With the rise of social media platforms companies have begun utilizing a person’s popularity and followers to market their products. Someone with a large amount of followers on Instagram are contacted by someone within the business and ask them to post about whatever they are marketing. Companies want to target millennial’s and hiring these young men and women in their 20’s is a strong marketing strategy. For example, celebrity Kendall Jenner frequently posts on her Instagram account her using the face cream Proactiv. It’s not just celebrities that companies target when selecting influencers they also reach out to others as well. “One of the most successful is Andrew Bachelor, known as King Bach, who has more than 37 million followers. About half of his following is from one platform called Vine. Videos on Vine are just six seconds long.” (Whitaker, 2016).

Key themes about this style of marketing definitely correlate with young men and women and social media platforms. I also noticed that a lot of products that influencers are showcasing are things that millennial’s are generally interested in. Scrolling through my Instagram feed I probably see about 7 or 8 random videos or pictures of people I’ve never seen before advertising some new hair product, traveling or other items or experiences that interest my age, 25 year old female. This is a great strategy that these companies are using and it’s safe to say it’s working. As stated by Logan Paul, influencer with millions of followers online, ““The biggest companies in the world and brands have come to me to help sell their product to the younger generation. And I speak the language of millennials, and they respond to my content.” (Whitaker, 2016).

The role that these influencers play in these companies is huge. Not only are they reaching a large demographic but they are able to do it at the click of the button in seconds. And boy does it pay, ” advertisers pay Bach just to place their products in his clips. He made a handful of videos wearing a Jimmy Johns logo and earned more than $300,000 from the sandwich maker. ” Whitaker, 2016). This is all accomplished to the high level of fame, followers and popularity the influencers have online and companies are taking full advantage of it. Why wouldn’t they? It’s a great way to market.

With that being said this has caused an uneasy feeling between customer and consumer. These companies use these people to advertise these products but almost this type of lifestyle. All of these products are basically dumped down our throat every time we scroll on social media which becomes tempting to people. How can it not when there’s such a massive amount of content all the time. I also think that having not well-known celebrities advertise shows that having these items or experiences is obtainable so why not do it.

Resources

Whitaker, B. (2016, October 23). The Influencers. Retrieved December 8, 2019, from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-kim-kardashian-logan-paul-social-media-influencers/.

According to Air Traffic Control there is an estimated 44,000 flights with about 2.7 million passengers that fly across 29 million square miles every day. This makes the target audience very diverse and requires some creativity at some points from staff members to meet customers wants and needs. A great example of this comes from the “Tale of the Tiger” where a young boy traveling from Tampa International Airport forgot his stuffed animal tiger in the airport play area for children.

Utilizing the power of social media the operations manager went above and beyond to not only meet the wants and needs of this young boy but also showed exemplary customer service. Instead of putting the stuffed animal in the lost and found like what usually happens to forgotten items at the airport this manager brought the tiger around to different locations documenting his adventure throughout the airport. The manager took all of the photos and wrote up a short story about the stuffed animals and presented it to it’s owner when returning the tiger. The story went viral and allowed for a successful social and consumer experience.

The story was posted in Facebook and Twitter that reached millions of followers worldwide. Even with the extensive media coverage the company kept the story personal all while highlighting the outstanding customer service that Tampa International Airport provides. The followers on these sites would leave comments about positive stories they have when flying through their airport.

I think they did a great job covering this story and act of kindness that the airport showed. The story spread quickly and other countries began writing about it but the story stayed personal and intact which I believe can be difficult to do. While having the spotlight on the airport I would have utilized this opportunity to show more examples about all of the other customer service experiences that take place at Tampa International Airport.

Looking at their website and mobile site it is easy to use and accommodates all travel needs. They post on their website and social media about current news going on within the organization, certain days/special events happening, and some tips for traveling that might interest travelers, especially with the holidays coming up. Having these posts are an effective way to engage all consumers and can be reached on multiple platforms.

Resources

https://shortyawards.com/8th/boy-leaves-stuffed-tiger-at-tpa-returns-to-a-tale-of-tigers-big-adventure-see-more-at-httpww

https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/by_the_numbers/

When reflecting about the various social media sites I regularly use throughout my day it kind of blew my mind thinking about how many I actually do use. These sites are my main source for contacting friends and family, keeping updated about what’s going on in the world and entertainment. Some platforms, like Facebook, have multiple ways that I can utilize it’s site. I am able to see what my friends post and also communicate with them.

A lot of news, articles and other posts flood my news feed non stop which allows for me to see a wide variety of content. This can lead to my experience using the site to be positive or negative one it all really depends on what I’m reading or watching. For example, we all have that one friend on Facebook that gets a little too into a certain topic and may be offending others’ opinions therefore creating a negative experience.

Another site that I regularly use is Instagram. Similar to Facebook but on this site you can only post pictures and short videos. I enjoy Instagram differently than I do Facebook because of how it’s more simple but also effectively documents your life through photos-kind of like a digital photo album. Other sites that are incorporated into my daily routine is Snapchat and Spotify. Snapchat is even more simple than the gram and Facebook by only allowing pictures, videos, group and private chats between you and your friends. This makes communicating even faster and and giving you that feeling like you’re actually with them. A great example of this is how I was at a Halloween party last night while some friends were at a concert. Everyone was sending pictures and videos of their experiences which is such a fun way to stay connected and up to date with all of the fun things my friends are doing.

Spotify is a music site that allows you to create playlists, search music, podcasts, etc. you can basically find anything you would want to listen to on there. This site also allows you to follow your friends who use Spotify that way you can share all the different things that you’re listening to with each-other. It’s a pretty minimal way of keeping in contact with others but I find it to be a very positive experience every-time I use it-because let’s be honest who doesn’t love music? Those are just a few of the sites that I regularly use and incorporate into my daily life. I would say that certain needs are satisfied while using certain social media platforms but it all depends on what satisfaction I’m aiming to receive at that time.

I don’t normally receive to many emails from these companies but on occasion there might be a deal for Spotify that they contact me about. The use of digital media in marketing is over almost all social media platforms. There’s advertisements for clothes, entertainment, companies, commercials, etc. It’s a smart tactic because it promotes all of those things while also paying the site which makes it free to people, therefore, more people will use the site. I know I can’t be the only who will be talking about something and then all of a sudden an ad for it pops up on your Facebook.

Found this chart interesting and thought you might too!

Source: https://www.marketingcharts.com/digital/social-media-82899

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.