incorporation of a social marketing approach in a social-change organization, makes suggestions for their application, and presents lessons learned.     

Small Service Businesses: Advertising Attitudes and The Use of Digital and Social Media Marketing

Advertising is embraced by companies as a means of building awareness, sales, and customer loyalty. However, in recent years advertising has changed. Digital marketing and social media marketing have gained a greater prominence (Lamberton & Stephen, 2016 Lamberton, C., Stephen, A. T. (2016). A thematic exploration of digital, social media, and mobile marketing: Research evolution from 2000 to 2015 and an agenda for future inquiry. Journal of Marketing, 80(November), 146–172. https://doi.org/10.1509/jm.15.0415.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar]). While megabrands spend millions of dollars on advertising, small businesses often view advertising as an expense rather than a means of generating revenue. Small service business owners are often skeptical of the value of digital marketing and social media. This study examines various digital and social media channels that can be utilized to grow their business.     

Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix

The emergence of Internet-based social media has made it possible for one person to communicate with hundreds or even thousands of other people about products and the companies that provide them. Thus, the impact of consumer-to-consumer communications has been greatly magnified in the marketplace. This article argues that social media is a hybrid element of the promotion mix because in a traditional sense it enables companies to talk to their customers, while in a nontraditional sense it enables customers to talk directly to one another. The content, timing, and frequency of the social media-based conversations occurring between consumers are outside managers’ direct control. This stands in contrast to the traditional integrated marketing communications paradigm whereby a high degree of control is present. Therefore, managers must learn to shape consumer discussions in a manner that is consistent with the organization's mission and performance goals. Methods by which this can be accomplished are delineated herein. They include providing consumers with networking platforms, and using blogs, social media tools, and promotional tools to engage customers.     

A Pilot Study Testing Aspects of the Integrated Marketing Communications Concept

This article describes a pilot study testing some aspects of the integrated marketing communications concept. The study is timely and relevant to the field because it employs an empirical approach to addressing the heated controversy over the validity of the integrated marketing communications concept. This controversy is based upon doubt about the theoretical basis for integrated marketing communications and the lack of empirical research in the field identified in the integrated marketing communications literature. In an effort to address the conceptual validity controversy directly, the study adopted the first use of an experimental approach in the integrated marketing communications field. The results of the experiment suggest that messages employing some of the key aspects of an integrated marketing communications strategy (i.e. messages with a common theme that are executed across multiple media in a visually consistent manner) may prompt a stronger attitude towards the brand level than the same messages employing a more traditional strategy (executions with less visual consistency), although other dependent measures were not similarly impacted upon. The study is limited in its scope, but is intended to stimulate more empirical research in the integrated marketing communications field.     

Determinants of SME International Marketing Communications

ABSTRACT

This research article discusses the factors affecting international marketing communications in small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs). International commitment and brand adaptation in overseas markets were found significantly influencing the effectiveness of international marketing communications. The results suggest that international marketers need to have resources input, such as human and financial, to drive international marketing communications. Brand adaptation also needs to be performed in order to achieve a better international marketing communications. There are two factors affecting international marketing communications suggesting international marketers of SMEs need to be concerned with both internal resource and external factors in international ventures.     

The Role of Trust in Understanding the Impact of Social Media Marketing on Brand Equity and Brand Loyalty

Abstract

In this era, social media platform is integrated into the marketing strategy. This new technology sets out new mechanisms and communication tools that companies can rely on to interact and engage with actual and potential customers. This study aimed at exploring the impact of social media marketing activities (SMM) on brand loyalty via brand trust and brand equity. Based on an online survey of 287 users who follow telecommunications companies on social media located in Egypt, data was collected and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results revealed that SMM activities comprise only three dimensions; trendiness, customization and word-of-mouth. These attributes of social media marketing directly influence brand loyalty and indirectly influence brand equity mediated by brand trust. The study emphasis the role of trust and provide guidance toward measuring the effectiveness of social media marketing.     

Advertising for New and Existing Brands: The Impact of Media Context and Type of Advertisement

The effects of advertisement and context type on the responses to advertisements for different brands of new and existing products were tested. In the first experiment (243 graduate students) a positive emotional advertisement and a non‐emotional advertisement for a well‐known and a new brand of printer were tested in a positive emotional context and a non‐emotional media context. In the second experiment (206 graduate students) positive emotional and non‐emotional advertisements for new brands of watches and healthy drinks were tested in an emotional and a non‐emotional context. The type of context moderated the responses to advertisements for the well‐known and new products: a positive emotional context led to a more positive attitude towards the advertisement and the brand and purchase intention for the well‐known brand than for the new brand. A non‐emotional context led to more positive responses for the new brand than for the well‐known brand. In general, emotional advertisements led to more positive affective reactions and non‐emotional advertisements led to more positive cognitive reactions. However, the type of advertisement did not have a moderating effect on the responses to advertising for the new or well‐known brands or different product types. The studies illustrated the relevance of media context for advertising new versus existing products.     

Value orientations and consumer expectations of Corporate Social Responsibility

This paper explores how personal and situational factors impact consumer expectations of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Consumer expectations are known to motivate marketers to incorporate social considerations into their marketing practices and to communicate about those actions. A study was conducted in order to examine the effect of values and issue involvement on consumer CSR expectations, categorised as economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic. The study's findings demonstrated that consumers generally have high expectations of CSR, especially in the legal and ethical‐philanthropic domains. Expectations for the ethical‐philanthropic dimension of CSR are higher amongst consumers holding high self‐transcendent values and practicing high involvement. The main implications of the study are the potential for positioning companies as socially responsible and incorporating CSR in strategic marketing and communications decisions.     

Exploring the Challenges of Incorporating Social Media Marketing Strategies in the Restaurant Business

The purpose of this study is to explore the adoption, challenges, and current uses of social media in small restaurants. Past research in this area is scarce, and most focuses on larger establishments. To address the research objectives, 20 small restaurants in Northeastern United States were interviewed. Literature identifies a variety of goals that social media can play in fostering interactions, engagement, relationships, and building communities online, but this study shows that few restaurants attempt to do this. Even though in most small restaurants social media significantly contributes to their marketing strategy, the majority of small restaurants use it as a low-cost advertising tool to gain exposure, generate interest, inform, and spread word of mouth. The study suggests ways in which social media could be embraced by small restaurants to help them address the challenges they face, so they can go beyond using social media as merely an advertising tool.     

Using Means-End Analysis to Test Integrated Marketing Communications Effects

This article describes a study testing key aspects of the Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) concept, employing means-end analytical techniques. Although the hypothesized effects were not observed, the study is timely and ground-breaking because it contributes a new empirical approach to the IMC body of literature. It may also serve as a catalyst for additional research in the field.     

整合营销传播理论在我国休闲业中的应用研究

由于休闲产业极易受其消费者无形的不可量化的因素的影响,当前休闲产业中所使用4Ps和4Cs等传统营销理论已难以适应休闲业急速发展的需求。本文借用整合营销传播理论的理念,从休闲产品合理定位、口径一致的品牌形象塑造,休闲产业社会营销等方面研究了休闲业整合营销传播策略的实施。     

Health and Sickness: A Buddhist View and Implications for Social Marketing

It is known that while health-care issues are highly important consumer concerns and closely tied to well‐being and quality of life, the perspective on the consumer often becomes clouded amid increasingly complex processes. This paper explores how Buddhist principles can permeate the marketing strategies of health-care organizations to deliver a positive, healing influence and thoughtful and sensitive services with an ethnographic study of a Nichiren Buddhist organization. It offers a vision for health-care marketing in crafting a message for severely ill patients to find meaning in life and live as fully as possible while accepting the presence of the illness.     

The Internet in Social Marketing Research

SUMMARY

Social marketing campaigns are usually aimed at problems that exact a large toll in the community. Any campaign must be properly researched during the development process and afterward, to assess its impact. The target market for social marketing campaigns often includes younger members of the community. The research methodology used when developing or assessing these campaigns must therefore be appropriate to adolescents.

This article discusses the application of Internet technology to research among adolescents using experience gained while testing potential anti-smoking messages among a sample of UK school students to illustrate the issues.

Internet-based research has the potential to generate data that is comparable to that generated by conventional research methods and with improved efficiency in terms of timescale, cost, quality, and quantity of responses.     

Integrated Marketing Communications and New Product Performance in International Markets

ABSTRACT

This research probes marketing communications for international product launch. Marketing communications is found to be more visible if the firm is more marketing proficient and the market is more turbulent. The communicated messages are less consistent when the firm is more proficient in marketing and the market is more hostile, but more consistent when the firm is more internationalized and the market is more turbulent. Both visibility and message consistency of marketing communications enhance new product performance. However, greater visibility lowers message consistency, implying that message and media strategies for international product launch need to be carefully formulated and handled.     

Social Media Communications and Marketing Strategy: A Taxonomical Review of Potential Explanatory Approaches

The growth of social media has captured the attention of companies, which have responded by increasing their advertising efforts toward social media users. Previous studies have devoted considerable effort to developing social media marketing strategies, but minimal effort has focused on examining the types of messages presented on firms’ social media platforms to communicate with customers. Practitioners face the challenge of identifying which types of social media message content to choose. In addressing this challenge, this article provides a comprehensive framework of social media content strategy, delivery, and impact on the consumers, including a taxonomical approach that helps firms’ understanding of firm-generated content on social media platforms.     

Integrated Marketing Communications and Market Planning

Abstract

This article links the integrated marketing communications (IMC) concept to the planning process in marketing. Following the current conceptualizations as a combination of various marketing communications tools, IMC strategy is applied to an established strategic market planning model named the Boston Consulting Group (BCG)'s growth-share matrix. Advertising, public relations, sales promotion, and direct marketing are defined as crucial elements for the core scheme. Alternative strategies for brands in different stages are identified from the product portfolio analysis. The view may also be thought of as the ongoing process of building and maintaining brand equity for consumers in the long-term period. Conceptual discussions are expected to help marketers think more strategically as they plan IMC programs for their products or services.     

Hospital Positioning and Integrated Hospital Marketing Communications: State-of-the-Art Review,Conceptual Framework,and Research Agenda

In the light of patient empowerment and channel fragmentation, hospitals struggle to target patients in their new role as active, knowledgeable consumers. As market differentiation via traditional marketing mix variables such as price is hardly achievable in healthcare, superior communication grounded on sound positioning is a more promising lever for competitive advantage. Yet, research on marketing-driven communication from provider to patient lacks synthesis and critical reflection. Drawing upon evidence from previous research, this article unites 62 articles from medical and social sciences covering aspects of hospital marketing communications. Derived from qualitative content analysis, findings on the effectiveness of specific communication channels and contents are portrayed. This article further uncovers the characteristics of four evolving archetypes for hospital positioning and illustrates the implementation of integrated hospital marketing communication strategy. The elaborated conceptual framework can be used as a managerial tool for tailoring hospital communications. The article closes by highlighting future research directives.     

Transport Behavior: A Role for Social Marketing

SUMMARY

This article discusses travel behavior widely acknowledged to be a significant source of pollution: the use of private transport commonly referred to as the automobile. While this behavior can be tackled in a number of ways, this article presents an overview of key issues inhibiting a voluntary change in behavior among automobile users. These topics were identified based upon qualitative research data that was gathered from a number of UK households. The research methodology adopted different social marketing collateral in each of the households during the period of research. While weaknesses are identified in the marketing collateral, the research concludes that social marketing in itself cannot persuade people to make significant changes in their travel behavior. There are deeper issues at work for commuters that need to be more fully understood by the transport research community. The value of social marketing instead may lie as an effective channel of communication that can be utilized by designated authorities in delivering important transport messages to commuters and private transport users at large.