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Original Topic: In the last ten years, social media has become an important marketing communications tool for most businesses. Discuss whether businesses that are not on any social media platform can still establish a fruitful relationship and effectively communicate with today's consumers.

Assessment 1:

Businesses that are not on any social media platform these days are still able to establish a fruitful relationship and effectively communicate with today's consumers to a certain extent. Social media platform is one of the main methods of marketing communication tool for most businesses today.

Social media has the power to reach out to a massive base of audience through a variety of methods such as videos, photos and ads. According to Brian (2020), he found the following "In 2020, there are 3.81 billion people actively using social media in the world, and this is an increase of 9.2% year-on-year from 3.48 billion in 2019. Back in 2015, there were only 2.07 billion users, social network growth rates since then have averaged 12.5% year-on-year." It shows that there is a growing number of new users each year, all this will possibly lead to an increase in consumers reached out to through social media platforms.

It is also able to generate interest in consumer through witnessing posts from friends and families. Not only that, potential consumers are able to get online reviews shared by other consumers who have tried the product or services.

Through the eyes of someone who personally use Facebook and Instagram, I have read reviews on certain products and food that my friends have purchased or tried. These reviews helped in a way to shape my impression I have of the respective products and food which leads to me be intrigued to try it out if I deem it positively and vice versa if I deem it as not attractive. As a person who loves food a lot, I will look up on social media platforms for reviews on the respective companies' Facebook and Instagram page before making the decision to try it out.

However, according to Danni (2020), "it is difficult to chase the perfect mix of marketing and communication. Only 28% of marketers are satisfied with their results. The rest still try to find new ways to get in touch with the target audience.". There is not a one size fits all method. Businesses are always looking for methods that can help boost their business by getting in touch with their target audiences.

Social media is not the only marketing communication tool. Another method that allows businesses who are not on social media platforms tostill establish a fruitful relationship and effectively communicate with today's consumers is through word of mouth. It is for businesses who are more traditional and have yet to take the step to transit into digitalised marketing.

According to Matt (2020), "According to Nielsen, 92% of peopletrust recommendations from friends and family(Links to an external site.)

over any other type of advertising.". This shows how crucial word-of-mouth-marketing (WOMM) can affect the reputation of a business. Thus, the consumers experience with the business is important in helping pass down good reviews of the business to friends of consumers.

There are two types of WOMM, Organic word of mouth (WOM) and Amplified WOM. In Matt (2020), "Organic WOM occurs naturally when people become advocates because they are happy with a product and have a natural desire to share their support and enthusiasm.". Organic WOM helps to spread around due to the good experience the consumer had with a product and feels the need to help share the news.

In Matt (2020), "Amplified WOM occurs when marketers launch campaigns designed to encourage or accelerate WOM in existing or new communities.". Amplified WOM works for some businesses where there are social media influencers who can help them advertise and spark interest on social media platforms.

From Pixlee, "A Social Media Influencer is a user on social media who has established credibility in a specific industry. A social media influencer has access to a large audience and can persuade others by virtue of their authenticity and reach.". For example, Food King does video reviews of food of different cuisine and give ratings on it.

These could be based on invitation basis or it could be approached by social media influencers who are looking to create content of a specific type of food. This will help the business to gain popularity and either free or paid advertising, in turn generating popularity as well as first-time consumers.

However, businesses that do not are not on any social media platform can only rely on WOM to spread any new products that they have. This greatly reduces their marketing reach to potential consumers as those who do not frequent the place often will not know about it.

These businesses can boost business by advertising and giving out pamphlets at areas with high volumes of human traffic to attract new consumers. Adding on, businesses can have sales promotion such as free samples, discounts or even combos to attract new consumers and build brand loyalty and helps your brand to grow.

In a nutshell, to have a fruitful relationship and have effectively communicating with today's consumers, you need to combine a variety of marketing communication tools to improve business. Regular review on the performance on each communication tool to ensure efficiency and weed out inefficient tools are a crucial point in ensuring the efficiency of funds used for marketing.

References

https://www.techfunnel.com/martech/essential-marketing-communication-tools-good-marketing-campaign/(Links to an external site.)

https://backlinko.com/social-media-users(Links to an external site.)

https://www.pixlee.com/definitions/definition-social-media-influencer