Week 1 - Intro

Hello Everyone!

The purpose of this blog is to better understand how social media and marketing coincide.  Social media has essentially taken over the digital world in many ways- positive and negative.   Integrated marketing includes advertising, sales promotion, internet marketing, direct marketing, public relations etc. Because my topic for this blog is so broad, I will try and focus on a particular industry every week.  I also plan on focusing on how companies utilize internet marketing in an effort to build a connection between the brand and consumer.   Oh, I am fascinated with pop culture and the entertainment industry.   I promise you that I will somehow correlate key concepts or discoveries into by blog.

                                                                                                                              

What is social media?

Social media is a way to construct relationships by interacting through a variety of online channels.  This two-way form of digital communication enables people to create and exchange user-generated content.  This is a term that is difficult to pinpoint, because of the different types of media that use web technologies.  Here are some top social media sources that you may already be aware of: Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn, Flickr and Youtube- just to name a few.   If you haven’t already noticed, there is a social media network for anyone who may be interested in this type of communication.  Using social media as an outlet for marketing strategies embodies a host of challenges  for companies.  A lot of coordination is involved. 

 When I think about the connection between social media and integrated marketing, the first thing that comes to mind is, overload. I understand that companies use their marketing ideas and resources to make a strong impression on consumers, but most of the time when they use these social networks; it can be a lot to absorb.  Social media marketing seems to be the most effective way of communicating with the public. Many companies use Facebook, for instance to help promote their brand but sometimes, they hardly update the page.  In relation to this idea, here are two questions to consider:  what are the company’s values? Are they distributing information via the internet effectively? Ideally, their intentions should shine through their marketing efforts; however, sometimes they can be lost in translation. Additionally, originality, and honesty should transcend through the creation and exchange of information from the company.  Advertisements are distributed on many of these sites, but are they noticeable?   In my opinion, the number one challenge revolves around establishing a strong marketing plan and following through with key initiatives. I could be wrong, can’t wait to find out.

A strong cohesive brand-consumer relationship is imperative in order to succeed.  If at all possible, a company should formulate a strategy and study their audience.  Unfortunately, I think many companies fail to take the time and understand their consumers. Why should we market to that demographic? When is the right time? What would be the most appropriate approach in doing so?  The public, specifically users of social media site, are constantly evolving, which could be a challenge that may emerge in my interviews and observations in the following weeks.

Check out this video that I found on YouTube to give you a little bit of insight about Social Media and Integrated Marketing. The entire video is a comprehensive overview of what I plan to focus on weekly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gza8dvN8Hkc