Marketing Perspective

Influencers are a great example of current day marketing, not only can they share content that they believe in and stand behind, but companies can also pick out specific influencers to market their products. A few aspects I’ve noticed about this type of marketing is how influencers are known to set trends. A great example of this are tik tok videos, so many influencers have posted popular dances or cooking tips or fashion tips to share with their viewers and it is quickly picked up. Companies are able to endorse influencers to market their products, if a company is struggling and they have an influencer with over 15 million followers post their product and reasonings to purchase it then chances are the viewers will look into the product and hopefully purchase it. Influencing is definitely a new marketing strategy, but it still utilizes old marketing habits mixed with new ones that are catchy to millennials as well as younger generations.

With influencer-based marketing there are various strategies one needs to consider when posting. The first part is identifying what products they are marketing, what the general demographic is, which includes age, location, sex, and much more. It is also important to determine what is currently in trend as well as seasonality. Another strategy is overall brand awareness, I will use Nike shoes as my example. If an influencer posts multiple times about Nike, showing their viewers how they can wear them for many occasions and in many different outdoor activities, then the viewers are most likely going to relate to one or more of their examples and think “wow, Nike would be a great purchase for me too”.

Personally, I am not an influencer, but I can imagine that influencers are not in their profession for just assisting in selling products. Aside from personal reasons for wanting to become an influencer, they do play a huge role in marketing – influencing!! I feel like that is the most obvious part of their job. An influencer needs to make sure they are withholding a large following count as well as posting content that is engaging and leaving a viewer to want to come back and watch more. As a marketer, influencers need to make sure their role of showcasing the product isn’t just as simple as “buy this product because it tastes good”, they need to give raw feedback – why they should buy a product, reasons it’s helped with their day to day, or reasons why they’ll go back and buy it again.

The relationship between the company and the consumer is so important to say the very least, marketing of course plays a huge role in this aspect. If a company uses poor marketing skills, then they can loose customers. If a company does the opposite and uses engaging marketing, then they will grow their customer reach. When a company uses other sources, like an influencer, to market their product then they are utilizing an interest the customer already might have due to their engagement with the influencer they chose to work with. Of course, marketers can use famous people or attractive models to showcase their products, but when they use influencers it allows customers to react to someone who is consider a peer.

4-2 Effectively Impacting the Consumer Through Digital Media

Whirlpool leveraged their relationship with the customer by providing an interactive campaign, “Every day, care”. Prior to this campaign, Whirlpool was in a position where the main communication between with the customers was oriented around fixing a problem, which typically is not a happy customer. Whirlpool wanted to create something that provided a positive outlook on the brand, they did this by using real life customers and asking them to share their chore related experiences. Whirlpool successfully got a positive interaction by using real people and their real-life examples of household chores that made a difference in the day, mood, or life and how it was an act of love rather than a dreading chore. Their target audience was lacking the positive interaction with Whirlpool and by launching this campaign, they were able to deliver what they were previously missing.

The campaign itself was launch over various social media platforms, this enable a larger reach with their customers especially ones who maybe only had one social platform versus others who may have three or four social accounts. By providing a microsite where all the examples were posted showcased the value that Whirlpool has to their customers, it shows that real people are being appreciated by the real people who are working for Whirlpool. This was successful and it was shown by the factual numbers after the campaign, sales went up, customer engagement went up, and interactions were improved.

If any suggestions to Whirlpool were needed to further improve their campaign, it would be regarding how they reached their customers. If Whirlpool utilized what they already planned and also implemented some sort of reward for customers who sent in their example, such as being entered into a drawing to win a Whirlpool item or something of a certain value, then customers would be even more inclined to send in their story and also recommend to a friend. This would make the experience more efficient because they are still receiving examples, but they are also providing a potential reward.

When you go to Whirlpool’s website, immediately a pop up appears for a 10% off coupon if you sign up on their mailing list, this is engaging and makes someone want to use their discount right away. Whirlpool uses a few different social platforms, Facebook has their largest follower count of 1.1M and Instagram has only 12k. Whirlpool utilizes their slogan “Every day, care” on both their social platforms, Instagram is all visuals of people doing their chores where their Facebook also includes similar posts, but much more text and Whirlpool also uses Facebook to speak on company values and the companies stance on certain policies or current day topics. By Whirlpool continuing their posts on “Every day, care” it is a continuous engagement with their consumers, it also shows their dedication to consumers and how they truly feel that a chore is an act of kindness. On the website, it would be more effective if they continued to promote their tagline of “Every day, care”, it is surprising that they don’t utilize this slogan across each platform and especially their website.

Whirlpool also has a smart phone app, when initially signing up you have to enter in your personal information and name a location such as ‘home’ or ‘work’ and then you are prompted to verify your email address and then you are set up. You are then able to add all your Whirlpool items but can only do so if you allow the app to use your location. This was as far as I got with the app, when trying to add my Whirlpool items (which I happen to buy a new washer machine from them last week) I got a warning that the appliance was not located. My overall review, it was very frustrating! I was not very happy with the app, it was not that easy to navigate, and it didn’t work for me! I also did not see their slogan “Every day, care”. Whirlpool has good intentions with their app, but they can improve it to meet their customers needs.

1-2 Blog: Branding

Each day includes a new web search, a new like, comment or follow, a new store to check out and many emails to read. On a day to day basis my go-to platform is Instagram, I use it as a personal account, but am also able to check in on work pages. I identify with my Instagram because it is literally ME! I post on my page and story to share what I do with my personal life, what my interests are or what message I am trying to convey. I am able to use this platform to stay in touch with family members, friends and to keep up with influencer trends or find what to make for dinner that night. I also use the Next Door app to stay up to date with what’s going on in my neighborhood, to hear what neighbors are posting about or get that always gut-wrenching message that my dog got out (again). Next Door is a great way for me to connect with locals and stay informed on daily activities.

When reflecting on my digital media use I feel it’s for the most part positive, but from time to time negative. I get the positive feeling from my Instagram when I post something and get sweet comments or when you see a video of a puppy playing in the tall grass. On the other side of Instagram, there is a lot of hate that is perceived and shared across public accounts. On the Next Door app, it’s mainly positive due to lots of posts being structured around making the community better or helping find a lost cat, however there is the negative side when neighbors argue and have disagreements. I realize having a negative and positive side to a platform is inevitable, to some extend each side out weighs the other.

Years ago I took a media class and there was a week where we focused on the topic of the additional to social media. This is a very real thing, so when I get asked the question if my needs are satisfied when using certain social media over another, the answer is YES! Next Door is fun to use and hear what your neighbor thinks about the new mural downtown, but sometimes it can be dull. Instagram totally fulfills my ‘need’ for social. I get to see what my friends are posting, what my family in Australia ate for lunch, what my favorite celebrity is wearing at their ever so luscious home and I can even follow up on politics or discover the next food I have to try. Next Door is great, but when I log off of Instagram some times I feel myself not wanting to wait to log back in.

Along with signing up for my social media accounts, or shopping apps or banking apps, your email is almost required. Truth be told, I have gotten quite good at “Unsubscribing” to emails so I don’t get tens or hundreds of emails a day. From time to time, a good email catches my eye. A good email will have a coupon for that shirt I’ve been dying to buy, or a link to a job just posted on Indeed that is within fifteen minutes from my house, or an email with information about updates to account such as my water bill! Generally saying, emails that can give me a good deal, a good opportunity or provide information to a pertinent account then I will almost always click open and save the email.

The use of digital media in marketing today is huge and I notice it more and more everyday. Corporations used digital media platforms to launch new products, to research where their products could be sold best, to offer discounts, surveys to win a big shopping spree, or to send out company messaging. I notice that when a company is consistent on all their platforms then they tend to gain more followers, recognition and in return bigger revenue (hopefully). I truly think that if a company doesn’t have a digital platform in today’s day in age then it will be challenging to become and stay successful.

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