Month: January 2020

Are we who we really are online?

In this post, I’ll be sharing with you about social media consumer’s behavior and what could possibly be their motives of using social media platforms.

Consumer motivations could be rational or emotional. Rational would be you use social media because you want to consume or create entertainment and inform. Emotional would be simply just for social connection.

Source: Global/Webindex

Typically, many of us nowadays uses social media such as Facebook, Instagram or YouTube to share more about our daily life online, as it feels more comfortable because what we project ourselves on social media could be slightly different in reality with the advanced features such as filters or picture editing apps, using these to make you look even better online. We tend to share more positive traits to conceal negative traits of ourselves. Don’t you agree?

Source: Google

For instance, showing ourselves having a sumptuous meal, going on a vacation, showing off new car or even naked body with abs, why? Sharing positives makes one feel uplifted and promotes a sense of self-worth. With the increase need of constant posting only the cool things and hide the bad about ourselves online just for the short-term satisfaction and to stay in touch with what everyone is doing is actually creating an unhealthy mindset for us that we don’t realize. Although our self-esteem increases, we lose self-control.

What are some of the users on social media?

Facebook segmentation matrix which segments its users based on their usage motivation:

Source: Instagram

Attention Seekers – These are people that create content but does not consume other people’s content. They can be known as the “Celebrity Endorser” Eg. Jamie Chua

Image result for ketnips memes
Source: Google

Entertainment Chasers – These are the ones that only look for entertainment, they don’t create/consume much. We can assume that these are people that just want to take a break from their studies or work.

Image result for jenn im
Source: Youtube

Devotees – High in both creation and consumption, they generally produce their own contents and also read about other people’s content to gain inspirations. Eg. Youtubers (Jenn Im)

Image result for facebook groups
Source: Facebook

Connection Seekers – People that just want to be connected and stay in touch with their friends or people that has same hobbies/interests as them. Eg. Facebook Groups

Social media has been a great platform for consumers to easily source for their desired brands and products. Hence, brand have to understand their consumer’s motivation of usage to capture their attentions.

That’s all for today’s post, do leave a comment below and share with me what kind of user are you & what motivates you to go online!

Web 2.0 and Social Media Marketing

Back in the older days, during the early-mid 1990s. The internet allows websites to speak to website visitors by providing information they had to the visitors. A one-way communication and that was actually 1.0, however, no one actually knows what it is called.

Source: 360logica

Moving on into the 2000s, is where web 2.0 came into place. Web 2.0 two-way communication, people could upload things such as pictures or videos and contribute to the content, which is called the user-generated content.

Source: makeawebsitehub

Social media is the next step. Social media allows visitors to speak to the website, write user-generated content and facilitates the conversation between visitors. This is a three-way communication. So, basically these are medias such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. People can communicate with each other in this medium.

So what would be the next step?

The process of the next step would be bridging the gap between the online and offline world, which is frequently referred to as augmented reality. For instance, when you go to the grocery store, and there will be a bar-code scanner for you to scan your items, which allows you to immediately check whether the price is a dollar cheaper than the next store down the road.

Currently, the rise and growing love of social media has changed the way businesses work, changed the way we communicate and the way we live in society. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube, allow consumers to do quality research before purchasing products and services. Businesses that are active on these social media platforms are able to respond effectively to their potential market and offer what the consumer wants.

According to a survey conducted by  BrightLocal, it is evident that 88% of consumers mentioned that they trust online reviews just as much as personal recommendations. Social media platforms have resulted in the ability to determine the validity of a business and the quality of products and services offered, through the information provided online and communication such as online feedback, reviews from different people.

Some advice that businesses should take note when utilizing social media marketing:

1. Select the best platform – The social media platform you select has to be able to convey the message you want your customer to receive. Identify who is your target market and what platforms would be the best approach that will perform the best. For instance, Instagram might perform better if you are targeting a younger audience.

2. Pick the application – Businesses can create their own mobile application as it is cost-effective. Also, it allows them to have full control of the application.

3. Ensure that activities are aligned – For example, the message conveyed on Instagram and Facebook has to be consistent, so that the message is clear.

4. Media plan integration – This will help businesses find out the right tool to utilize to convey their business value proposition to prospective customers.

5. Provide access for all – Everyone in the business has to have access to the social media to take part in this.

Source: Medium

Undoubtedly, the internet is constantly evolving over the years. As a result, it has changed people’s perception of reality and the way they see things. With three-way communication, it allows people to stay connected with each other around the world and businesses to effectively market their products and services to the prospective consumers.