Essay Sample on Online Marketing: Utilizing Social Media to Reach Global Audience

Introduction

In this era of technology development, organizations are taking advantage of the openings in the business environment to promote their products and services beyond their borders. Social media marketing is the use of the internet to connect with the target audience and build brand awareness. The process involves creating and publishing significant content on social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter (Evans, 2010). Nowadays, businesses use the internet to conduct various business activities. For example, the platform has helped to monitor and evaluate what people think about the products and services based on their reviews. Although there are many advantages of using the internet to promote products and services, negative reviews can damage an organizational reputation and the perception of other clients. The essay produces a marketing plan for MacBook Laptop for Millennials. Internet and social media marketing is the most effective promotional technique since it helps to have direct contact with the customers, builds brand awareness and helps to understand what customers think about the product.

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Target Market

The target market for Apple 12 Inch MacBook Laptop is the Millennials. These are individuals born between 1981to 1996 (Bialik & Fry, 2019). It is considered as a young of young adults and this is the generation with the second largest population in the United States. Because of their population, they have significant influences on various aspects of lives, such as determining political landscape and economic growth. Since the population comprises of individuals aged 22 to 38, they are conversant with technology and determine internet trends (Bialik & Fry, 2019). A majority of these individuals are working, while some of them in their early twenties live with their parents. However, the primary distinguishing feature is that many individuals of the generation are independent and well connected compared to their predecessors. As a result, they buy technology-oriented products and services to enhance their connections. Therefore, the target market is appropriate considering the cost of the MacBook laptop, their educational and employment levels.

Size of the Market

Millennials are the second largest population in the United States. In the United States, the population is more than 73 million, overtaking Baby Boomers according to 2019 projections. The population keeps changing because of migration issues (Bialik & Fry, 2019). Also, the number of people migrating to the United States every year is high and this contributes to the rising number of Millennials. Furthermore, the population has brought racial and ethnic diversity not only in the United States but in other countries too. For example, the number of Hispanic and Asian immigrants is changing the landscape of Millennials, influencing the outlook of the market. Considering these numbers, it is evident that millennial generation is the best target market for the products because of their diversified requirements.

The financial status of Millennials is complicated. The income for young people has remained relatively constant over the years and this is because of the disparities between individuals with educational skills and those without specific knowledge and talents. It is the generation with the highest income diversities because of migration and education diversities Bialik & Fry, 2019). Based on current trends, it is evident that Millennials have accumulated less wealth compared to older generations. According to the 2018 market survey, Millennials holding a bachelor's degree and work full-time earned an average income of $56,000 and this is almost equal to what college graduates earned in Generation X in2001 (Bialik & Fry, 2019). It shows that millennial earning is higher than the previous generation but almost equal to Generation X. A median household income for Millennials in 2018 was $71,400 and this is equal to what Generation X earned in 2001 (Bialik & Fry, 2019). It shows that the economy of this generation keeps declining because of the changes in economic conditions. The implication is that the population is conscious of the prices they pay for the products and services. Therefore, the pricing of the MacBook laptop should be appropriate and influential since they are options in the market that can serve the same purpose.

Regarding education, Millennial is educated than previous generations. According to Pew Research Center, four-in-ten individuals aged 25 to 37 graduated with a bachelor's degree and post-graduate degrees. It illustrates an increase of 15% from the Silent Generation (Bialik & Fry, 2019). Education among women has continued to increase because of equality policies in society. In 1968, only 11% of Silent Generation had obtained a bachelor's degree aged 25 to 37 while 43% of millennial women had graduated with at least an undergraduate degree (Bialik & Fry, 2019). It shows that education among the target market is high compared to previous generations and this means that even the marketing techniques will be different. For example, internet marketing could be the best option since it is the most connected generation. The market is expected to continue growing because of the migration issues and generational gaps and lifestyles of the generation.

Positioning and Product Communication

The positioning of the MacBook laptop influences the success of the business. It is not possible to build a brand in the market without understanding the needs and unmet requirements of the customers. In this way, the first positioning strategy is developing quality products and services with unique features compared to the existing products (Wilson, 2016). For example, the product will have an in-built charging system to ensure that customers can continue using the laptop even when the external battery empties. Also, the random access memory is higher than any other competitor product in the market and this differentiates it. In this regard, product attributes will entice the target customers to buy and develop a positive attitude.

The second positioning strategy to use is pricing the product competitively. Since there are alternative products in the market, customers are rational and will make the best choice. Considering the economic status of the Millennial Generation, the product will be priced competitively. However, the price should align with the brand reputation and the prices of other products (Wilson, 2016). For example, the product will cost $1,050. The purpose of setting this price is to ensure that the target market can afford. However, the prices will keep changing as the brand changes and competition intensified. Importantly, the product's price must consider prevailing economic conditions, competition, and marketing objectives.

The first way to communicate the product to the customers is through social media platforms. It is one of the promotional techniques companies use to communicate their products to the target market. It is because the world is increasingly connected and many people use social sites to access information about various products and services (Wilson, 2016). For example, Facebook has the largest number of subscribers and this means that the message will reach many people. However, the site will be configured in a way that clients will drop their feedback about the level of satisfaction they derived from the product. It does not only enhance continues communication but also helps to influence the buying behavior of the customers. However, the marketing team must be careful because any negative review can savagely damage product reputation and this will make other customers develop a negative attitude.

The second communication strategy to use in communicating the product to the market is through newspapers. It is one of the traditional methods used to communicate with the customers but it is applied up to date in some organizations. Although not many customers in the target audience rely on newspapers for news, a significant number of them access digital newspapers. The strategy is effective because it helps to reach out to many people in different locations (Gbadamosi, 2019). It is not a good idea to assume that all Millennials use internet access information. Not of all them, especially immigrants rely on the internet for information. Therefore, the medium will supplement existing promotional techniques to inform the target audience about the product. However, the lifespan of a newspaper is short and this may affect the number of people the message reaches.

The other significant communication strategy to use is creating a company website that provides full details of the product. There is a close relationship between social media communication and the company website. Social media platforms have limitations regarding the contents of the message. For example, Twitter limits the number of words to post and this means it does not offer detailed information about the product (Gbadamosi, 2019). Therefore, a company website is the best way to provide full details of the products. The purpose of social sites is to attract and increase traffic to the website of the company. In the process, the target audience will learn more about the product and make a decision. Therefore, a company website would provide adequate details about the product to the customers.

The best way to know and understand what customers think about the product is by listening and talking to them. The first way of talking with the customers is by assessing their reviews on social media platforms and feedback on the company website. Social media platforms play a significant role in gathering customer views. There is a direct contact between customers and the marketing and the relationship helps to make informed decisions (Gbadamosi, 2019). Secondly, the marketing team should conduct short surveys on customers with specific questions about the quality of the product, quality of services they received, prices and features and design since these are the primary determinants of customer satisfaction. Because of the complexity of the market, the marketing team must use online surveys. However, this means that marketers must collect and store customer details for future follow-up.

Examination of the Online Promotional Strategy

Based on the above analysis, the first promotional strategy to use is search engine optimization. It is one of the best strategies because Millennials are educated and they lead in searching products and services online. Creating a strong search engine is beneficial since the company will be associated with keywords including the MacBook laptop. The target audience will use the keyword to search for information about the company and its products, as well as other customer reviews (Gbadamosi, 2019). It increases the chances of attracting the audience to the company, and use available tools and information to convert them into potential customers. The technique is appropriate since it is cost-effective although it requires a significant amount of resources to develop the website.

Another method to promote the MacBook laptop is using social media platforms. Specific platforms to use include Facebook, Twitter, youtube and Instagram. The company will create a Facebook page encouraging more subscribers to visit the page for more information about the products. The same case applies to Twitter and Instagram. These platforms are essential because they help to encourage ongoing conversation between the marketing team and the customers (Blythe, 2013). It is through these platforms where customers drop their online reviews to help the company and other potential customers understand the level of satisfaction they deriv...