social media tools for brand management
TRANSCRIPT
Carinthia University of Applied Sciences
School of Management Degree Program Business
International Business Management
M A S T E R T H E S I S
“Social Media Tools for Brand Management”
For the award of the academic degree …. E.g. Magister (FH)/Magistra (FH)
Author: First and Second Name
Matriculation number: xxxx
First Supervisor: Academic Title, First and Second Name
..........................................
Signature
Second Supervisor: Academic Title, First and Second Name
..........................................
Signature
Place, Date of Submission Stamp of Study Program
Statutory declaration
I hereby declare that:
• I have developed and written the attached thesis independently and without external
help.
• I have used no different sources than those indicated and I have clearly
acknowledged any passages, words or ideas, including tables and figures taken from
other sources as such and I have not used any external unauthorized help.
• This paper is in line with the paper graded by the assessors.
Place, Date of Submission .............................................
Signature
Acknowledgements
Varaždin, 26.07.2012.
First of all I thank my supervisor and ....
Secondly I would like to thank my friends who helped me get in touch with the interviewed
experts when I lost all the hope and also gave me new insights and support. Thirdly I would
like to thank all the respondents for their time and interesting answers.
Last, but not least, my parents for making this all possible.
Sandra
Abstract in English
Brand is the most valuable asset company has, therefore it should be a top management
priority. Value of the brand is defined by brand equity and for that reason company puts in
a lot of effort in order to create a long-term relationship with its customers. Before,
companies were relaying only on the traditional marketing tools to achieve brand
awareness.
Nowadays, due to development of the Internet and social media tools, companies
marketing departments had to change their way of thinking and acting. There are many
social media tools available on the market which helps companies create a better
relationship with their customers. Development of Web 2.0 technologies has changed word
of mouth communication by allowing companies to detect and comprehend public opinion
through online media such as blog posts, collaborative wikis, social networking, tagging,
video post and customer ratings and reviews.
Keywords: Band, Management, Social Media, Web 2.0, Marketing Rules
Table of Contents
1 Preface............................................................................................................................1
1.1 Initial situation..........................................................................................................1
1.2 Research Question..................................................................................................1
1.3 Research Design.....................................................................................................3
1.4 The Methodology.....................................................................................................5
1.5 Master Thesis Structure...........................................................................................6
2 Literature Overview on Brand Management...................................................................7
2.1 Introduction..............................................................................................................7
2.2 Brand Defined..........................................................................................................7
2.3 Brand Equity............................................................................................................8
2.4 Customer-Based Brand Equity................................................................................9
2.5 Building Customer-Based Brand Equity................................................................10
2.6 Managing Brand Equity.........................................................................................13
2.7 Sources of Brand Equity........................................................................................13
2.7.1 Brand Awareness...........................................................................................14
2.7.2 Brand Image...................................................................................................17
3 Literature Overview on development of Web 2.0 and Social Media.............................19
3.1 Introduction............................................................................................................19
3.2 Development of Web 2.0 and Social Media..........................................................20
3.3 Social Media Defined.............................................................................................23
3.3.1 Attributes of Social Media...............................................................................24
3.3.2 3’R of Social Media.........................................................................................25
3.4 The Elements of Social Media...............................................................................27
3.4.1 Social Media Engagement..............................................................................27
3.5 Social Media Tools................................................................................................30
I
3.5.1 Blog................................................................................................................31
3.5.2 Micro blogs.....................................................................................................32
3.5.3 Social Networking...........................................................................................34
3.5.4 Media sharing (Content Communities)...........................................................38
3.5.5 Others.............................................................................................................39
3.6 Technologies within Web 2.0.................................................................................46
4 The Impact of Internet and Social Media on Brands.....................................................48
4.1 Introduction............................................................................................................48
4.2 Changes in Marketing Rules..................................................................................49
4.2.1 The Old Rules of Marketing............................................................................49
4.2.2 The New Rules of Marketing..........................................................................51
4.3 Branding in the Digital Age....................................................................................54
4.3.1 Social Media Marketing..................................................................................56
4.3.2 Changes in Customers’ Behavior and Environment.......................................59
4.3.3 Electronic Word of Mouth...............................................................................62
4.3.4 „The Long Tail „of Marketing..........................................................................63
5 Recommendations........................................................................................................66
6 Conclusion....................................................................................................................69
Bibliography.........................................................................................................................70
Appendix..............................................................................................................................77
II
List of Figures
Figure 1: Research Design....................................................................................................4
Figure 2: Customer-based brand equity pyramid.................................................................12
Figure 3: Components of Brand Knowledge........................................................................14
Figure 4: The Awareness Pyramid.......................................................................................15
Figure 5: Brand Awareness Characteristics.........................................................................16
Figure 6: Brand Image Characteristic..................................................................................18
Figure 7: Development - Web 1.0 to Web 2.0......................................................................21
Figure 8: The Social Media Starfish.....................................................................................27
Figure 9: LENiE Model.........................................................................................................28
Figure 10: Engagement Cycle..............................................................................................29
Figure 11: Social Media Landscape.....................................................................................31
Figure 12: 1:n Traditional Communication Model................................................................50
Figure 13: The New Communication Paradigm...................................................................51
Figure 14:1:1 Communication Model...................................................................................53
Figure 15: n:n Communication Model..................................................................................54
Figure 16: Then: The Funnel Metaphor...............................................................................55
Figure 17: Now: The Consumer Decision Journey..............................................................56
Figure 18: The Classical Purchase Funnel..........................................................................57
Figure 19: The Social Feedback Cycle................................................................................58
Figure 20: The Long Tail......................................................................................................64
III
List of Abbreviations
AMA American Marketing Association
EIU Economist Intelligence Unit
eWOM electronic Word of Mouth
GIS Geographic Information System
IMC Integrated Marketing Communication
OWOM Online Word of Mouth
PR Public Relations
UGC User Generated Content
UGC user generated content
WOM Word of Mouth
IV
1 Preface
1.1 Initial situation
Brands are one of the most valuable assets companies have, as well as an important value
creator and should therefore be the top management priority. Traditionally, branding has
been about defining a clear identity and positioning, implementing marketing programs, and
sustaining and growing the brand equity.1 The wide expansion of Internet usage has
brought many changes to the marketplace and this has affected the value of brands and
the way brands should be managed.
In the last years the development of 2.0 Web and social media has affected brands, and
the rapid increase in usage of social media.2 The main focus is on the questions what kind
of social media tools are available to the brand owners/companies in Croatia to increase
brand awareness, and how well the potential that social media tools bring is exploited.
Croatia is quite a young, not highly developed market in terms of social media. Companies
mainly prefer to stick to the old-fashioned way of introducing their product or service to the
customers. In the last four years the situation in the market goes in favor of social media.
Mostly young people recognized the opportunity and the potential of social media tools.
1.2 Research Question
Social media and the usage of social media tools is widely discussed, but it is interesting to
explain how it is used in real life to increase brand awareness and how companies can use
the potential and opportunities social media tools bring.
This Master Thesis will provide concrete information on the development of Web 2.0,
changes in the environment and changes in customer perception. Furthermore, the
detailed overview of the range of tools available will be given. Social media tools are used
by brand owners to build up the relationship with customers, to strengthen the brand image
and to communicate with customers more efficiently.
1Aaker (1991), p. 7ff.2 Cf. O’Reilley (2005), p.1., Cf. Zarella (2010), p. 8.
1
The focus of the Thesis is on brand management and how the branding is different after
the Internet and web have developed and social media tools have become popular among
brand owners. The Thesis will focus on Croatian agencies which are implementing social
media tools to improve company’s relationship with customers, to strengthen the brand
image and to communicate with customers more efficiently.
The aim of this Master Thesis is the creation of a theoretical sketch for real life applicability
of social media tools for brand management with the focus on Croatia. One of the most
effective ways to achieve customer loyalty is implementation of social media tools.
However, the technical development is not the focus of the Thesis but the variety of
available tools and the choice of the right one for a specific company.
In the following part there are main questions and sub questions of the Thesis:
What kind of social media tools can companies use to strengthen the brand image
and how can they use social media tools?
Has the Internet affected the marketing environment and how has it eventually
changed brand management?
Is the branding different, and how?
What kind of social media can be best used to increase brand awareness?
2
1.3 Research Design
The concept of the Master Thesis is explained in Research design chapter.
The Master Thesis is divided into two main parts.
In the theoretical part the literature research on relevant online media, books, journals and
research reports within the focused topics of brand management and social media are
carried out. The changes in communication and the way of promoting brands on the
Internet by using social media tools is going to be explained with the aim to understand the
progress and the theory of brand management and social media.
Based on the literature and gained knowledge, the second part focuses on the interviews
with Croatian experts involved in the process of social media tool implementation. The
practical knowledge of the experts in the field of brand management and social media
should answer the research question, to discover existing social media tools and their best
usage.
After the theoretical analysis and the interviews, possible social media tools will be
identified to build up the relationship with customers, to strengthen the brand image and to
communicate with customers more efficiently and a recommendation for the practical
usage will be given.
3
Figure 1: Research Design3
3 Source: Own creation
4
1.4 The Methodology
The methodology chosen to answer research questions are in-depth interviews. Interviews
are considered to be the most significant source of evidence. Interviews rely on the
communication between research participants and the researcher. They are used as a
good and quick way to collect information or data from several people. The purpose of
interviews is to get a story, opinion or experienced situation.4 Blumer creates a basic
assumption that “the meaning people make of their experience affects the way they carry
out that experience.”5
For the purpose of interviews I have provided open questions for experts working in social
media branch. (See appendix)
All the interviews with experts were done in Croatia and the main reason is that the
international focus was requested. The main interest was to answer the research question
and find out what social media tools are available in Croatia and how companies can use
those tools for increasing brand awareness. I was also interested in changes which
happened in Croatian market regarding the development of the Internet and social media,
and how these changes have effected brand management as well as how they were
accepted and perceived by Croatian companies. Therefore, I did 6 in-depth interviews with
Croatian experts who work in Croatian agencies that deal with implementation of social
media.
The collected data, i.e. the answers on the interview questions are implemented in the
theory as evidence that supports the theory, and besides general knowledge they give an
overview of what the situation is really like in Croatia.
The proposed conclusions and recommendations are based on the combination between
the findings from the interviews and the research in the literature.
4 Cf. Seidman (2006), p.7ff.5 Blumer (1969), qtd.in: Seidman (2006), p.10.
5
1.5 Master Thesis Structure
In this section I will provide an overview of the thesis content. The thesis is structured as
follows:
Chapter 1 gives information on the initial situation and the research question which has to
be answered in the current thesis. The overview of the research design is also both,
explained and graphically illustrated. In the methodology section the importance and
meaning of interviews is explained.
Chapter 2 follows with the explanation of a brand and brand equity. The importance of
customer-based brand equity is also explained and gives the information on brand building
and managing brand with an aim to achieve greater awareness. Furthermore, sources of
brand equity are mentioned.
Chapter 3 follows with the development of Web 2.0 and social media. Furthermore, the
development and the differences between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 are shown. The social
media is explained as well as its attributes, elements and social media engagement. The
sub-chapter 3.2. gives an overview of the available social media tools and it contains
explanation how they can be used for businesses.
Chapter 4 gives a summarized overview of what differences have been made in brand
management due to the development of the Internet. The traditional communication model
and the new communication paradigm are compared. It follows with the description of how
the development of social media influenced brands. It gives the information on changes in
the communication pattern, changes among consumers etc.
Chapter 5 gives the general recommendations for Croatian companies and in chapter 6
the conclusion is presented.
6
2 Literature Overview on Brand Management
2.1 Introduction
The following section contains a review of brand management. It is most important to
define brand, since brand management begins with having knowledge of the term “brand”.
Brand management can be described as nothing but a way of creating and sustaining the
brand. Branding enables customers to distinguish one product or service from competitors’
products or service. Brand gives particular information about the product or service to the
customer and it differentiates those goods or services from those of competitors.
Brand equity represents the value of the brand. It is driven by consumer behavior, and
consumer behavior is driven by perceptions of a brand. Brand equity is determined by
brand image. Brand awareness defines how well customers are familiar with the brand, it
includes brand recognition and brand recall. Brand image is a set of specific beliefs and
attitudes towards some brand, in other words, it is customers’ perception of the brand and
all associations connected to the specific brand. We can say that brand associations form
the brand image.
2.2 Brand Defined
Over the last decade brand has been defined in many different ways, which mainly
depends on the perspective from which the brand is perceived. Dramatic shifts had the
influence on the authors and constant review as well as on redefining the role of a brand.
In the classical definition the brand is connected with the identification of the product and
differentiation from its competitors, brand is “the name, associated with one or more items
in the product line, which is used to identify the source of the item(s).”6
The American Marketing Association (AMA) definition of a brand is “a name, term, sign,
symbol, or design, or a combination of them, which is intended to identify the goods and
services of one seller or a group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of
competitors.”7 “The legal term for brand is trademark. A brand may identify one item, a
6 Kotler (2000), p.396. 7 Kotler and Keller, (1997), p.274.
7
family of items, or all items of that seller. If used for the firm as a whole, the preferred term
is trade name.8”
Keller recognizes that brands today are much more than defined in classical brand
definition. He says: “technically speaking, whenever a marketer creates a new name, logo,
or symbol for a new product, he or she has created a brand; however, he recognizes that
brands are much more than that.”9 Keller points out the deficiency in the classical
perception of the brand. In order for a brand to be considered a brand it has to gain certain
amount of awareness, reputation and preeminence.
Aaker defined brand as “a distinguishing name and/or symbol intended to identify the
goods or services of either one seller or a group of sellers, and to differentiate those goods
or services from those of competitors.”10
Kapferer also points out that the AMA’s definitions is limited in sense of brand management
and defines brand as “a set of mental associations held by a consumer, which add value to
the perceived value of a product or service.”11 This extension of the AMA's classical
definition leads to connection between brand management and developing brand value e.g.
brand equity.
2.3 Brand Equity
Brand equity tries to define the relationship between customers and brands. It defines the
value of a brand and emphasizes the importance of having long-term focus within brand
management. Brand equity has been examined from financial and customer-based
perspective either individual or organizational. This present section will focus on customer-
based brand equity which refers to the consumer response to a brand name.
Kotler defines brand equity as “the added value endowed to products and services. This
value may be reflected in how consumers think, feel, and act with respect to the brand, as
well as the prices, market share, and profitability that the brand commands for the firm.
Brand equity is an important intangible asset that has psychological and financial value to
the firm“.12
8 AMA (2012), [online].9 Keller (2003), p.3.10 Aaker (1991), p. 7.11 Keller qtd.in: Kapferer (2004), p.10.12 Kotler and Keller (1997), p.276.
8
Aaker defines brand equity as a “set of brand assets and liabilities linked to a brand, its
name and symbol that add to or subtract from the value provided by a product or service to
the firm and/or to that firm’s customers.”13
Kotler's definition takes into account only one level of brand equity, a firm-based
perspective, whereas Aaker's definition takes into account both; a firm-based perspective
and a customer- based perspective.
Biel claims that brand equity “deals with the value, usually defined in economic terms, of a
brand beyond the physical assets associated with its manufacturer or provision.”14 We can
think of brand equity as a premium a consumer is ready to pay for a branded product or
service compared to an identical unbranded product or service. As mentioned above, brand
equity is ultimately driven by consumer behavior, and consumer behavior is driven by
perceptions of a brand. In general, brand equity is driven by brand image.15
2.4 Customer-Based Brand Equity
According to the literature, Keller and Aaker can be considered the main contributors to the
customer-based brand equity perspective.
Aaker clams that “brand-equity assets generally add or subtract value for customers.”16 In
other words, brand equity assets can help customers to “interpret process and store huge
quantities about products and brands.”17
Consumers are the ones who actually experience the brand; after they have experienced it
they create a subjective perception of the brand. Customer-based brand equity is defined
by Aaker and Biel: “A consumer perceives a brand’s equity as the value asses to the
functional product or service by associating it with a brand name.”18
Keller claims “the power of a brand lies in what customer have learned, felt, seen and
heard about the brand over time, e.g. the power of the brand resides in the minds of
customer.”19 He also defines customer-based equity as “the differential effects of brand
13 Aaker (1991), p.15.14 Biel (1992), p.6.15 Cf. Biel (1992), p.6.ff.16 Aaker (1991), p.16.17 Aaker (1991), p.16.18 Aaker and Biel (1993), p.2.19 Keller (2001), p.3.
9
knowledge on customer response to the marketing of the brand.”20 Furthermore, he views
customers-brand based brand equity as a process that occurs when the customer is
familiar with the brand and holds some favorable, strong, and unique brand associations in
memory.”21 Brand knowledge is the key for creating brand equity.
Kapferer concluded that the power of brands lies in the minds of existing or potential
customers and what they have experienced directly and indirectly about the brand.22
2.5 Building Customer-Based Brand Equity
The power of a brand lies in the minds of customers; therefore the challenge for marketers
in building a strong brand is to ensure the right type of experience with the product or
service for customers. For marketers and their marketing programs the most important
issue is that customers get the right thoughts, feelings, images, beliefs, perceptions and
opinions which are linked to the brand.23
Building brand equity requires the creation of a familiar brand that has favorable, strong,
and unique brand associations. This can be done both through the initial choice of brand
identities, such as a brand name, logo, or symbol, and through the integration of brand
identities into the supporting marketing program.
The marketing communication efforts by the firm shape consumer perceptions of the
product or service. Marketing communication may also be helpful in increasing user and
usage imagery attributes. Word of mouth and other social influences also play an important
role.24
The choice of brand elements
20 Keller (1998), p.45.21 Cf. Keller (2003), p.67.22 Cf. Kapferer (1997), p.38. 23 Cf.Keller (2001), p.3.24 Cf. Keller (1993), p.9f.
10
Before brand building, it is necessary to make a choice of possible brand elements that
enhance brand awareness and desired associations.
The choice of brand elements while building brand equity plays an important role. Brand
elements are trademark devices that help customers to identify and differentiate a brand
(names, logos, symbols, URLs, characters, slogans, spokespeople, jingles, packages etc.).
Keller named six main criteria for choosing brand elements:
Memorability
Meaningfulness
Likeability
Transferability
Adaptability
Protectability.25
Aaker is mainly focused on the name, symbol and slogan. He claims that the name is the
core and basic indicator for a brand and it also creates the basis for creating brand
awareness and communication. In situations when it is difficult to recognize a product or
service the symbol is helpful in building brand equity. A slogan can also be helpful in
situations where the name or symbol has some limitations since it also affects awareness.26
He proposed seven criteria for name selection:
1. “Easy to learn and remember – it is helpful if it is unusual, interesting, meaningful,
emotional, pronounceable, spell-able, and / or if it involves a visual image.
2. Suggest the product class so that name recall will be high while still being compatible
with potential future uses of the name.
3. Support a symbol or slogan.
4. Suggest desired associations without being boring or trivial.
5. Not suggest undesired associations – it should be authentic, credible, and comfortable
and not raise false expectations.
6. Be distinctive – it should not be confused with competitors’ names.
25 Keller (2003), p.173.26 Cf. Aaker (1996), p.196.
11
7. Be available and protectable legally.”27
The brand building process
To build a strong brand, according to customer-based brand equity model, four main steps
have to be accomplished.
1. “Ensure identification of the brand with customers and an association of the brand in
customers’ minds with a specific product class or customer need.
2. Firmly establish the totality of brand meaning in the minds of customers by strategically
linking a host of tangible and intangible brand associations with certain properties.
3. Elicit proper customer responses to this brand identification and brand meaning.
4. Convert brand response to create an intense active loyalty relationship between
customers and the brand.”28
These four steps can be used to create brand identity, brand meaning, brand response and
brand relationship. Building block by block, e.g. six “brand-building blocks”, gives the result
of the consumer-based brand equity pyramid.29
Figure 2: Customer-based brand equity pyramid 30
27 Aaker (1996), p.196.28 Keller (2001), p.5.29 Cf. Keller (2001), p.5.30 Source: Keller (2001), p.7.
12
2.6 Managing Brand Equity
Intangible assets and liabilities on which brand equity is based on can be grouped in five
different asset dimensions. These assets include:
Brand loyalty
Name awareness
Perceived quality
Brand association in addition to perceived quality,
Other proprietary brand assets, patents, trademarks, channel relationships, etc.31
If those assets are managed in the appropriate way, they add value to the product or
service and create customer satisfaction, which in the other hand provide a variety of
benefits for the company.32
2.7 Sources of Brand Equity
“Customers-based brand equity occurs when the customer has a high level of awareness
and familiarity with the brand and holds some strong, favorable, and unique brand
associations in memory.”33 To create a brand equity customer must see the significant
difference among brands.
Keller sees the role of customer-based brand equity measurement as a tool to understand
the different types of marketing elements and the ways they affect the value of a brand. He
says that brand knowledge is created in the minds of the consumer by marketing
activities.34
He defines brand knowledge as “all the thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images,
experiences and so on that become linked to the brand in the minds of consumers”.35
Keller divides brand knowledge into two different components, brand awareness and brand
image. He defines brand awareness as “a relation to the strength of the brand node or
trace in memory as reflected by the consumers’ ability to recall or recognize the brand
31 Aaker (1991), p.16.32 Cf. Aaker (1991), p.17. 33 Keller (1988), p. 50.34 Cf. Keller (2009), p.142f.35 Keller (2009), p.143f.
13
under different conditions.” Brand image is defined as “consumer perceptions of/and
preferences for a brand, as reflected by the various types of brand associations held in the
consumers’ memory.”36
Strong associations and a unique brand identity are important as a preference which can
operate as source of brand equity. This can improve brand awareness, price premiums,
communication, and channel effectiveness as well as enhance growth opportunities for a
brand.37
Figure 3: Components of Brand Knowledge38
2.7.1 Brand Awareness
„Brand awareness is the ability of a potential buyer to recognize or recall that a brand is a
member of a certain product category“.39 Brand awareness involves a continuum ranging
from an uncertain feeling that the brand is recognized to a belief that it is the only one in the
product category.40
The main role of brand awareness in brand equity depends on the context and achieved
level of brand awareness.
Brand awareness creates value in different ways. Brand awareness provides the anchor to
which other associations can be linked. According to Aaker brand awareness consist of
three main levels, brand recognition, brand recall, and top-of-mind awareness.41
36 Keller (2009), p.143.37 Cf. Keller (2009), p.143.38 Source: adapted from: Keller (1998), p.69.39 Aaker (1991), p.61.40 Cf. Aaker (1991), p.62.41 Cf. Aaker (1991), p.62.
14
Brand recognition provides the brand with a sense of familiarity and people like the familiar.
In the absence of motivation to engage in attribute evaluation, familiarity may be enough.
Brand awareness can be a signal of substance. The first set in the buying process is often
to select a group of brands to consider. Brand awareness can be crucial to getting into this
group.42
Figure 4: The Awareness Pyramid43
According to Keller brand awareness consists of two main types, brand recognition and
brand recall. Brand recognition is defined as “customers’ ability to confirm prior exposure
to the brand when given the brand as cue.”44 Keller relates brand recall to “consumers’
ability to retrieve the brand from memory when given the product category, the needs
fulfilled by the category or a purchase or usage situation as a cue“.45
According to Keller brand awareness can be characterized by depth and breadth, whereas
depth of brand awareness concerns a situation where the brand has deeper brand
awareness than the one that only can be recognized, therefore a brand can be easily
recalled. On the other hand, the breath of brand awareness concerns the range of
purchase and usage where the brand element comes to mind. It depends on products
knowledge in the memory.46
42 Aaker (1991), p.63ff.43 Source: Aaker (1991), p.62.44 Keller (1998), p.88.45 Keller (1998), p.88.46 Cf. Keller (1988), p.88.
15
Top of Mind
Brand Recall
Brand Recognition
Unaware of Brand
Figure 5: Brand Awareness Characteristics47
There are three major reasons why brand awareness plays an important role in a
consumer decision making. First, it is important that consumers think of the brand when
they think about the product category. Raising brand awareness increases the likelihood
that the brand will be a member of the consideration set. Second, brand awareness can
affect decisions about a brand in the consideration set. In low involvement decision
settings, a minimum level of brand awareness may be sufficient for a product choice, even
in the absence of a well-formed attitude. Finally, brand awareness affects consumer
decision making by influencing the formation and strength of brand associations in the
brand image.48
Aaker and Keller concluded that brand awareness cannot create sales by itself, it’s a
necessary step in creating brand equity but it is not sufficient. Therefore, it’s not wrong to
say that brand awareness has limitations, although it’s a key of brand asset.49
2.7.2 Brand Image
Brand image is defined as “perceptions about brand as reflected by the brand associations
held in consumer memory.”50 Brand associations are “the other informational nodes linked
to the brand node in memory and contain the meaning of the brand for consumer.”51 Brand
47 Source: adapted from: Keller (1998), p.69.48 Cf. Keller (1998), p.91f.49 Cf. Aaker (1991), p.69., Cf.Keller (1998), p.92.50 Keller (1998), p. 93.51 Keller (1998), p. 93.
16
associations consist of all brand-related thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images, beliefs,
attitudes and it is anything linked in memory to a brand. They represent the basis for a
purchase decision.52
The strength, favorability, and uniqueness of brand equity play an important role when
customers’ decision making is present. The level of abstraction can help to distinguish a
brand association. Brand associations can be classified into three categories; attributes,
benefits and attitudes. Attributes are descriptive features that characterize a product or
service, in other words, attributes stand for what customers think that the product or service
is or has.53 Benefits are “the personal value and meaning that customers attach to the
product or service attributes”, they stand for what customers think the product or service
can do for them.54 Brand attitudes are highest-level of brand associations and are “defined
in terms of consumers’ overall evaluations of a brand”, they are considered as the basis for
further actions and behaviors that consumers take with the brand.55
Regardless the type of brand association involved, that make brand image can be
characterized according three main dimensions:
Strength – How strongly is the brand identified with a brand association?
Favorability – How important or valuable is the brand association to customers?
Uniqueness – how distinctively is the brand identified with the brand association?56
“The strength of brand associations is critical determinants what information will be recalled
by consumers and can therefore affect their brand decision.”57
To achieve greater awareness, brand recognition and brand recall involve tasks such
gaining brand name identity and linking it the product class.58
52 Cf. Fayrene and Lee (2011), p.36.53 Cf. Keller (1998), p.93f.54 Keller (1998), p. 99. 55 Keller (1998), p.100.56 Keller (2001), p.12.57 Keller (1998), p.103.58 Cf. Aaker (1991), p.72.
17
Figure 6: Brand Image Characteristic59
59 Source: Adapted from: Keller (2001), p.94.
18
3 Literature Overview on development of Web 2.0 and Social
Media
3.1 Introduction
Development of Web 2.0 technologies has changed word of mouth communication by
companies to reach people thought online media such as blog posts, collaborative wikis,
social networking, tagging, video post and customer ratings and reviews.
Web 2.0 is a term popularized by O’Reilly Media as the name for a service web
development Conference that started in October 2004, after Dale Dougherty mentioned it
during a Conference. Dougherty suggested that the Web was in the renaissance, with
changing rules and involving business models. Web 2.0 is seen as a second phase of the
architecture and application development for the World Wide Web. Web 2.0 applications
often use a combination of technologies derived in the late 1990s.60
“Web 2.0” is a term that is used to denote several different concepts: Web sites based on a
particular set of technologies such as AJAX; Web sites which incorporate a strong social
component, involving user profiles, friend links; Web sites which encourage user-generated
content in the form of text, video, and photo postings along with comments, tags, and
ratings (…).“61
Web 2.0 is a term that was used to describe “a new way in which software developers and
end-users started to utilize the World Wide Web as a platform whereby content and
applications are no longer created and published by individuals, but instead are
continuously modified by all users in a participatory and collaborative fashion.”62
Despite frequently usage of the term Web 2.0 there is a huge amount of disagreement
about what Web 2.0 exactly means. On the one hand the term is declared as a marketing
buzzword and on the other side is accepted as a new conventional wisdom.63 Since 2004,
when the term was posted on the Web there had been 135 million64 citations, and by today
Google search is returning 183 million web pages.65
60 Cf.O'Reilly (2005), p. 1. 61 Cormode et al. (2008), p. 3.62 Kaplan and Haenlein (2009), p. 61.63 Cf. O'Reilly (2007), p. 17. 64 Cf. O'Reilly (2007), p. 17.65 Cf. Web 2.0, (2012), [online].
19
Various definitions on Social Media and Web 2.0 clearly confirm that it is impossible to
separate these two terms. A formal definition of the Social Media term first requires drawing
a line to two related concepts that are frequently named in conjunction with it: Web 2.0 and
User Generated Content.66
Zarrella defined Social Media in the “context of the pervious media paradigm”.67 He
explains the difference between traditional media such as television, radio; magazines and
newspapers are one-way e.g. static broadcasting technologies and Social Media.68
Furthermore, Safko and Brake are not concentrated on the differences of media forms;
they rather put focus on defining Social Media term.
Kaplan and Haenlein defined Social Media as “a group of Internet-based applications that
build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the
creation and exchange of user generated content.“69
3.2 Development of Web 2.0 and Social Media
In Web 1.0 the content creators were only a few, where the majority of users were simply
acting as consumers of the content. Web 2.0 and Social Media is all about giving power to
people. Web 2.0 has so called democratic nature. Therefore, any participant can be a
content creator in Web 2.0 and various technological aids have been created to maximize
the potential for a content creation.
“Web 2.0 applications are those that make the most of the intrinsic advantages of that
platform: delivering software as a continually-updated service that gets better the more
people use it, consuming and remixing data from multiple sources, including individual
users, while providing their own data and services in a form that allows remixing by others,
creating network effects through an "architecture of participation," and going beyond the
page metaphor of Web 1.0 to deliver rich user experiences.”70
Web 2.0 can also be described “as the version of the web that is open to ordinary users
and where they can add their content. It refers to the sites and spaces in the Internet where
users can put words, pictures, sounds and videos.”71
66 Cf. Kaplan and Haenlein (2009), p. 60. 67 Zarrella (2010), p. 1.68 Cf. Zarrella (2010), p. 1ff.69 Kaplan and Haenlein (2009), p. 60.70 O'Reilly (2005), p. 2. 71 Brown (2009), p.1.
20
Web 2.0 enables many to many communications, creations of large number of niche
groups who can exchange content of any kind and tag, comment, and link to both intra-
group and extra-group pages.
O’Reilly discussed the term Web 2.0. He was not keen to give the definition; he offered
examples of various Web 2.0 applications.
Shift from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 according to O’Reilly:
Table Development Web 1.0 to Web 2.072
Figure 7: Development - Web 1.0 to Web 2.073
From the technical point of view Web 2.0 can be called “revolutionary evolution”74 because
it’s based on the aggregation of existing technologies. It changes the way Internet started
to be used and the way how human relationships are being developed. The web itself
becomes more social.
Development of Web 2.0 – From perspective of Croatian Experts
72 Cf.O'Reilly (2005), p.1. 73 Source: O'Reilly (2005), p.1.74 Cf.Barbry (2007), p. 91.
21
According to the knowledge and experience of interviewed Croatian experts, in the field of
social media, changes that development of Web 2.0 brought, in terms of marketing
environment and brand management are visible. All the participants gave similar answers.
The development of Web 2.0 has definitely had an impact on marketing environment and
brand management. Since the development of Wikipedia and open source everything has
changed. Companies had to begin to manage brands systematically over the Internet.
Nowadays it is impossible to imagine a company without these possibilities. Those
changes encouraged the development of creativity, innovation but also efficiency of
campaigns. One of the biggest changes brought by the development of Web 2.0 is that
companies besides a “mouth” have also got “ears”. Now they have the opportunity to get
feedback from consumers.
The Internet has become one of the main marketing channels. Every year the budget
increases, companies and brand itself invest more and more money for the activities on the
Internet. This happens for the reason, social media tool enables more direct
communication than any other tool, provides the easiest way to reach customers.
Not only has the Internet become one of the main marketing tools, it has dramatically
changed marketing environment. Therefore, a lot of companies started to focus on social
media which enables friendly, close and direct relationship with their customers. Because
of that, customers develop a positive feeling for the brand much easier. Besides that, it
enables customers to get much higher amount of information on the product or service they
are interested in. Nowadays, all the information is absorbed by online media.
3.3 Social Media Defined
Social media can be described from two perspectives, the first one is philosophical. It
describes the way in which content has become democratized by the Internet and the role
22
people now play. Except from just consuming the information they can create and share
the content among each other. The second perspective is practical; it is defined by the
categories of software tools that people use to do actions like consuming, conveying,
creating and sharing content between each other. These categories are blogs, podcasts,
wikis, and social networks.75
If mass media is a monologue to the masses, from one to many, social media is a dialogue,
from many to many. Social media supports the human need for social interaction, and the
need to share information, knowledge, thoughts and ideas. Some have gone as far as to
call it the democratization of knowledge and information.
Scott says “Social media provides the way people share ideas, content, thoughts, and
relationship online. Social media differ from so called “mainstream media” in that anyone
can create, comment on, and add to Social Media content. Social media can take the form
of text, audio, video, images and communities.”76
Social Media can also be described as “a place where consumers communicate with each
other across various platforms as diverse as discussion forums, wikis, social networks, and
video, photo, news sharing sites.”77
These new technologies are giving employees the power over corporate communication
and reputation. They make it easier to communicate and build the relationships both
between the employee and the company and between each other, in other words the form
of organization has changed from top-down approach to the bottom up.78
3.3.1 Attributes of Social Media79
In the following text six valuable attributes of social media are going to be described that
make it a powerful tool.
Authenticity
75 Cf. Cook (2008), p.7. 76 Scott (2010), p. 38. 77 Gupita et al. (2010), p. 1.78 Cf. Cook (2008), p. 14.79 Cf. Postman (2009), p. 8ff.
23
Social media lets the real voices of real people come through, allowing an intimacy never
achieved before in corporate communications. That is the reason why we have never
before seen so much unfiltered, unmassaged, spontaneous information coming directly
from the people that run the world’s largest corporations.
Transparency
There are two kinds of transparency in corporate social media. The first is traditional
financial transparency or the ability for shareholders and regulators to see how well a
company is performing financially. The second definition is that through company blogs,
communities and other vehicles the rest of a company’s inner workings can also be made
visible to the public.
Immediacy
Immediacy is the ability of companies, bloggers, journalists and members of the public to
communicate, and to engage in online conversations at unprecedented speed. A blog post
can be written, formatted and published in minutes. Twitter updates happen in the blink of
an eye. Live video is now within reach of anyone with a handicam, or even a cell phone
with a video camera.
Participation
Once being the domain of company's authorized communicators, a useful, current
definition of corporate communications recognizes that anyone can participate in the
conversation, whether on the company’s blog, independent forums, personal blogs, Twitter,
or any of places online.
Connectedness
Through a multitude of mechanisms for sharing information, social media allows millions of
connections to take place, amplifying the impact of company communications. RSS feeds
allow information posted in one place to be instantly displayed in thousands of other
places. Social bookmarking sites like Digg allow users to easily share stories with others.
Accountability
24
While one of the characteristics of the Internet is supposedly anonymity, and this is true in
some cases, people who use social media are more accountable than they might realize.
Many companies, and their PRs and marketing agencies, have tried to “game the system”
through unethical practices the practice of falsifying grassroots support for a product,
company, service or point of view by having paid company representatives leave
anonymous comments. Over and over again, these companies are caught and publicly
vilified.
3.3.2 3’R of Social Media80
Promotion has always depended on getting customers attention and it always will. The old
way was to bombard the customers with messages over and over again. But Web 2.0
customers require a new approach to get their attention. Therefore, the new way can be
summarized as the “Three R’s.” It must be relevant, real and responsive.
Relevant
Stores on the Web are equally close; therefore the relevance is the factor which enables
customers to choose one store over another. If the Web site is the most relevant site for the
task at hand, the possibility is higher to get the business. Proximity is being replaced by
relevance.
Tools like search engines (Google for example) are designed to decide what is relevant for
a web shopper. Each searcher is seeking the most relevant search results—the Web sites
that best match the task being performed at that moment. Relevance is at the top of
customers’ list. Brand loyalty is gradually being replaced by relevance.
Real
Nowadays every company can be held up on the Web and be made accountable. The
best example is blog, it's free of charge and anyone can wright it. „Companies aren’t real—
people are. So the way to be real is to let the people out. Some workers might want to write
blogs. Some might just comment on blogs written by others. Others might haunt customer
support message boards and explain how your product really works and how to make it
work better.“ That’s what “getting real” means in marketing today.
80 Cf. Moran (2007), p. 25ff.
25
Responsive
The Internet ends the one-way communication and offline marketing. Online, the message
is not just delivered to the customers but the conversation with them starts. If one of the
parties is not responsive the conversation ends. Regardless of whether the customer likes
or dislikes something of companies practice, the company must react. Especially when
customers complain in the public about the product or service, the company has to be
prepared and react. Customers who have had a problem and got it resolved are more loyal
than those who have been treated flawlessly.
3.4 The Elements of Social Media
Many researchers discussed how to use social media as a trend indicator and how it is
possible to combine the efforts of operations and marketing to manage the behavior of the
crowd. Robert Scoble introduced the model of social media called “starfish”. Starfish is a
collection of arms where each of those arms has a specific applicability.81
81 Cf. Evans (2012), p. 46.
26
Figure 8: The Social Media Starfish82
There are two marketing elements in the starfish concept. The first one is social media
which contains a variety of different activities such as photo sharing, blogging etc. The
second element describes how effectively the use of social media depends on the selected
activities and the mix of social and traditional channels.83
3.4.1 Social Media Engagement
Social media is an extremely effective way of improving customer service but it cannot take
place of bad quality of a product or service.
Social media offers companies an opportunity to provide more personalized customer
service and support. It gives an opportunity to the companies to reach consumers where
they spend their time rather than requiring them to visit a separate site every time they
need help from a company they do business with. Some companies use social media tool
for one-to-one customer support, technical guidance live, online, with their customers to
increase customers’ engagement.84
82 Source: Evans (2012), p. 46.83 Cf. Evans (2012), p. 46.84 Cf. Postman (2009), p. 97.
27
Figure 9: LENiE Model85
LENiE model represents steps which need to be considered when it comes to the usage of
social media. When one step is missing engagement is not successful.86
Engagement cycle can be summarized into three easy steps. Cycle can begin when
company achieve to attract the potential customer, usually word-of-mouth brings people to
the company. This first contact happens usually at companies physical location, website
etc. What follows are steps like experience entice and engage. 87
85 Source: adapted from: Speck (2010), p. 48ff.86 Cf. Speck (2010), p. 480ff.87 Cf. Goodman (2012), p. 7f.
28
Listen
Be patient, polite and open mindedListen, identify issues, adopt pattern languagePrepare objectives, identify stakeholders, embrace changesDefine goals, limits and policies
Engage
and Connect
Get involved, establish interfacesRely on real faces , contacts and channelsShare content, themes and ideasTake responsibility, accept critique and address failures
Network and
Implement
Connect and network of individual services and persons Engage with civil society, community and leave footprintIdentify and support users, fans etc.Create and hold community meetings
Evolve
Connect, organize, delegate, assign tasksEmbrace changes, innovate and evolveStay engaged, open, creative and be patientRinse and repeat
Figure 10: Engagement Cycle88
To engage people the company needs only a few tools. Firstly, the company needs to have
content worth sharing, then the company needs a call to action that directs people, and of
course the company needs to deliver mechanisms that push the content to the audience.
It’s important to make it easy for people to interact with company and companies’ content
and to share information with others. 89
Engagement matters for company because it brings old customers back and enables
repeat sales, and with help of social media company begins to be visible and know foe
potential or new customers.90
88 Source: Goodman (2012), p. 8.89 Cf. Goodman (2012), p. 49.90 Cf. Goodman (2012), p. 49.
29
3.5 Social Media Tools
Companies’ can choose among huge variety of well-known and available tools. Below
listed and explained are the ones which are used by companies most commonly to
promote and increase brand awareness.
Both, small and big business are aware of numerous advantages of social media tools
usage. Companies use social media for several reasons; “to build brand awareness, to
network with other businesses, to build relationships with existing and potential customers,
to boost sales, to communicate marketing message and promotions, to learn about their
customers, to manage their reputation, to see real and human in consumers’ eyes rather
than as an untouchable entity.”91
In following subchapters the main types of social media tools are going to be described.
From obtained data from interviews it is visible that Croatian companies are keener to use
social networks rather than other tools.
According to the research and the interviews it is clear that almost all the tools used in
western countries are available but not all are used in Croatia. Most commonly used are
Facebook, Tweeter, Foursquare, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest etc.
The most important thing, according to Croatian experts, is the education of people who
are responsible for the implementation of social media. They have seen many good and
many bad examples of implementation. The main goal is to attract customers, therefore
they have to attract customers' attention by giving them enough interesting content to like
and comment. Many companies use sweepstakes, discounts etc. just to attract attention.
It is very important to get a reaction from customers that is why social media is for. If a
company is lucky and able to get strong, positive emotions the ultimate outcome will be
very positive.
91 Gunelius (2010), p. 148.
30
Figure 11: Social Media Landscape92
3.5.1 Blog
Blogs Safko and Brake defined the term blog as a derivate from web log which is simply
another word for an online journal.93 Zarella defines blog in a similar manner and defines it
as a word-wide-web that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments,
and hyperlinks provided by the writer. Blog provides “a variety of social features, including
comments, blogrolls, trackbacks, and subscriptions that make it perfect for marketing
purpose.”94
A blog or initially called web log is “a web site that is maintained by an individual with
regular entries or posts that include commentary, thoughts, ideas, and may contain photos,
graphics, audio or video.”95 Blogs are made of posts, display date-stamped entries in
92 Source: Saleem (2010), [online].93 Cf. Safko (2010), p. 140.94 Zarella (2010), p. 995 Safko (2010), p. 145.
31
reverse chronological order. The quality posts are the main and the most important element
of a successful blog.96
Blogs are usually managed by one person (blogger) and they provide the possibility of
interaction with others through the addition of comments.97
Mayfield defined the main types of blogs.98
Personal blogs (individuals who keep blog about their life e.g. public diaries)
Political blogs (blogs written about politics, aim is to comment on the news, give
the analysis of the issues etc.)
Business blogs (allow companies to communicate in a less formal style than has
been traditional in newsletters)
“Almost media” blogs (allow companies to communicate in a less formal style than
has been traditional in newsletters)
Mainstream media blogs (national’s newspaper (BBC) have blogs for some of their
reporters and editors)
Blogs can provide news and content on the specific topic or they can be used as personal
journals. Business blogs can be used as internal communication tool between employees
or they can be designed for public usage.99
Except for personal usage blog can serve for business purpose. Business blog is a tool
with which companies can share knowledge; communicate one with other and with
customers. It’s low cost, and it enables company to be present on-line without having a
web page.
3.5.2 Micro blogs
Zarrella defines micro blogging as a form of blogging where the size of each post is limited.
It’s is less formal, it’s easy, it requires less investment of time than blogging.
Micro blogging enables customers to send messages, audio, video, and attach files,
empowers people to make friends, get directions, give and receive advice, review books,
96 Cf. Zarella (2010), p. 13.97 Cf. Kaplan and Haienlin(2010), p. 63.98 Cf. Mayfield (2008), p. 17. 99 Cf. Safko (2010), p.145.
32
restaurants, products and services (…). Via micro blogs it is easy to create small, intimate
communities that are concentrated on specific topics such as politics, technology, medical
issues etc.100 The messages are usually shorter than few hundred characters and it
enables nearly real time many-to-many communication. The update can be done via the
web, via text messages, instant messages or even via e-mail.
Twitter is the most known high-increasing micro blogging service, which has become more
mainstreamed than any other similar social media tool. 101 It has become influential driver of
electronic word of mouth. Twitter was created in 2006, and it enables users to post the
messages which are not longer than 140 characters.102 Twitter posts are known as
“tweets”.
Twitter has reached 500 million user accounts at the beginning of 2012. Tweeter is growing
at over 1.123 million accounts per day or in the other words more than 13 new accounts
per second.103
Twitter is a powerful tool for connecting like-minded people, developing relationships,
getting customer feedback and increasing brand visibility. In the last few years Tweeter
has become a major traffic driver back to small business websites. Twitter works especially
well with a blog, if you share links to your blog content with your Twitter followers.104
Tweeter can be named as the second (after Facebook) most commonly used tool, which
has ca. 20 000 users in Croatia and it is not usable for the mass public. Tweeter is great for
a technologically oriented brand and it is easier to find members of IT industry and
journalists there. By itself Tweeter is valuable because it enables fast fluctuation of
information.
100 Cf. Safko (2010), p. 257.101 Cf. Zarella (2010), p. 31. 102 Cf. Jansen et al. (2009), p. 2172. (u doc. Primjeri na temu)103 Cf. Bullas (2012), [online].104 Cf. McAlear (2009), p. 2.
33
3.5.3 Social Networking
People have tended to establish relationships with each other since their existence; social
networking is not much more. With the help of social networks people can establish new
relationships and group them. The true value of social networks is not just in people but it
relies on relationships itself. “Social networking is the act of building one’s social
network.”105
Social networking sites “are applications that enable users to connect by creating personal
information profiles, inviting friends and colleagues to have access to those profiles, and
sending e-mails and instant messages between each other.“106 Initially social networking
sites were created for personal usage.107
Nowadays, social networking sites are a hot topic for companies because of various
opportunities for interacting with customers. Opportunities for marketers are in plug-in
applications, groups and fan pages.108 More and more companies decided to use social
networking as a promotional tool for their brands to build better connections with potential
and loyal customers.
There are some features which characterize social networks and help to distinguish them
from other Web sites.109
Profile page
Status updates
Network with friends
Networks
Commenting system
Private message possibility
Social media in general increased in popularity among private users and companies. There
are sites that focus on private and social actions whose purpose is business.110 Xing and
LinkedIn are most popular professional networks. The most popular network used in private
purposes is MySpace and Facebook.
105 Deans (2009), p. 3.106 Cf. Kaplan and Haenlein (2010), p. 62.107 Cf. Lüsted (2011), p. 11.108 Cf. Zarrella (2010), p. 53.109 Cf. Rigby(2008), p. 60.110 Cf. Loyd (2009), p. 62.
34
Facebook was founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg.111 It is one of the fast growing and the
most widespread sites on the Internet. Today, Facebook is the dominant social networking
site. The service allows members to create a personal profile or business profile and
enables them to connect with friends, exchange written messages, connect with a page
and become a fan.112
Facebook is available in more than 70 languages. In 2012 Facebook had 845 million active
users.113 By the end of 2011 it had 483 million daily active users.114
Facebook can be very beneficial in terms of companies and promotion of their brands.
Facebook is increasing because it has many users and it has good engagement tools. The
first tool is „building a fan page“, which can be created by any business. The main
advantage of a fan page is that all fans can see all posts in their news feed. it is important
to start with optimization of additional content, adding applications, newsletter sing-up
pages and events and at the end it is important to promote them to Facebook „friends“.
Business gain additional exposure when someone becomes a fan of the page. Taking
advantage of the applications on Facebook can be seen as a second tool. To create extra
engagement is not hard because of pre-build tools which enable event promotion, upload
or record video etc.115
In Croatia the most popular social network is Facebook, it is the biggest and best exploited
social network in Croatia. It has 1.5 million active users and a few thousand Facebook
pages. Many companies claim that Facebook changed their way of doing business, they
realized how important it is to build up friendship with their customers, and with a Facebook
page or application they can build or promote their brand.
111 Cf. Carlson (2010), [online].112 Cf. Zarrella (2011), p. 67.113 Cf. Anson (2012), [online].114 Cf.Facebook (2012), [online].115 Cf. McAlear (2009), p. 2ff.
35
LinkedIn is the largest professional social network which was founded in December 2002
by Reid Hoffman and launched in May 2003. By today it has had over 135 million members
and it is growing fast, in other words, every second LinkedIn gets two new members.116
LinkedIn “connects businesses by industry, function, geography and areas of interest.”117
Every professional should have a LinkedIn profile to display credentials. To get real value
out of LinkedIn, a company or an needs to setup a LinkedIn Group around his/her business
or around a topic his/her customers are interested in. It is even more favorable if
participation is not only focused on your own Group, but joins other related Groups too.
LinkedIn is a particularly good outpost to monitor those who market to the corporate or
enterprise market – or who are hiring.118
Google +
Google Plus is a social network owned by Google Inc. It was launched on June 2011, and it
was integrated into Google Mail on December 2011.119 By now Google Plus has 170 million
users.120 It enables users to communicate, collaborate, create and share.
Google Plus combines services such as Profiles, Circles, Hangouts and Sparks. People
who have an account are able to create a profile with their real name not pseudonyms or
nicknames. Profile users can decide whether their profile is visible or searchable. Users
can put their contacts under circles and gain more privacy when posting. Circles also allow
users to read just information they are interested in. Hangouts are video chats sessions
that are initiated by users and can be joined by people in their circle. Users can chat and
pull up videos from YouTube which they can view together and comment. Sparks were
created to help users to find what they are interested in by providing suggestions and an
open search.121
Users can reach Google Plus either on website or mobile device with help of mobile app.
Google Plus enables companies to share, promote and measure. It helps to build up better
relationships with customers by sharing thoughts, links, photos and promotions. it gives the
opportunity to show the customers behind-the-scenes look, and enables to give a face-to-
116 Cf. LinkedIn (2012), [online]. 117 Bothma et al. (2008), p. 187.118 Cf. McAlear (2009), p. 2.119 Cf. Andreson and Still (2011), p. 7.120 Cf. Mashable Social Media (2012), [online].121 Cf. Andreson and Still (2011), p. 7ff.
36
face feedback with help of video chat. The customer service starts to be much faster and it
gives the company a chance to get to know their customers better. If a company wants to
send a specific message to specific followers Google circles are the best option.122
Foursquare
Foursquare was created by co-founders Dennis Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai, and it
was launched in March 2009. By today Foursquare's community has over 20 million people
worldwide, with over 2 billion check-ins, and with over millions every day. 123
Foursquare is a location-based social network, it enables users to share and save places
they been to. This application can display restaurants, parks, shops, bars etc. according to
user preferences. When user “check-in” at some location one can see what is in his
surrounding and which of his friends is nearby. Afterwards user can write reviews and tips
for the location and provide new information useful for other foursquare users. 124
Foursquare can be used by any kind of businesses until they have physical location. When
brand has physical location company can use foursquare Merchant Platform. It offers a free
set of tools to help companies to attract new visitors. When brand holder decides to
establish a brand presence on foursquare, they can connect with followers and community
on foursquare.125
Social media experts mentioned Foursquare as the third main social network in Croatia.
Foursquare is location social network which enables brand holders to provide customers
with interesting information on the specific location. Brand holders also give Specials to
customers in exchange for their check-in, e.g. customers make free promotion for a brand
holder.
Experts said that other social networks are just not “alive” enough in Croatia and the
number of users is too small to invest money in them.
122 Cf. Google+ (2012), [online].123 Cf. Foursquare about (2012), [online].124 Cf. Foursquare about (2012), [online].125 Cf.Foursquare business (2012), [online].
37
3.5.4 Media sharing (Content Communities)
The main objective of content communities is the sharing of media content between users.
There are content communities for a wide range of different media types, including text
(e.g., BookCrossing), photos (e.g., Flickr), videos (e.g., YouTube), and PowerPoint
presentations (e.g., Slideshare) and online pin-board e.g. (Pinterest). From a corporate
viewpoint, content communities carry the risk of being used as platforms for the sharing of
copyright-protected materials.126
Pinterest is a virtual pin-board, which helps to organize things. It is one of the hottest sites
on the Web, with traffic growing to 11 million unique visitors in January 2012.127 Pinterest is
connecting people all over the world based on their interests and shared content. When an
image or link is shared this becomes pin that can be placed on a thematic board, which is
usually customized for any topic.
Pinterest is good for business which are dealing with “visual” industry, such as arts, crafts,
photography and home decor. And it’s important to mention that more than 80% of users
are female.128
Flickr
Flickr is almost the best online photo management and sharing application in the world and
it has two main goals. Flickr wants to help people make their photos available to the people
who matter to them and they want to enable new ways of organizing photos and video.129
Anyone can share picture publicly or privately. When upload pictures on Flickr, people are
contributing to the largest public accessible archive.
For companies Flickr is also good, they can share the “story” of a company not just conduct
advertising.130
YouTube
126 Cf. Kaplan and Haenlein (2010), p.62.127 Cf. Pinterest (2012), [online].128 Cf. Pinterest (2012), [online].129 Cf. Flikr (2012), [online].130 Cf. Zarella (2011), p. 89.
38
YouTube is the most visited video-sharing platform. It was founded in 2005 and it enables
users to discover, watch and share videos.131 YouTube has almost the same amount of
users like Facebook, 490 million users worldwide and it generates 92 billion page views
each month.132
YouTube gives the possibility to set up the channel to display videos that relate to your
business, such as product demonstrations, how-to tutorials or website tour videos. People
will find the videos by searching on YouTube itself, or by finding video results through
search engines. YouTube is owned by Google, Google’s search components are working.
Statistics goes into the favor of videos, which are one of the most shared forms of content
today.133 Every minute, 24 hours of video material is uploaded globally by users. An
average user spends 14 minutes on YouTube.134
Slideshare & Scribd
Slideshare & Scribd are media-sharing sites that allow users to upload and share PDF
reports, PowerPoint presentations, spreadsheets and similar forms.135 For people who are
in any kind of business or profession where they generate knowledge pieces in one of the
mentioned forms, document-sharing sites are a way to show off expertise.
3.5.5 Others
Podcast
The term podcasting derives from two relative terms, iPod and broadcasting. Apple IPod
symbolizes portable mp3-player, and the term broadcasting indicates the distribution of
audio and video signals to the audience.136
Podcasting allows any person or organization to create a video or audio content in any
format they choose and then globally syndicate that content using the power of RSS. RSS
changed the way the content is delivered on the Internet and enabled users to decide when
and how they will receive the information they are interested in. “Podcasting is much more
than just a downloadable audio or video file that is online. RSS is the differentiator,
131 Cf. YouTube (2012), [online]. 132 Cf.Pring (2012), [online]. 133 Cf. McAlear (2009), p. 2.134 Cf. Burnett (2012), [online]. 135 Cf. Zarella (2011), p.97. 136 Cf. Hall (2008), p. 45.
39
because it not only notifies the subscribers of new information, but also delivers it to them,
or offers a direct link.”137 Besides audio and video content, podcasts allow to add links,
graphics and bookmarks. “As a part of social media, podcasting is easy to engage in and is
versatile enough to be incorporated into the workings of many different types of
organizations for a wide array of purposes.” 138
The variety of the content on the Internet is bigger every day and it is impossible to visit all
the Web sites you want. RSS allows people to choose the content they are interested in
and they want to receive, and be notified when there is something new what is in the
sphere of their interest.
For companies podcasts are interesting because they enable to address the user multi-
sensorially and interactively. Podcasts are always up-to date and in real time and they can
be produced quickly. Podcasts enable companies to record their messages, therefore
consumers can either listen or watch it online or simply download it. They are not specific
to any industry.139
Wikis
Richardson defined wiki as “collaborative web space where anyone can edit content that
has already been published.”140 Or in other words, wiki is collaborative Web sites whose
content can be viewed and edited by anyone who has a Web browser and access to the
Internet.
Wiki’s concept was established in 1994 by Ward Cunningham, and a year later it was
installed on the Internet. The word wiki in Hawaiian has a meaning of “fast” or “quick” and it
was used to describe a collection of Web pages that can be edited by anyone.141
Wikis were created to “help groups collaborate, share and build online content, and are
especially useful for distance learners who are separated by time and place.”142
Wikis can be used as a source for obtaining information and knowledge, and also as a
method of virtual collaboration.143 Simply wikis can be described as group writing and
editing, where all users can edit or comment a document at the same time. Wiki has
become valuable, easy to use and free resource tool.137 Cangialosi et al. (2008), p. 8.138 Cangialosi et al. (2008), p.12.139 Cf. Guffey and Loewy (2008), p.11. 140 Richardson (2006), p. 8.141 Cf. Safko (2011), p.159.142 West and West (2009), p. 3.143 Cf. Boulos et al.(2006), p. 41.
40
In general, wikis give to the user both, author and editor privileges. Wikis are able to
incorporate sounds, movies and pictures.144 In other words, these web sites represent
social media foundation of user-generated content and the knowledge of the crowd.145
The best example of a wiki is “Wikipedia” – an online editable encyclopedia.
Wikis live because of mass contribution, for companies they can bring many benefits such
as cheap and fast Intranet and publication of wide spectrum of different documents. They
are also used as a cheap and easy project management tool that is accessible by anyone
in the organization. With the help of wikis companies can easily manage motes, agendas,
calendars, and team related data and plans, also documents among employees and clients
are easily shared.146
Consumer Communities
In customer communities, customers can exchange information about a service, product
and businesses. In these communities people usually share their experience and opinions
for a product, artist, car, celebrity etc. These communities are good resources where
salespeople can learn about desires of the clients they serve. By being involved in these
communities a company can develop knowledge on how to serve clients more effectively.
Over 40 million people worldwide participate in such virtual communities. Popular
consumer communities are Amazon and eBay.147
Social News and Bookmarking
“Social news sites are websites that allow user to submit and vote on content from around
the Web.” Social news sites are considered to be useful for generating the content on the
web, it helps to isolate the interesting link.148 There focus is on delivering the latest news
based on votes.
Social bookmarking is a web-based service which enables users to store and share their
favorite links. Users store the list of Internet sources that they find interesting and useful on
a public website. Social bookmark sites are specified for a specific topic, such as books,
videos, shopping etc. Users can tag sources with their own names or by already offered
144 Cf. EDUCAUSE Learning (2005), p. 1.145 Cf. Safko (2011), p. 159.146 Cf.Chatfield (2009), p. 104.147 Cf. Solomon et al. (2009), p.143. 148 Zarella (2011), p.103.
41
names, thus creating folksonomies.149 Afterwards, someone with a similar interest can view
the links by tagging a category, or randomly. Individual bookmarks give the option to design
those sites as public or private.150
Social bookmarking is a better way of using the “traditional” way of bookmarking e.g.
saving the URL on your browser. It makes it easier and faster to find a specific page saved
a long time ago. Saving a bunch of sites on your browser can make it work slower and it
might be confusing and time consuming while finding a specific one. Therefore, users can
sing up for free accounts on the website to store data they really need. Those websites
enable users to approach their favorites from any computer they want via personalized
webpage.
The first social bookmarking site was launched in 1996. Since then a plethora of sites
which are offering public and private online storage of favorite’s links have been created.151
Among the variety of available social bookmarking sites offered, Delicious and Digg can be
named as the most popular.
Small businesses can benefit from social bookmarking. They can increase and generate
traffic to their website. Companies can improve page rank and get more visitors and as a
result they can increase sells of their product or service.152
Virtual Worlds
The rise of the Internet in the sense of mainstream customer medium increased popularity
of virtual worlds. Virtual worlds began with simulators which were 3D graphic simulation of
virtual environment. Virtual Worlds are games in which individuals use avatars as
representation of themselves in computer-based space.153
A virtual life-simulation game is “Second Life”, there people can experience life trough
avatars. In 2003 Second Life was launched, it is “user-created and socially driven”154.
One of the extremely popular one was World of Warcraft, but in game-based world the
social marketing possibilities are limited.155 Beside the chance to meet people, users could
149 Folksnomies – taxnomies are agreed by scientists or some kind of specialists and folknomies are made from regular people who are usin Web, the typical folknomie is blog. 150 Cf. Bothma et al. (2008), p.186.151 Cf. Zarella (2011), p. 103.152 Cf. Davis (2012), p. 75f.153 Cf. Tiem et al. (2012), p. 272.154 Zarrella (2011), p. 175.155 Cf. Zarrella (2011), p. 171.
42
create a social bond, what resulted with high popularity. World of Warcraft has its own
established so called ecosystem and is the biggest MMORG (massively multiplayer online
role-playing game).156
Although Second Life is a virtual world, there are existing financial transactions like in the
real world. Profits or investments can be made in the currency used in the simulation,
Linden dollars (L$). There is also the exchange rate between L$ and U.S. $, and they can
be turned back into real-world money through Linden Lab and third-party brokers.157
Some companies interact with virtual economies for real economic benefit. Real money
commerce in virtual markets has become a huge industry, but it is not fully accepted by
gaming industry. Since the real-life is mirrored and companies can use the same tactics
and techniques like in the real world, Second Life can be really helpful for companies.
Second Life platform can help companies for receiving feedback, gauging customer
reaction, testing prototypes. It is also useful for events or meeting places for customers,
prospects and employees. A company can also build up a new company in a virtual world,
where it can allow users to experience and learn about them.158
Widgets
Widget is a self-contained, miniature application that you can pop into one or more Web
pages and they are provided by JavaScript. They are stand-alone applications which mean
they don’t need any additional update or programming because they update themselves.159
Widgets are often on-screen tools such as clocks, tickets for auctions or stocks, daily
information and other application which are useful and well perceived in the eyes of users.
Widgets can help business users to model, administer, manage and monitor business
processes and activities. Private users can place companies’ widget on its own homepage
and they will receive companies’ news and updates. In this way the company can increase
brand awareness in the eyes of a customer.160
Mobile Devices
156 Cf. Safko (2010), p. 305.157 Cf. Zarella (2011), p.175.158 Cf. Safko (2011), p. 307. 159 Cf. MacDonald (2011), p. 463.160 Cf. Ahuja and Chandrasekaran (2010), p. 415.
43
Mobile devices can be “divided into Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and cell phones. “
PDAs are small computers, sometimes also called pocket computers. They are mainly
used to organize books and calendars. Cell phones are usually smaller than PDAs and can
be used to make phone calls. GSM or Global System for Mobile Communications is a
system used to connect mobile devices and enables service like SMS (Short Message
Service) and GPRS (General Radio Packet Service), all over Europe. GPRS allows users
to connect to the Internet via their mobile phones. 161
A next generation of mobile device is smartphones (BlackBerry, iPhone, Android).
Smartphones allow people to use Social Media software, check e-mails, update their posts
whenever they what.
Mobile devices are the cheapest, compared to laptops, desktops and broad-band. They are
small, easy transportable and any person can afford it. It is not a miracle that on the planet
there are three cell phones per person. Mobile devices are the fastest growing segment of
technology-driven marketing. It is a piece of technology which allows people to stay in
contact with each other, access e-mails, send photos, audio, video, blog, and surf the
Web.162
People today are reeling from the benefits of mobile devices through increased
productivity. Business people, salespeople and mobile workers are benefiting the most.
They don’t have to be bound by the desk to get messages in time. They also enable
companies’ employees to provide customers with better customer service. Employees have
access to their mail, contacts, corporate data and up-to-date meeting schedules.163
Maps
Generally, maps are a visual representation of some area. A great development of the Web
has affected development of map application by combining communication and graphical
information. In the early 2000s interface allowed users to make the request and “find their
way”.164
Google Maps played an important role in changes of the technology, new user-oriented
technologies and map mash-ups.165 The development of applications interface programing
161 Stormer (2005), p. 83.162 Safko (2011), p. 635.163 Cf. Unhelkar (2009), p.201.164 Cf. Batty et al. (2010), p. 2.165 Mash – up – combine data from two or more sources to create a third new service. Combination, visualization and aggregation can be named as main characteristics of mash-ups.
44
(API) allowed users to create their own variants of Google Map within their own web
page.166
Google Maps and Google Earth allow users things such as pins and place marks,
afterwards bringing the additional information like text, video or pictures.167 With the help of
the maps some information can be visualized to ease users’ search. The main aim of using
maps is to find relationship or the certain connection between users “question” and
expected “answer”, therefore maps use GIS.168
Map mash-ups is a popular term, and it refers to a web page or an application that
combines data and services from many sources and combines it to a new website. The
value of mash up is not in data itself but in user interface for that data. Google Maps allow
people to integrate a lot of mash-ups into their website.169
Nowadays, most of the companies own a website. It is essential if company wants to be
found by customers. Maps offer customers an easier way to find the location of companies’
branch offices or headquarters. Besides directions a customer can find other information
about the company.
Geotagging enables people to tag places or locations they have been to. The users can
connect physical location with video, comment or picture. For instance Flickr is the best
example of geotagging i.e. location metadata to Flickr images.170
3.6 Technologies within Web 2.0
When talking about Web 2.0 and Social Media there are two main technologies mentioned
in the literature; RSS and AJAX. In order to understand how the Web works we need to
know what the basic thing behind those two technologies is.
AJAX and RSS are considered to be two main tools in the development of Web 2.0
applications.
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) and XML (Extensible Markup Language) are the
166 Cf. Batty et al. (2010), p. 2f.167 Cf. Rigby (2008), p. 189ff. 168 GIS system integrates hardware, software, and data for capturing, meauring, analysing and displaying all forms of geographical information. it is used for handling maps.169 Cf. Van Der Vlist (2007), p. 404.170 Cf. Flickr (2012), [online].
45
languages to create and format the content on the Web. JavaScript is also scripting
language mainly used by client-side Web development.171 As mentioned above, in this
section focus is going to be on AJAX and RSS which can create dynamic objects.
AJAX
AJAX is a combination of techniques used on Web sites and stands for Asynchronous
JavaScript and XML. It is based on techniques of the 1990’s that have been joined
together.172
AJAX concept is considered to be “rich application”, it offers much more suitable
experience to the users than the standard application does.173 The concept itself separates
the user interface from the data which enables a fluid way of exchanging data between a
browser and server. It enables to reload just a specific part of the page, without reloading
the entire Web page. 174 As a result, Web becomes more responsive, less time consuming
and more dynamic.
Google Gmail and Google Maps are the best examples of application which is using AJAX
techniques. Every time the user saves or sends an e-mail everything is happening behind
and user interface remains the same. The same counts for Google Maps, just the selected
area on the map is reloading not the entire page.175
RSS
RSS and Atom are both technologies for subscribing news and other contents from Web
pages. ATOM is known as publishing format, but also as more flexible than RSS. “Atom is
increasingly popular rival to the RSS.”176
RSS or Really Simple Syndication is the name of both, the technology and just one of the
technology providers. RSS is an XML-based data format for websites; it is used for files
exchange that contains publishing information and reviews of the site’s contents.177
171 Cf. Deans (2009), p. 6.172 Cf. Cavaleri (2008), p. 2. 173 Cf. Cavaleri (2008), p. 2. 174 Cf. Deans (2009), p. 6.175 Cf. Cavaleri (2008), p. 2.176 Wusteman (2004), p. 2.177 Cf. Wusteman (2004), p. 2.
46
RSS feature on the Web enables users to sing up and automatically get notified wherever
there is an update. Users don’t have to go from site to site in order to see what new has
been posted, they can find about updates to the content of RSS-enabled websites, blogs or
podcasts without actually having to go and visit the site.178
It is a method which enables publishing information in a structured feed format. Firstly, the
user has to install a software tool known as aggregator or feed reader. Than the user
decides which RSS feeds one wants to receive and subscribe to them. Afterwards, the user
will receive information updates.179
RSS readers or aggregators can be desktop-based or web-based. Desktop-based
aggregator allows the user to read the content even if he/she is offline. Web-based
aggregators allow the user to read the content on the Web whenever he/she wants from
whichever computer he wants.180
RSS is included into Internet browsers such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and
Google Chrome. The most popular aggregators are Google Reader (google.com/reader),
Bloglines (bloglines.com), CNN (cnn.com) etc.
178 Cf. Wusteman (2004), p. 2.179 Cf. Deans (2009), p. 6., Cf. Wusteman (2004), p. 2.180 Cf. Thomas (2009), p. 69f.
47
4 The Impact of Internet and Social Media on Brands
4.1 Introduction
Management concepts have been changed over the time; they are “deeply influenced by
the competitive situation and the tools to market.”181 With the development of the Internet
consumers got the power they didn’t have before. Today’s marketers must adopt dynamic
concepts and forget the static ones in order to create passionate communities and have
followers. The brand must rally people not just convince them.182
To achieve more effective and efficient communication marketers have to go on-line,
because the customers are there. On-line Publisher’s Association brought out the
information that “on-line advertising was estimated at a little less than 6% of global ad
spending in 2006, but is expected to jump to 10% to become a $25 billion business by
2009.”183 This growth is occurrence of rich media that combine animation, video and sound
and beyond that they have interactive features.
The Internet provides marketers and customers with opportunities for much greater
interaction and individualization. On-line, companies get chance to create and send
messages that can engage different segments of customers by reflecting their interests and
behavior. The Internet offers the advantage of “contextual placement, or sites for ad
placement that are related to the marketers’ offerings.” Customers define the rules of
engagement, and they define what information they need, what offerings they are
interested in and what they are willing to pay.184
“The interactive media allows sellers to share and exchange information with their
customers but also allows customers to share and exchange information one another as
well.”185 Customers have open hands and therefore marketers can lose some control over
consumers’ future actions.186
Customer engagement is defined as “an intimate long-term relationship with customer.”187
The Internet and social media provide opportunity to connect with customers using richer
181 Kapferer (2012), p.128.182 Cf. Kapferer (2012), p.127ff.183 On-line Publisher's Association (2007) qtd.in: Keller (2009), p.147.184Cf. Keller (2009), p.147f.185 Sashi (2012), p.255.186 Cf. Keller (2009), p.147f.187 EIU (2007) qtd.in: Sashi (2012), p.256.
48
media with grater reach. Advertising Research Foundation defined customer engagement
as „turning on a prospect to a brand idea enhanced by the surrounding context“.188 In the
terms of strategy „engagement refers to the creation of experience that allow companies to
build deeper, more meaningful and sustainable interactions between the company and its
customers or external stakeholders“.189
The arrival of the Internet and especially social media gave managers in consumers and
business markets worldwide higher potential for grater interactivity and opportunity to serve
customers in a better way.190
4.2 Changes in Marketing Rules
4.2.1 The Old Rules of Marketing
Strong brand awareness is caused by successful marketing initiatives, and it leads to
higher sales and revenues. Promotion gives the customer information about the product or
service to create awareness about the brand.
Promotion is defined as “marketing function concerned with persuasively communicating to
target audience the components of the marketing program in order to facilitate
exchange.”191
Promotion is one of key elements of the marketing mix.
Kotler and Armstrong claimed that promotional mix consists of a “specific blend of
advertising, sales promotion, public relationship, personal selling, and direct marketing
tools than the company uses to persuasively communicate customer value and build
customer relationship.”192 Furthermore, promotional mix tools are explained:
“Advertising can reach massages of geographically dispersed buyers at a low cost
per exposure.
Personal selling is most effective tool at certain stages of the buying process,
particularly in building up buyers’ preferences, convictions and actions.
Sales promotions include a wide assortment of tools – coupons, contests, price
reduction, premium offers, free goods and others. 188 Advertising Research Foundation (2007) qtd.in: Sashi (2012), p.255f.189 EIU (2007) qtd.in: Sashi (2012), p.256.190 Cf. Sashi (2012), p.257. 191 Burnett (1993) qtd.in: Chaffey et al. (2006), p.243.192 Kotler and Armstrong (2008), p.398.
49
PR is believable: new stories, features, sponsorships and events seem more real
and believable to riders than ads do.
Direct marketing is interactive: it allows a dialogue between the communicator and
the consumer, and message can be altered depending on the customers’
response.”193
In the traditional communications paradigm, the elements of the promotional mix are
coordinated to develop an IMC (Integrated Marketing Communication) strategy, and the
content, frequency, timing, and medium of communications are dictated by the organization
in collaboration with its paid agents (advertising agencies, marketing research firms, and
public relations consultants). The flow of information outside the boundaries of the
paradigm has generally been confined to face-to face, word-of-mouth communications
among individual consumers, which has had minimal impact on the dynamics of the
marketplace due to its limited distribution.194
Figure 12: 1:n Traditional Communication Model195
Because of the development of the Internet and Web 2.0 Croatian companies couldn’t
follow or serve the customer and market needs by following traditional rules or by using
traditional tools. They were forced to follow the new rules and had to open new division,
besides standard marketing and PR division. The new division they had to open was
dealing only with social media and social media implementation.
193 Kotler and Armstrong (2008), p.398194 Mangold and Faulds (2009), p. 359.195 Source: adaptef from: FitzGerald and Arnott (2000), p.264.
50
4.2.2 The New Rules of Marketing
Social media is a hybrid element of the promotion mix because it combines characteristics
of traditional IMC tools (companies talking to customers) with a highly magnified form of
word-of mouth (customers talking to one another) whereby marketing managers cannot
control the content and frequency of such information. Social media is also a hybrid in that
it springs from mixed technology and media origins that enable instantaneous, real-time
communication, and utilizes multi-media formats (audio and visual presentations) and
numerous delivery platforms (Facebook, YouTube, and blogs, to name a few), with global
reach capabilities. The emergence of a highly educated, historically affluent, and an
increasingly skeptical and demanding consumer population facilitates its acceptance in the
marketplace.196
Figure 13: The New Communication Paradigm197
The Internet has become a mass media vehicle for consumer-sponsored communications.
It now represents the number one source of media for consumers at work and the number
two source of media at home.
“The Internet reaches more than 60% of all United States consumers for an
average weekly usage rate of more than 100 minutes.198
Consumers are turning away from the traditional sources of advertising: radio,
television, magazines, and newspapers. Consumers also consistently demand more
196 Mangold and Faulds (2009), p. 359.197 Source: Mangold and Faulds (2009), p.360.198 Rashtchy et al. (2007) qtd.in: Mangold and Faulds (2009), p. 360.
51
control over their media consumption. They require on-demand and immediate
access to information at their own convenience.199
Consumers are turning more frequently to various types of social media to conduct
their information searches and to make their purchasing decisions200
Social media is perceived by consumers as a more trustworthy source of
information regarding products and services than corporate-sponsored
communications transmitted via the traditional elements of the promotion mix”.201
Brand is the sum of total customers' experience with the company and its product or
service, and company changes customers' lives, whether in a good or bad way. Therefore,
Postman claims that customers have always “owned” the brand. Development of the
Internet and social media has changed how companies handle their brands. They have to
get ready to “let go” of the brand. In other words, social media is not about losing or letting
go of the brand but simply on deciding how much “control” company wants to let go and
how they can manage companies social media initiatives to achieve business results like
improved brand perception and awareness.202
“Prior to the web, organizations had only two significant choices to attract attention: Buy
expensive advertising or get third party ink from the media. But web has changed the rules.
The web is not TV. Organizations that understand the new rules of marketing and PR
develop relationship directly with customers like you and me”.203
4.2.2.1 Development of Communication Rules
Before the digital revolution, customers’ awareness could be achieved either through
advertising, third party exposure from the media, or direct contact to the consumer.
Development of social media has changed the rules, enabling new possibilities to directly
communicate with the customers and reach a vast amount of clients at the same time.204
One-to-One Communication
199 Rashtchy et al. (2007) qtd.in: Mangold and Faulds (2009), p. 360.200 Lempert (2006) qtd.in: Mangold and Faulds (2009), p. 360.201 Foux (2006) qtd.in: Mangold et al. (2009), p. 360.202 Cf. Postman (2009), p.8.203 Scott (2011), p. 5.204 Cf. Scott (2008), p. 23.
52
Not so long time ago, companies were putting all the efforts to reach customers into direct
marketing while using channels such as e-mail and telephone. Direct marketing is defined
as direct communication between buyer and seller where no intermediary media is used.205
This communication pattern is clearly supporting one-to-one communication, between the
brand and the consumer where the consumer was able to give a direct feedback to the
brand holder. This form of communication is mainly supported by e-mail system.206
Figure 14:1:1 Communication Model207
One-to-Many Communication
One-to-many communication is based on the traditional communication model, which
means that the message goes from a sender to a group of receivers. In this model,
communication flows through a medium directly to the consumer but it is one way
communication.208 Since the message is sent out to variety of consumers, consumer is not
able to reply directly to the message. The aim of this pattern is to reach as many people as
possible.209
See (Figure12.Traditional Communication Model)
In both cases, the one-to-one communication pattern and the one-to-many communication
pattern communication can provide direct communication, when the customer i.e. the
receiver of the message contacts directly the brand owner i.e. the sender of the message.
Many-to-Many Communication
205 Cf. Mullin (2002), p. 2.206 Cf. Reed et al. (1994), p. 90.f.207 Source: Adapted from:Lee (2009), [online].208 Cf. FitzGerald and Arnott (2000), p.264.209 Cf Schultz et al. (1994), p.6., Scott (2011), p. 23.
53
In many-to-many communication the message or information flows among group of
individuals.210 This type of communication means for companies that they have to give a
certain level of control. Nowadays, customers are online and they interact whenever and
with whom they want. “Call centers and customer relations departments tend to look at
consumers in a vacuum; they do not consider customers’ circle of influence”.211
Figure 15: n:n Communication Model212
4.3 Branding in the Digital Age
Today, the Web has become an integral part of “brandscape” with majority of brands
growing online and offline.213 Dayal et al pointed out the important connection between an
online customer experience and the brand, it follows: “the World Wide Web, the brand is
the experience, and the experience is the brand”.214
Before, customer would systematically narrow down his brand choices in order to arrive at
the final selection and complete his engagement by making a purchase.215 Today’s
consumer connect with brands in a new way, trough media channels which are beyond
manufacturers control, traditional marketing strategies has to be redesigned. Customer
relies on digital interaction.216
210 Cf. Reed et al. (1994), p. 91.211 Weber (2011), p. 56.212 Source: Adapted from:Lee (2009), [online].213 Cf. Christoulides and de Chernatony (2004), p. 168.214 Dayal et al. Qtd.in: Christoulides and de Chernatony (2004), p.171.215 Cf. Haubl et al.(2000), p. 4.216 Cf. Edelman (2010), p. 2.
54
In this new world of e-branding, “the Internet has become more than a gimmick or a mere
line item on the communications budget”. Now it plays more than an important role, it’s the
main tool in enhancing brand relationships and in corporate reputation creation.217
Internet offers a huge advantage over traditional mass media. But in general there is no
much difference in building an Internet brand and traditional brand. There are no
boundaries and the speed of spreading, sharing and collaborating is incredible. Because of
this seed people can move from awareness to action on the Internet. The only difference in
brand building is speed, which becomes essential. For marketers to become good in it, it's
requires a new way of thinking about how to design Web sites and related marketing
communications.218
Customers connect with the brands trough social media channels and evaluate them. After
the purchase this consumer may remain “engaged, publicly promoting or assailing the
product they’ve bought, collaborating in the brands’ development, and challenging and
shaping their meaning”.219
Edelman made a clear illustrated comparison between consumers decision making “than“
and “now“.
Figure 16: Then: The Funnel Metaphor220
The first figure („than“) shows marketers assumption on how customers think. Marketers
assume that customers are taking large variety of potential brands in consideration, and
then they are methodically winnowed choices. Usually the customers buy the product or
service after they make final choice. Edelman claims that after purchase, customer’s
relationship with the brand is focused on the use of product or service.
217 Cf. Chiagouris et al. (2000), p. 34.218 Cf. Chiagouris et al. (2000), p. 34.219 Edelman (2010), p. 2.220 Source: Edelman (2010), p. 4.
55
Figure 17: Now: The Consumer Decision Journey221
The second figure („now“) shows that today’s consumers have changed compared to few
years ago. They rather add and subtract brands from some certain groups under
consideration during an extended phase. The difference in the behavior after the purchase
is also visible. They enter into an open-ended relationship with the brand, they share their
experience online.
4.3.1 Social Media Marketing
Strong marketing presence is beneficial for getting business from customers who are
interested in product or service. If company creates brand awareness no matter on
customer purchase they will remember on this product or service and seek the brand when
they will actually need product or service.222
Social media marketing defers from traditional marketing because it is much cheaper and
available to everyone. Traditional marketing tactics are not so effective anymore, because
customers have changed, their trust in traditional media has decline. People tend to trust in
comments and reviews of peers.223
Crowd influence becomes one of the main strategies for the success. If company knows
how to influence the crowd effectively they can create significant and defensible market
position which relies on social acceptance. The most important is to listen to the crowd and
learn from it.224
221 Source: Edelman (2010), p. 4.222 Cf. Weinberg (2009), p. 5.223 Cf. Weinberg (2009), p. 6.224 Cf. Evans (2012), p. 37f.
56
4.3.1.1 Changes in Consumer Decision Making
Consumers are constantly making decision, on the purchase, and use of products or
service. The decision making is of a significant importance for both, consumer and
marketer. Consumers are often faced with large number of alternatives and therefore they
have to make a decision. Due to technological changes and competitive pressure this
effect of choosing among huge variety of alternatives is even more exposed.225
As Bettman et al. said: “typical consumer choice consists of a set of alternatives.” Each of
these alternatives is described by several attributes. Some of these alternatives can be
known with certainty and others with uncertainty, like reliability or durability of a product or
service.226
Figure 18: The Classical Purchase Funnel227
From traditional media perspective classical purchase funnel has three stages –
awareness, consideration and purchase, this are the steps company uses to move
customers toward the ultimate goal, the sale.
Growth of electronic commerce effected increasing number of consumers who are using
interactive media. One of the characteristic of online shopping environments, which can be
seen as opportunity, is possibility to create online retail interfaces with interactive features.
Interactive features enable customers in their purchase decision to customize electronic
shopping environment to their preferences.228 This growth in usage of social media has
changed the classical purchase funnel.
225 Cf. Bettman (1993), p. 50.226 Cf. Bettman (1993), p. 51.227 Source: Evans (2012), p. 40.228 Cf. Haubl et al. (2000), p. 4.
57
Figure 19: The Social Feedback Cycle229
Social media includes the post purchase user experience and gives it back to the purchase
process. The consideration phase in classical cycle was typically avoided by marketers
and they were putting a lot of efforts to create awareness. 230 Because of the Internet
consumers can get infinitely more information, despite all the advertisement they see or
hear, they can verify validity on the Web. User-generated media has a great influence on
the decision-making process. Customers who already bought the product or service and
had possibility to experience it personally generate information and participate in
consumer-to-consumer conversation. This conversation can play an important role in
decision-making process of potential customers.
4.3.2 Changes in Customers’ Behavior and Environment
Before the development of the Internet consumers were left without any other choice, they
had to trust what they were being told and that is what had the major effect on the ways
brands communicated. Before companies had to decide on the image of the brand and
how they wanted consumers to see it. In order to have more influence, the brand holders
realized that they had to communicate with their various consumers, so that the brand
could be seen as companies wanted to. Due to the development of Web 2.0 consumers
have the ability to talk back and to share their views and opinions with other customers.231
229 Source: Evans (2012), p. 44.230 Cf. Evans (2012), p. 44.231 Cf. Brown (2009), p. 3f.
58
Regarding to the development of the Internet customers have become more informed and
have become more educated. Customers have become subjects rather than objects. They
have also got a higher possibility of choice and they have become more active in creation
of a certain image or a specific product or service.
Customers have higher possibilities to learn, hence they have become smarter, wiser and
in terms of digital marketing it is much harder to blur there sight. Since it has never been
easier to compare the same product, to find where certain products are cheaper and better,
companies have to be more careful because they are taking risk of getting public praise or
complaints. Customers and companies have become equal.
Consumers decide with whom they want to communicate, therefore they ask directly for
information they are interested in, they can follow promotion and follow the brand. In this
way it is easier for brand holders to create a strong and emotional relationship between a
brand and a customer.
Brand management has become a much more complex and transparent discipline than it
used to be. Even customers have got the identity, they are no longer anonymous. Before it
was enough either to have a great product or to have grate marketing, but today both are
needed for the success with the emphasis on agile and good customer service and
communication.
According to the data collected form the interviews it is clear that the development of the
Internet affected the allocation of the budget in Croatia. In the last few years much more
money has been invested in online campaign, which caused reduction of the budget for
printed media. Companies invest more and more money into online media and the task for
the agencies is to follow the market.
Big companies have recognized the Internet as a great marketing tool; mainly because
they can follow their customers and according to the direct feedback develop their future
strategy. On the other side, the Internet is also helpful for small companies, it enables them
to build up their brand and create awareness.
Companies and their marketing strategies are much easier to maintain. For brand owners it
is important to get every potential buyer because “word of mouth” on the Internet has
reached its full potential.
59
Croatian companies had to adapt for the new platforms, or in another words, they had to
recreate content for the Internet users. Brand holders have to change their way of doing
business over the time. Tradition marketing channels are not enough anymore. To
maximize marketing potential it is necessary to use all the available tools. Companies are
looking for new and more creative solutions for the usage of new media. Due to
environmental changes Croatian companies had to accept social media as a new tool. With
the development of social media brand holders have got a great opportunity of advertising,
it is not expensive and they can get direct feedback form customers.
4.3.2.1 Consumer Becomes Prosumer
Alvin Toffler in his book “The Third Wave” argues that a consumer is phenomena of
industrial age.232 Today’s consumer action is becoming increasingly recognized as the
driving force behind many of the most important online companies. Development of
technology enabled customers collaboration such as in “wiki“ and models like “open
source“.233
The consumer changes his role from a passive one and starts to participate actively. An
active consumer is involved and active in designing or customizing the end product.
Toffler defined prosumers as „people who produce some of the goods and services
entering their own consumption“.234 David and Moy defined prosumer as a “professional
consumer.”235 The term prosumer is a combination of two words - producer and consumer-
that perfectly describes the millions of participants in the Web 2.0 revolution.236
Due to the development of Web and technology the opportunities increased for consumers
to communicate and collaborate. There are many platforms which are available for ideas
and knowledge sharing. The revolution in consumers’ online behavior reflects a qualitative
shift in consumer creativity that results in what Kozinets et al. call term innovation-oriented
online consumer communities.237 In today’s dynamic environment, every customer’s
creativity is going back to the business through word-of-mouth marketing.
232 Toffler (1980) qtd.in Kotler (1986), p. 510.233 Lévy (1997); Benkler (2006); Jenkins (2006) qtd.in: Kozinets et al. (2008), p. 339.234 Toffler (1986), p. 510.235 Cf. David and Moy (2007) qtd.in: Jones et al. (2009), p.928.236 Cf. Toffler (1986), p. 510.237 Cf. Kozinets et al. (2008), p. 344.
60
4.3.2.2 Social Consumer Networks
With the development of Web 2.0 and social media marketers got the power and found the
way to tap into these sites as interactive media tools. They allow interaction with customers
and relationship building. Those tools have a strong influence on the consumers’ buying
decision. Harridge-March and Quinton said “virtual communities and social networks
provide the connections to allow consumers to form strong relationships that influence
consumer behavior “.238
Consumers are now creating they own networks and developing relationships between
them. Social consumer communities have special characteristic and they according to
Harridge-March and Quinton customers are classified into four different types. “Lurkers” are
present on a service but they don’t contribute actively, “tourists” are contribute to the
network just occasionally but do not show a commitment for a network. “Minglers” are
active, they post but without any regularity and “devotees” are enthusiastic members of a
community. 239
Relationship marketing is a term which says that marketers should put efforts on building
long term relationships with their customers.240 ““The development of relationships between
consumers within social networks results in social and even emotional bonds being formed.
Social bonding can create a sense of loyalty where there may be multiple other sources of
supply of information – i.e. the more you participate, the stronger your social bonds and the
less likely you are to look elsewhere”.241
Four different types of customers, mentioned before, are of a great importance for brand
managers, to identify the right target group of customers and to serve this group with the
right advertisement. And word-of-mouth is especially important for marketers in the context
of online communities because of the extraordinary popularity, growth, and influence of
such communities.242
238 Harridge-March and Quinton (2009), p.172.239 Harridge-Marchan and Quinton (2009), p. 176ff.240 Cf. Berry qtd.in: Harridge-March/Quinton (2009), p. 174.241 Harridge-March/Quinton( 2009), p. 175.242 Cf. Brown et al. (2007), p. 3.
61
4.3.3 Electronic Word of Mouth
Traditionally word of mouth (WOM) has been defined as “informal communication between
private parties concerning evaluations of goods and services” or it can be interpreted as
face-to-face information exchange.243 Richins et al. defined word of mouth as the process
of conveying information from person to person and plays a major role in customer buying
decisions.244
WOM is perceived as a powerful marketing medium for companies to influence consumers.
The negative aspect of this marketing tool is that it is hard to influence it. WOM contains
consumers sharing attitudes, opinions, or reactions about businesses, products, or services
with other people. Positive WOM influences the buying decision, since people trust and rely
on families, friends, and others in their social network. “People appear to trust seemingly
disinterested opinions from people outside their immediate social network, such as online
reviews.”245
This form of word of mouth known as online WOM (OWOM) or electronic WOM (eWOM)
appears when people start to trust seemingly disinterested opinions from people outside
their immediate social network, such as online reviews.246
OWOM enables customers to influence the brand image and the perception, but once a
company starts with eWOM and viral marketing they will lose control because of little or no
tools available to manage the content flow.247
Microblogging is a new form of communication which allows sharing thoughts and attitudes,
and it has a direct impact in the eWOM communication. Microblogs offer immediate
sentiment and provide insight in affective reactions towards products at critical junctions of
the decision-making and purchasing process. Hennig-Thurau et al. defined eWOM as a
„statement made by potential, actual, or former customers about a product or company,
which is made available to a multitude of people and institutions via the Internet”.248
Microblogs allow just short messages, no longer than 140 characters and they are great for
243 Cf. Anderson qtd.in: Sweeney at al. (2012),p.237.244 Cf. Richins et al. qtd.in: Jansen et al. (2009), p. 2169.245 Duana et al. (2009). qtd.in: Jansen et al. (2009), p. 2169.246 Cf. Duana et al. (2009). qtd.in: Jansen et al. (2009), p. 2169.247 Cf. Wells et al. (2000), Ennew et al. (2000). qtd.in: Jansen (2009), p. 2169.248 Hennig-Thurau et al. (2004), p.39 qtd.in: Jansen (2009), p. 2170.
62
the brands, since people can share their thoughts almost anywhere, at any time, and with
anyone.249
eWOM communication implies that customers are online and they search for the
information on a product or services and share their knowledge and opinion. „Such
communication can include both positive and negative consumer experiences with a
product or company“. 250
Microblogging is becoming more and more important because it has a greater influence on
eWOM branding efforts. eWOM is an important aspect of consumer expression and it has
an impact on the brand's image and awareness.251
The new trend offers new opportunities for brand holders to build a brand relationship with
potential customers and increase awareness. With microblogging posts customers can
express their feelings, provide feedback, ask questions, and get answers. Microblogging
provides a real picture into what customers really feel about the brand and its competitors
in real time.252
4.3.4 „The Long Tail „of Marketing
The Long Tail describes a business model developed by Chris Anderson, the editor of
Wired magazine and the author of The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling
Less of More which first appeared in Wired in October 2004 and then became a book,
published in July 2006.253
The distribution and sales channel of the Internet enables businesses to reach new niche
markets by selling a large number of unique items in small quantities.
„The theory of the Long Tail is that our culture and economy is increasingly shifting away
from a focus on a relatively small number of "hits" (mainstream products and markets) at
the head of the demand curve and toward a huge number of niches in the tail. As the costs
of production and distribution fall, especially online, there is now less need to lump
products and consumers into one-size-fits-all containers. In an era without the constraints
249 Cf. Jansen et al. (2009), p. 2170.250 Hennig-Thurau et al. (2004), p.42.251 Cf. Jansen et al. (2009), p.2171.252 Cf. Jansen et al. (2009), p. 2185f.253 Cf. Anderson (2012), [online].
63
of physical shelf space and other bottlenecks of distribution, narrowly-targeted goods and
services can be as economically attractive as mainstream fare”.254
Figure 20: The Long Tail255
The Long Tail refers specifically to the orange part of the sales chart above, which shows a
standard demand curve that could apply to any industry. „The vertical axis is sales; the
horizontal is products. The red part of the curve are the hits, which have dominated our
markets and culture for most of the last century. The orange part is the non-hits, or niches,
which is where the new growth is coming from now and in the future“.256
Some of today's successful Internet businesses leverage the long tail to reach those
unserved customers in order to satisfy the demand for certain products found in traditional
stores. For example, because of its size a traditional bookstore carries the limits of the
inventory of books that can physically be inventoried and sold, which forces the holder of a
bookstore to carry a large inventory of the most popular books. On the other hand, there is
Amazon, the largest bookseller, where the two-thirds of the books are marked as
„unpopular“. A traditional bookstore cannot afford that, but Amazon can because of the
long tail and effective business model where there is no distribution, inventory, real estate
and other costs that are burden to traditional retailers.257
254 LongTail (2012), [online].255 Suorce: Long Tali (2012), [online].256 Cf. LongTail (2012), [online].257 Cf. Reece (2010), p. 197.
64
For brand managers knowledge of the long tail is important, businesses can be sure to get
some market share especially in digital markets. Brand holders who recognized the
opportunity they can serve several niches and increase brand awareness
Scott says: “Marketers must shift their thinking from the short head of mainstream
marketing to the masses, to a strategy of targeting vast numbers of underserved audiences
via the Web”.258
258 Scott (2010), p. 18.
65
5 Recommendations
It’s important to give a brief insight into Croatian market for further understanding of
recommendations. In needed to clarify how ready are Croatian companies for changes and
what social media experts point out as the main problem among Croatian companies.
The main problem experts see in lack of knowledge among Croatian brand managers.
Some companies do not have a lot of knowledge on social media and what the advantages
of social media are. This happens when doing business in one company is the same for
years, and then it is hard to learn something new and force people to change. If a company
wants to be competitive it has to accept changes.
This problem can also be described as a fear of unknown; brand holders have not had a
direct contact with the new type of marketing and it is understandable that they are scared
of customers' reactions.
The only solution is to get educated. The experts from agencies try to explain brand holders that people are already on the Internet, and their brand is not.
Croatian experts evaluated the readiness of Croatian Companies for changes and they
said that the majority of Croatian companies is becoming aware of changes in the market
and they are becoming aware of the power that the Internet and social media bring. Social
media can also be called a trend. Croatian experts think that is necessary to educate
Croatian public, in order for this kind of communication to become intended for an ultimate
number of customers.
Croatian experts for social media see the main deficiency in a weak knowledge of brand
managers; they are not able to recognize and evaluate good online suggestions, and due
to the lack of knowledge they do not know a lot about expenses on the Internet. Another
problem experts pointed out, is the capacity of agencies, they are not able to follow the
growth of the market. One expert says he sees the problem in undereducated clients. In
these situations a company has to adapt and as a result Croatia falls behind on the global
stage. He also compared Croatian advertising scene with the one in the USA in 2009/2010.
66
Most familiar with social media in Croatia are the companies that are in foreign ownership.
Their whole marketing strategy comes from outside the country, and they have money to
invest into education and technology development.
Croatian companies are ready to invest more money into social media and they are open
towards social media. Those companies who are not willing to accept this situation will
have to adapt eventually. Most companies know for Facebook and Tweeter.
After a brief overview of the Croatian market in the following text are given
recommendations for companies.
First of all, Croatian companies have to realize that time where they were just sending a
message, and customers were buying the products, has passed. Consumers are no longer
holding bad experience just for themselves like they used to. Every negative customer
experience is creating bad publicity for a brand and a brand holder. Companies should
recognize these changes as an opportunity in it, not as a threat. Brand holders together
with their customers can create a brand that is going to be better and adjusted to
customers.
Companies should also have in mind that this service is not free of charge. Like in every
other business, if a company wants to work on implementation systematically and
concretely then they have to pay for the service. Costs can be rather high because this
work involves full-time activation of a social media expert who deals with it almost 24/7,
since it concerns a highly dynamic medium. The very positive thing in a social medium is
that every single activity is measurable and it is easy to see what a good work, according to
the results, is.
If a company decides to deal with social media without the help of an expert, it is necessary
to identify all the social networks where they can maximize their profits. They should
develop communication strategy and following steps of the strategy. Communication
strategy should be the first step, including the type of communication where key
measurement parameters should be defined. Communication strategies differ depending
on what the communication goal is and what type of a brand is advertised.
Companies in Croatia should definitely implement a social media tool, following examples
of some Croatian companies who did so, in the right way, and had the return on the
investment even higher than 150%.
67
The best recommendation for a company is to be more original, more creative and more
transparent than ever. The majority of social media campaigns are functional only because
of their creativity and uniqueness.
From the information collected from the interviews, and the fact that Croatia legs behind
western countries, the best for companies would be to hire a social media expert e.g.
agency for implementation of social media. As mentioned before, in most cases brand
managers do not have enough knowledge and companies’ portfolio could suffer because of
wrong decisions taken by those managers.
68
6 Conclusion
The purpose of the study is to outline variety of the available social media tools that
companies can use in order to create brand awareness and straighten the brands image.
Another point of interest was to outline what kind of changes happened due to
development of Web 2.0 and how these changes influenced brand management known
and used up till that point. For the purpose of the research, theoretical findings and results
from the interviews were combined.
Upon the results of the theoretical research and information collected from the interviews it
became obvious that usage of social media in marketing is no longer an option or
debatable, indeed it became critically important to all businesses. “It represents a powerful,
and additional, channel to first listen to customers, stakeholders, media, bloggers, peers,
and other influencers, and in turn building two-way paths of conversation to them. It
represents priceless opportunities to build relationships and shape perceptions at every
step.”259 It was also identified that social media changed and is still changing the
communication process, customers are not anonymous anymore and they can provide
reviews and comments in real time.
The possibilities of social media allow organizations to inform their buyers, interact,
participate in conversations, gain credibility, and deliver content directly to their audience.
Most people and businesses in Croatia understand that using the Internet and its many
applications is the key strategy to strengthen the brand image and raise brand awareness.
Croatian social media experts believe that Croatian brand managers lack in knowledge and
therefore, Croatian brand holders should invest more money in educating their company
leaders.
259 Sheldrake (2008), qtd.in: Brown (2009), p.18.
69
Bibliography
Publications
Aaker, D.A (1991): Managing Brand Equity. New York: Free Press.
Aaker, D.A and Biel A.L (1993): Brand Equity and Advertising: Advertising's Role in
Building Strong Brands. Hillsadale NJ: Lawrenc Erlbaum Association, Inc.
Aaker, D.A (1996): Building Strong Brands. NY: Free Press.
Ahuja, S. Chandrasekaran S. (Ed.) (2010): Application Development for IBM WebSphere
Process Server 7 and Enterprise service Bus 7. UK.
Anderson, K. E.; Still, J. M. (2011): An introduction to Google Plus. In Library Hi Tech News
28 (8), pp. 7–10.
Barbry, E. (2007): Web 2.0: Nothing Changes... but Everything is Different.
communications and strategies, pp. 91–103.
Batty, Michael; Hudson-Smith, Andrew; Milton, Richard; Crooks, Andrew (2010): Map
mashups, Web 2.0 and the GIS revolution. In Annals of GIS 16 (1), pp. 1–13.
Bettman, J. R.; Payne, J.W. Johnson E. J. (1993): The Adaptive Decision Maker.
Cambridge.
Biel, A.L (1992): How brand image drives brand equity 32 (6), pp. 6–12.
Bothma, T. Cosijn E. Fourie I. and Penzhorn C. (2008): Navigating Information Literacy.
Your Information Society Survival Toolkit. Cape Town: Maskew Miller Longman
Ltd.
Boulos, M.; Maramba, I.; Wheeler, S. (2006). In BMC Med Educ 6 (1), p. 41.
Brown, Jo; Broderick, Amanda J.; Lee, Nick (2007): Word of mouth communication within
online communities: Conceptualizing the online social network. In Journal of
Interactive Marketing 21 (3), pp. 2–20.
Brown, R. (2009): Public Relations and the Social Web: How to Use Social Media and Web
2.0 in communications. Grate Britain.
Campbell, A. Jantsch J. Ostrow A.M: Social Media. A Practical Guide to Business Growth.
Open Book. Winikreative. Brodway, New York.
70
Cangialosi G., Irelan R. Bourquin T. and Vogele C. (2008): Podcast Academy: The
Business Podcasting Book. Launching, Marketing, and Measuring Your Podcast.
Burlington, USA: Elsevier, Inc.
Cavaleri, P. (2008): The use of AJAX in searching a bibliographic database: A case study
of the Italian Biblioteche oggi database. In Program: electronic library and
information systems 42 (3), pp. 275–285.
Chaffey, D. Ellis-Chadwick F.Johnston K. Mayer R. (2006): Internet Marketing. United
Kingdom.
Chatfield, T.B (2009): The Complete Guide to Wikis: How to Set Up, Use, and Benefit from
Wikis for teachers, Business Professionals, Families, and Friends. Florida.
Chiagouris, L. and Wansley B. (2000): Branding on the Internet 9 (2), pp. 34.-38.
Christodoulides, G.; Chernatony, L. (2004): Dimensionalising on- and offline brands'
composite equity. In Journal of Product & Brand Management 13 (3), pp. 168–179.
Cook, N. (2008): Enterprise 2.0. How Social Software Will Change the Future of Work.
England.
Cormode, G. and Krishnamurthy B. (2008): Key Differences between Web1.0 and Web2.0.
180 Park Avenue, Florham Park, NJ: AT&T Labs–Research.
Davis, M.F (2012): Social Networking. Easy Blog & Social Media Strategy For The Small
Business Owner. USA..
Deans, P.C (2009): Social Software And Web 2.0 Technology Trends. USA, UK: IGI
Global.
Edelman, D. C. (2010): Branding in the Digital Age.
EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative - Initiative – advencing learning through IT innovation
(2005): 7 things you should know about Wikis.
Evans, D. (2012): Social media marketing. An hour a day. 2nd ed. Indianapolis, Ind: Wiley.
FitzGerald, M. and Arnott D. (2000): Marketing Communications Classics: An International
Collection of Classic.
Goodman, F. G. (2012): Engagement Marketing: How Small Business Wins in a Socially
Connected World. New York.
Guffey, M.E and Loewy D. (2008): Business Communication: Process & Product.
Gunelius, S. (2010): Blogging - All In One for Dummies. Indianapolis, Indiana: Wiley
Publishing Inc.
71
Gupita, S. Amstrong K. and Clayton Z. (2010): Social Media. Boston: Harvard Business
School Publishing.
Hall, J. (2008): Podcasting 100 Success Secrets - Start Your Podcast Today.
Hall, J. (2012.): Podcasting 100 Success Secrets - Start Your Podcast Today
Harridge-March, S.; Quinton, S. (2009): Virtual snakes and ladders: social networks and
the relationship marketing loyalty ladder. In Mark. Rev. 9 (2), pp. 171–181.
Haubl, G. and Trifts V. (2000): Consumer Decision making in Online Shopping
Environments: The Effects of Interactive Decision Aids 19 (1), pp. 4–21.
Hennig-Thurau, T. Gwinner K. Walsh G. and Gremler D. (2004): ‘Electronic word-of –mouth
via consumer-opinion platforms: What motivates consumers to articulate
themselves on the Internet? 18 (1), pp. 38-52.
Jansen, B. J.; Zhang, M.; Sobel, K.; Chowdury, A. (2009): Twitter power: Tweets as
electronic word of mouth. In J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci. 60 (11), pp. 2169–2188.
Jones, B.; Temperley, J. and Lima A. (2009): Corporate reputation in the era of Web 2.0:
the case of Primark 25 (9-10), pp. 927–939.
Kapferer, J.N (1997): Strategic Brand Management. New Approaches to Creating and
Evaluating Brand Equity. London: Kogan Page.
Kapferer, J.N (2004): Strategic Brand Management. London: Kogan Page.
Kapferer, Jean-Noël (2012): The new strategic brand management. Advanced insights and
strategic thinking. 5th ed. London ;, Philadelphia: Kogan Page.
Kaplan, A.M and Haenlein M. (2009): Users of the world, unite! The challenges and
opportunities of Social Media, 2009 (Kelley School of Business, Indiana University),
pp. 59–68.
Keller, K.L (Ed.) (1998): Strategic Brand Management. Building, Measuring, and Managing
Brand Equity. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc.
Keller, K.L (2001): Building Customer-Based Brand Equity. A Blueprint for Creating Strong
Brands.
Keller, K.L (2003): Strategic Brand Management. Building, Measuring, and Managing
Brand Equity. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ.: Pearson Education Inc.
Keller, K.L (2009): Building strong brands in a modern marketing communications
environment. In Journal of Marketing Communications 15 (2-3), pp. 139–155.
72
Kietzmann, J. Hermkens K. McCarthy I. P.: Social media? Get serious! Understanding the
functional building blocks of social media, pp. 241—251.
Kotler, P. (1986): THE PROSUMER MOVEMENT : A NEW CHALLENGE FOR
MARKETERS 19, pp. 510–513.
Kotler, P. (1986): The Prosumer Movement : A New Challenge For Marketers, 13, pp. 510–
513.
Kotler, P. and Keller K.L (1997): Marketing Management. 12th ed. New Jersey 07458:
Upper Saddle River.
Kotler, P. (2000): Marketing Management. The Millennium Edition. Upper Saddle River:
Prentice Hall.
Kotler, P. and Armstrong G. (2008): Principles of Marketing: Pearson Education Limited.
Kozinets, R. V.; Hemetsberger, A.; Schau, H. J. (2008): The Wisdom of Consumer Crowds:
Collective Innovation in the Age of Networked Marketing (4).
Lorca, B. Mogoulas R. and O'reilly Radar Team (2008): Virtual Worlds: A Business Guide.
Lüsted, M. A. (2011): Social Networking: MySpace, Facebook, & Twitter. Minnesota..
MacDonald, M. (2012.): Creating a Website: The Missing Manual.
Mangold, W. Glynn; Faulds, David J. (2009): Social media: The new hybrid element of the
promotion mix (4).
Mayfield, A. (2008): What is Social Media? E-book: iCrossing,.
McAlear, J. (2009): OPEN BOOK. A Practical Guide to Business Growth.
Moran, M. (2007): Do It Wrong Quickly: How the Web Changes the Old Marketing Rules.
Mullin, R. (2002): Direct Marketing: A Step-By-Step Guide to Effective Planning and
Targeting. UK, USA.
O'Reilly, T. (2005): What Is Web 2.0. Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next
Generation of Software.
O'Reilly, T. (2007): What Is Web 2.0: Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next
Generation of Software. Sebastopol (CA) USA: O'Reilly Media.
Postman, J. (2009): SocialCorp: Social Media Goes Corporate. Berkeley, CA.: New Riders-
Pearson Education.
Reed, M. W.; Burton, J.K; Liu, M. (1994): Multimedia and Megachange: New Roles for
Educational Computing.
73
Richardson, W. (2006): Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for
classrooms. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Corwin Press.
Safko, L. (2010): The Social Media Bible. Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business
Success. 2nd Edition. New Jersey: Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Sashi, C.M (2012): Customer engagement, buyer-seller relationships, and social media. In
Management Decision 50 (2), pp. 253–272.
Schultz, D. E.; Tannenbaum, S.I; Lauterborn, R.F (1994): The New Marketing Paradigm:
Integrated Marketing Communications. Chicago, USA.
Scott, D. M. (2010): The New Rules of Marketing & PR. How to use social media, online
video, mobile applications, blogs, new releases & viral marketing to reach buyers
directly. 3rd ed. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.
Scott, D. M. (2011): The New Rules of Marketing and PR. How to use socila mediam online
video,mobile, applications, blogs, news releases & viral marketing to reach buyers
directly. New Jersey.
Seidman, I. (2006): Interviewing as Qualitative Research: A Guide for Researchers in
Education and the Social Sciences. New York.
Solomon, M.R; Marshall, G. W.; Stuart, E.W; Mitchell, V.; Barnes, B. (2009): Marketing:
Real People, Real Decisions.
Speck, H. (2010, June 2.): Online Media in Corporate Environments. Meshed#2. Social
Media Conference. Vienna, Austria.
Stormer, H. (2005): Personalized websites for mobile devices using dynamic cascading
style sheets. In International Journal of Web Information Systems 1 (2), pp. 83–88.
Sweeney, Jillian C.; Soutar, Geoffrey N.; Mazzarol, Tim (2012): Word of mouth: measuring
the power of individual messages. In European Journal of Marketing 46 (1/2), pp.
237–257.
Thomas, M. (2009): Handbook of Research on Web 2.0 and Second Language Learning.
USA, UK: IGI Global.
Unhelkar, B. (2009): Handbook of Research in Mobile Business: Technical,
Methodological, and Social Perspective. USA.
Van der Vlist, E. Danny Ayers Erik Bruchez Joe Fawcett Alessandro Vernet (2007):
Professional Web 2.0 Programming. Indianapolis, Indiana: Wiley Publishing Inc.
74
Van Tiem, D.; Moseley, J.L; Dessinger, J.C (2012): Fundamentals of Performance
Improvement: A Guide to Improving People, Process, and Performance: Wiley.
Weinberg, T. (2009): The new community rules. Marketing on the social web. 1st ed.
Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly.
West, J.A and West M.L (2009): Using Wikis for Online Collaboration. The Power of the
Read-Write Web. 1st Ed. San Francisco: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Wusteman, J. (2004): RSS: the latest feed. In Library Hi Tech 22 (4), pp. 404–413.
Zarrella, D. (2010): The Social Media Marketing Book: O'Reilly Media Inc.
Internet Index
AMA (2012), Americam Marketing Association, Date assessed: 14.04.2012., URL,
http://www.marketingpower.com/Pages/default.aspx
Anderson, C. (2012), The Long Tail, Date assessed: 16.07.2012., URL:
www.longtail.com/about.html
Anson, A. (2012),Social Media Usage Statistics 2012, date assessed: 22.04.2012., URL:
http://ansonalex.com/infographics/social-media-usage-statistics-2012-infographic/
Bullas, J. (2012), Tweeter Approaching 500 Milion Users, date assessed: 25.03.2012.,
URL: http://www.jeffbullas.com/2012/02/13/twitter-approaching-500-million-users/
Burnett, S. (2012), INFOGRAPH: 2012 YouTube Statistics, Date assessed: 23.04.2012.,
URL: http://www.slideshare.net/sallieburnett/infograph-2012-youtube-statistics
Carlson, N. (2012), At Least – The Full Story on How Facebook was Founded, date
assessed: 23.04.21012. URL: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-facebook-was-
founded-2010-3
Facebook (2012), Key Facts, date assessed: 22.04.2012., URL:
http://newsroom.fb.com/content/default.aspx?NewsAreaId=22
Flickr (2012), About Flikr, Date assessed: 11.07.2012.http://www.flickr.com/about/
Flickr (2012), GeoTagging, date assessed: 13.07.2012., URL:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/geotagging/
75
Foursquare (2012),About foursquare, Date assessed: 25.07.2012.,
URL:https://foursquare.com/about/
Foursquare (2012), Foursquare Brand Platform, Date assessed: 25.07.2012., URL:
http://foursquare.com/business/brands
Google (2012), Web 2.0. URL: , Date assessed: 14.4. 2012., URL:
http://www.google.hr/search?q=web+2.0&ie=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-
GB:official&client=firefox-a
Google+ (2012),Date assesse: 13.07.2012.,
URL:http://www.google.com/+/business/share.html
Lee, J. (2009), A Model of Mobile Community: Designing UserInterfaces to Support Group
Interaction, Assess date: 22.07.2012., URL: http://www.dubberly.com/articles/a-
model-of-mobile- community.html
LinkedIn (2012), date assessed:12.05.2012., URL: http://press.linkedin.com/aboutSaleem,
H. (2010), 101 Social Media Tools for Social Media Marketing and More, Date
assessed: 22.07.2012. URL: http://images.search.conduit.com/ImagePreview/?
q=social%20media
%20tools&ctid=CT3072253&searchsource=15&SSPV=EB_SSPV&CUI=SB_CUI&st
art=0&pos=0
Mashable Social Media,(2012), Google+ Rolls Out New Look, Date assessed: 13.07.2012.,
URL: http://mashable.com/2012/04/11/google-plus-redesign/
Pinterest (2012), What is Pinterest?, Date assessed: 22.04.2012., URL:
http://pinterest.com/about/
Pinterest (2012), What is Pinterest?, Date assessed: 11.07.2012., URL:
http://pinterest.com/pin/52284045643996210/
Pring, C. (2012), 100 social media statistic for 2012, Date assessed: 11.07.2012., URL:
http://thesocialskinny.com/100-social-media-statistics-for-2012/
YouTube (2012), About YouTube, Date assessed: 11.07.2012., URL:
http://www.youtube.com/t/about_youtube
76
Appendix
Interview 1.
o Kako je razvoj Interneta (Web 2.0) utjecao na marketinsko okruzenje i kako je promijenio
brend management? Kako se taj efekt odrazio na kompanije te njihove brendove?
Definitivno je utjecao. Kompanije su morale započeti sustavno upravljati brendovima i putem
interneta. Danas je nezamislima kampanja bez ovih mogucnosti. To je značajno potaknulo
kreativnost, inovativnost ali i učinkovitost kampanja. Također je pojeftinilo cijeli proces.
o Koje je promijene u svijesti potrosaca donio razvoj Interneta?
Potrošači su zahvaljujući ovim tehničkim mogućnostima postali informiraniji i educiraniji.
Imaju puno veće mogućnosti izbora ali i aktivnog sudjelovanja u kreiranju imidža
određenog proizvoda ili usluge. Potrošači su postali subjekti a ne objekti u pravom smislu te
riječi.
o Koja je razlika u brend managementu danas i prije nekoliko godina, s obzirom na
razvoj Interneta?
Razlike su goleme. Interent postaje jedan od važnijih nositelja razvoja brenda i upravljanja njime.
Internet je postao naša svakodnevica i ne samo da je postao jedno od najvažnijih alata u
marketingu, već je i drastično promijenio marketinško okruženje. Upravo zbog toga, velik broj
kompanija se usmjerio na društvene mreže koje im omogućuju ''prijateljski'' odnos sa korisnicima,
kupcima njihovih proizvoda. Korisnici se u tom slučaju lakše vežu za neki bernd, budući da se on
nalazi među njegovim prijateljima na društvenim mrežama.
o Standardni marketinski alati vise ne slijede trendove trzista. Koliko su nositelji brendova
(kompanije) svjesne tog efekta? Sto su morale promijeniti?
Morali su se maksimalno prilagoditi novim platformama, odnosno kreirati sadržaje
namijenjene korisnicima interneta. Ti sadržaji sada imaju posebne zakonitosti (kraće forme,
mogućnost povratne informacije, multimedija i sl.).
Kompanije su sve više svjesnije koliku moć nose internet i društvene mreže. Velik broj
komapnija se prilagodio jer nisu mogle ignorirati činjenicu da primjerice Facebook ima oko
800 milijuna aktivinih korisnika, od kojih svaka osoba provede dnevno 55min na toj
društvenoj mreži.
o Koliko su nositelji brendova na Hrvatskom trzistu upoznati sa brzinom promjene trendova i
samim alatima drustvenih medija? Te koliko su spremni na promjene u svrhu jacanja
brenda i svijesti potrosaca?
Hrvatska iskustva pokazuju da naše kompanije ne zaostaju za zapadnim uzorima i da se velikom
brzinom prilagodjavaju i mijenjaju.
o Koliko su hrvatske kompanije zapravo upoznate s cijelim pojmom drustvenih medija i kolko
su spremne na promjene?
Kompanije u Hrvatskoj su više-manje otvorene za social media marketing. Naime, prije ili kasnije će
se morati prilagoditi tržištu te shvatiti kako Facebook danas više nije obična društvena mreža, već
on na različite načine mijenja komunikaciju među ljudima, ali i odluke koje oni donose.
o Koje drustvene mreze su dostupne kompanijama uzevsi u obzir specificnosti ciljanih
javnosti brenda kako bi ojacale svijest potrosaca istog brenda? Za koje mreze su kompanije
najvise zainteresirane i zasto?
Od najaktivnijih društvenih mreža koje su ujedno i dostupne kompanijama izdvojili bismo
Facebook (800 milijuna aktivnih korisnika), YouTube(3 milijarde videa pogleda se svaki dan),
Twitter (200 milijuna Tweetova dnevno), LinkedIn( 90% recruitera ga korisit za zapošljavanje).
Trenutačno kompanije se najviše odlučuju za Facebook društvenu mrežu, gdje sa svojim
korisnicima osvaruju prijateljski odnos gdje pomoću facbook adsa, facbook stranica ili aplikaciju
mogu graditi i promovirati svoj brand.
o Za koju mrezu se vasa agencija odlucila?
Prisutni smo na Facebooku zbog popularnosti te mreze. Uz to se oslanjamo na vlastite web stranice
na kojima razvijamo posebne vlastite komunikacijske platforme.
o Zasto bas za tu odredjenu aplikaciju/e?
o Zasto ne za neku/e druge?
iSTUDIO svojim klijentima nudi niz razvojnih i agencijskih usluga za društvene mreže,
najviše Facebook. Razvili smo proizvode za profesionalce i medije koji se temelje na
društvenim mrežama s ciljem pružanja unikatne vrijednosti na globalnoj razini.
o Na koje naciene kompanije koriste te drustvene mreze kako bi privukle potrosace i ojacale
brend? Molim vas da opisete.
iSTUDIO svojim klijentima nudi niz opcija, naših proizvoda za Fcebook stranice.
YouTube tab- nudi direktno povezivanje FB stranice sa YouTube kanalom, videi se
sinkroniziraju i prikazuju u stvarnom vremenu, mogućnost dodatnog brandinga
Top fan- aplikacija koja prikazuje najaktivnije fanove na stranici i mjeri količinu interakcije
pojedinog fana na stranici (ključne prednosti: potiče interakciju, povećava FPI, pruža bolju
komunikaciju s korisnicima, prati aktivnost fanova..)
Crowdsaver- korisnici glasanjem biraju koji proizvod žele na akciju u trgovinama, moguće
brendiranje proizvoda)
GiveAway- namijenjem čestim akcijama nagrađivanja korisnika kroz mini nagradne
natječaje, administrator dobiva potpunu listu igrača sa odgovorima, mogućnost
brendiranja
o Da li su drustvene mreze dovoljno jak komunikacijski kanal za brand management i brand
awareness, te ako jesu, zasto?
Smatramo da jesu, Facebook primjerice u Hrvatskoj broji 1, 5 milijuna aktivnih korisnika.
Kompanije sa korisnicima imaju bolju komunikaciju, putem različitih aplikacija i objava potiče se
dvosmjerna interakcija, mogućnost dodatnog brendiranja...
Int erview 2.
o Kako je razvoj Interneta (Web 2.0) utjecao na marketinsko okruzenje i kako je
promijenio brend management? Kako se taj efekt odrazio na kompanije te njihove
brendove?
o Koje je promjene u svijesti potrosaca donio razvoj Interneta?
o Razvoj interneta omogućio je korisnicima da na brz i jednostavan način mogu doći
do velikog broja ključnih informacija koje su im potrebne u donošenju odluke o
samoj kupnji. Danas se sve informacije apsorbiraju putem online medija i zapravo
odlazak u trgovinu čini krajnji proces samo gdje osoba kupi i skupi proizvod u samo
nekoliko minuta s obzirom na to da se odluka donosila puno prije, na samom
interneru.
o Koja je razlika u brend managementu danas i prije nekoliko godina, s
obzirom na razvoj Interneta?
Brand management danas je puno zahtjevnija disciplina, a moglo bi se reći i puno
transparentnija. Prije je bilo dovoljno imati dobar proizvod ili dobar marketing ili oboje.
Danas je to nužno, sa ogromnim naglaskom i na popratne benefite kao što je brzi i dobar
customer service i komunikacija. Danas brand management mora biti originalniji, kretivniji i
transpaentniji nego ikad prije. Isto tako mora biti i prilagodlji i puno više osluškivati same
potrošače što je konačnici, ako se radi na dobroj razini, i dobro za taj brand.
o Standardni marketinski alati vise ne slijede trendove trzista. Koliko su nositelji
brendova (kompanije) svjesne tog efekta? Sto su morale promijeniti?
E ovo ne razumijem. Možeš mi malo pojasniti samo?
o Koliko su nositelji brendova na Hrvatskom trzistu upoznati sa brzinom promjene
trendova i samim alatima drustvenih medija? Te koliko su spremni na promjene u
svrhu jacanja brenda i svijesti potrosaca?
Kako tko naravno. Većina ih je svjesna da je to novo doba i da moraju biti dio njega i da
njihov brand može i mora komunicirati na taj način sa potrošačima. Nažalost, još
nedostaje ipak doza onog pravog dubinskog razumijevanja kako to iskoristiti još i bolje
te kako će se to odraziti na cjelokupni brand ako se radi malo hrabrije. Jer ovo je novi i
samim time skliski teren za brand managere. Tu se svaka kriva odluka potencijalno
može pretvoriti u katastrofu (bar smo mi dobili dojam da se tako razmišlja) zbog velikog
broja ljudi koji su na društvenim mrežama. Međutim, po nama je više katastrofa ako se
ne radi ništa jer to znači da si već u debelom zaostatku sa onima koji nešto rade, a
pogotovo za onima koji su odlučili raditi to na strateškoj razini. Jer takav pristup nije
pristup promocije čiste više, to je pristup koji direktno mijenja filozofiju poslovanja cijele
kompanije, uvodi novi business model, a samim time i nosi veliki teret.
o Koliko su hrvatske kompanije zapravo upoznate s cijelim pojmom drustvenih medija
i kolko su spremne na promjene?
Odgoovreno u pitanju prije.
o Koje drustvene mreze su dostupne kompanijama uzevsi u obzir specificnosti
ciljanih javnosti brenda kako bi ojacale svijest potrosaca istog brenda? Za koje
mreze su kompanije najvise zainteresirane i zasto?
Realno na netu je dostupno nekoliko tisuća društvenih mreža. Ali u Hrvatskoj se
najviše koriste sljedeće:
Facebook – najveća i marketinški najbolje iskorištena društvena mreža u Hrvatskoj.
Trenutno broji 1,5 milijuna aktivnih korisnika i nekoliko tisuća službenih Facebook
stranica. Nekima je doslovno promijenila poslovanje.
Twitter – ima cca 20 000 korisnika i samim time nije jako iskoristiva za neke
masovnije potrebe. Ali je izvrsna za tehnološki orijentirne brandove pošto se na
twitteru više kreću pripadnici IT idustrije i novinari. Za medije se pokazao Twitter
izvrsnim jer omogućuje brzu fluktuaciju informacija.
Foursquare – lokacijska društvena mreža koja omogućuje brandovima da
korisnicima daju zanimljive informacije na određenim lokacijama kao i da im daju
posebne ponude (specials) u zamjenu za check-in (prijavu na lokaciju npr. tog
restorana) jer na taj način korisnik radi istome besplantu promociju.
Još se koriste: Pinterest, YouTube, Flickr, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Google+ od društvenih
mreža, ali u manjoj mjeri nego prva tri gore navedena.
o Za koju mrezu se vasa agencija odlucila?
Naš core business su društvene mreže (i marketing i design i development na njima) od
kojih Facebook zauzima cca 90% svega što radimo. On je bio logičan odabir jer je stvarno
najmoćniji društveni medij te smo i sami iskusili njegovu snagu i na vlastitim projektima.
Npr. kada zapošljavamo, promocija ide isključivo preko društvenih mreža i dobijemo
ogroman broj jako kvalitetnih prijava. Ali uz Facebook nudimo, a i sami smo prisutni, na
svim drugim velikim društvenim mrežama. To je jednostavno filozofija novog marketinga,
sa korisnicima morate biti u mogućnosti ikomunicirati i dati im se na raspolaganje bilo gdje i
bilo kada, i to mora biti što personaliziranije. . Na taj način mogu se postići najbolji rezultati.
o Na koje naciene kompanije koriste te drustvene mreze kako bi privukle potrosace i
ojacale brend? Molim vas da opisete.
Kompanije najčešće nastupaju na njima putem stranica koje se otvaraju dugoročno (i
na neki način su kao web stranice) te služe za dvostruku komunikaciju sa korisnicima.
Uz to rade se i kampanje putem oglasa na npr. Facebooku i Googleu, kao i aplikacije
koje omogućavaju ogroman engagement fanova sa brandom. Znalo se događati da je u
nekoj aplikaciji našeg klijenta rposječno vrijeme bilo 1h po korisniku što je ogromna
stvar. Zamislite da korisnika sat vremena na TV-u gleda sadržaj vezan isključivo uz vaš
brand, ili u novinama. Tko bi to mogao platiti? Ovako je to puno jeftinije, a odmah
omogućava i puno jaču povratnu informaciju. I zato su te društvene mreže toliko
moćne, jake i zapravo još uvijek malo podcijenjene u odnosu na njihov pravi potencijal .
o Prema vasem iskustvu, koliko su kompanije uspjele povecati svijest o svom brendu
nakon implementacije odredjene aplikacije?
Odgovoreno pitanje prije.
o Da li su drustvene mreze dovoljno jak komunikacijski kanal za brand management i
brand awareness, te ako jesu, zasto? Odgovoreno isto u pitanju prije. Brand
awareness na cca 1h aktivnog igranja appa je ogromna.
o Na koji nacini ili preko kojih medija educirate zaposlenike o novostima i koristenju
drustvenih medija?
Naši su zaposlenici zapravo svi ljudi koje to općenito interesira, a izvor informacija
je internet sam koji jje nepresušan. Postoje naravno specijalizirani portali za vijesti
iz tog svijeta kao što su: Mashable, Techcrunch, Gizmodo, Social media today, od
domaćih Netokracija i Zimo. Naše zaposlenike šaljemo na konferencije sa tom
temamtikom, imamo interne grupe u kojima svatko tko naiđe na neku bitnu info
podijeli sa svima ostalima, puno pričamo o tome i tako se isto učimo. A i na samim
društvenim mrežama se nalaze zapravo sve potrebne informacije.
o Koje su najcesce prepreke u komunikaciji s hrvatskim kompanijama koji zele biti
prisutne na novim medijima? Na koji nacin te prepreke rjesvate ako ih ima?
Postoji ih nekoliko:
1) strah od nepoznatog – pošto se brandovi nisu još susreli direktno sa takvim
tipom marketinga, naravno da postoji strah određeni na to kako će fanovi reagirati,
hoće li netko govoriti nešto loše i sl. To se uvijek rješava na način da pokušamo
objaniti kako su ljudi ionako na internetu i pričaju o brandu, samo to rade negdje
drugdje. Ovako će to napraviti na mjestu gdje imamo priliku odgovoriti, pokazati
drugu stranu priče, ispraviti nešto i ponekada pretvoriti razočarane korisnike u
brand ambasadore čak.
o Koje bi preporuke dali hrvatskim kompanijama kako bi na sto bolji i bezbolniji nacin
ojacale svoji bren i svijest kod postojecih i potencijalnih potrosaca. Nako potrebne
edukacije i prikupljenih informacija koji bi po vasem misljenju bili najbolji sljedeci potezi
nositelja brendova kako bi ojacali svijest potrosaca o brendu?
o Hrvatske kompanije definitivno moraju shvatiti kako je vrijeme kada su oni odašiljali
poruke, a potrošači kupovali, prošlo. Također je prošlo vrijeme kada su korisnici svoja
loša iskustva držali za sebe i skupinu prijatelja. Sada je svako negativno iskustvo
ogroman loš publicitet za brand. Ali to ih ne smije prepasti. Trebaju na to gledati kao na
priliku da zajedno sa svojim potrošačima grade brand na način na koji će ga potrošači
biti još spremniji kupiti, ali i sa kojim će u konačnici biti i zadovoljniji. Druga stvar koju
kompanije trebaju shvatiti da to nije besplatno. Kao i u svemu drugome, ako se želi
raditi sistematski i konkretno u strateškom i implementacijskom smislu onda košta. I
može koštati poprilično jer podrazumijeva full time aktivaciju osoba koje se time bave
gotovo 24/7 te podrazumijeva stalnu potrebu za prilagodbama i učenje pošto se radi o
izuzetno dinamičnom mediju. Ali ono što je dobro za razliku od tradicionalnih medija
jest da se i svaka najmanja sitnica može izmjeriti čime se može točno pokazati što radi
dobar, a što ne tako dobar performans i prilagođavati rad u smjeru boljeg. Svaka
uložena kuna može se izmjeriti i to je ujedno i najbolji dio cijele te priče koja je nekim
hrvatskim kompanijama koje su ušle u to na pravi način omogućila povrate na
investicije i preko 150%.
Interview 3
o Kako je razvoj Interneta (Web 2.0) utjecao na marketinsko okruzenje i kako je
promijenio brend management? Kako se taj efekt odrazio na kompanije te njihove
brendove?
Internet svojim razvojem postaje dominantan marketinški kanal. Svake godine raste
udio budžeta koji marketinške agencije i sami brandovi odvajaju za svoje aktivnosti na
internetu. U njemu su dobili kanal kojim direktnije nego ikad mogu doći do potrošača,
zbog čega su morali prilagoditi i svoje marketišnke aktivnosti i strategije.
Razvoj web 2.0. je promijenio sliku interneta, tj. Od wikipedije, vise nista nije isto. Bilo je
samo pitanje vremena kada ce ljudi poceti uredjivati sami sadrzaj na internetu i
zapoceti interakciju. Najvecu prednost koju je donio web 2.0 je ta da su kompanije
dobile internet usi, tj pored usta, koje su dobili s web 1.0, u biti sto je jos i vaznije jer su
dobili feedback, neki su se brzo prilagodili pa su to iskoristili da poboljsaju svoju
ponudu/ proizvode i slicno. Neki to nazalost jos nevide kao „slusni aparat“, bar u
hrvatskoj...
o Koje je promijene u svijesti potrosaca donio razvoj Interneta?
Smatram da je potrosac postao pametniji, mudriji, i sve je teze zamaglit mu oci,
naravno govorimo o digitalnom marketingu. Nikad nije bilo lakse usporediti isti
proizvod, pronaci gdje je najpovoljniji i slicno. Etrgovine vec uzimaju maha, i to vi se
vec moglo reci da je web 3.0 u neku ruku. Zahvaljujući internetu potrošači mogu
direktno komunicirati s brendovima te ih javno kuditi i hvaliti. Oni izlaze iz
anonimnosti koju pruža masovno potrošačko društvo i inzistiraju na puno većem
angažmanu brenda da ga se osvoji i zadovolji.
o Koja je razlika u brend managementu danas i prije nekoliko godina, s
obzirom na razvoj Interneta?
Velike kompanije su odavno prepoznale internet kao odlican alat za marketing,
ponajvise sto se sve moze pratiti, i tocno dobiti feedback svih strategija i kampanja
koje se odvijaju. S druge strane malim tvrtkama je omoguceno da izgrade svoj
brend na relativno jeftin nacin ili da ga jos vise ojacaju.
Penetracijom interneta brendovi moraju prilagođavati svoje marketinške strategije
na način da održavaju odnose s potrošačima umjesto da im samo "prodaju priču".
Nalaze se u poziciji da se bore za svakog potencijalnog kupca jer su svjesni da je
word of mouth na internetu dosegao svoj puni potencijal te moraju posebno paziti
na svaku svoju aktivnost.
o Standardni marketinski alati vise ne slijede trendove trzista. Koliko su nositelji
brendova (kompanije) svjesne tog efekta? Sto su morale promijeniti?
Na svjetskoj sceni, tvrtke razmisljaju drugacije, puno vise se takmice i jasno da se
stalno prilagodjavaju, medjutim u hrvatskoj taj efekt jos nije stigao, prvenstveno iz
razloga sto tvtke nemaju preveliku konkurenciju (bar u internet marketingu), tako da
nema toliko takmicarskog duha, relativno rade na tome jako ulaganim tempom,
druga stvar je sto nemamo konkretne strucnjake za online marketing (pisanje
komentara na fejsu NIJE online marketing). Na prste mozemo nabrojati kompanije u
hrvatskoj koje prvenstveno se oglasavanju na internetu, a to su u vecini stranice za
kolektivnu kupovinu, te telekomunikacijske kompanije i slicnje njima koje se
ponajvise sluze screen oglasavanjem, tj u vecini nekim informativnim karakterom.
Svi brendovi kad - tad moraju uhvatiti korak s vremenom žele li opstati. Može se
reći da su oni koji do danas nisu doveli internet u fokus ugrozili svoje pozicije na
tržištu. Standardni kanali jednostavno više nisu dovoljni, kako bi se maksimalizirao
marketinški potencijal potrebno je iskoristiti sve raspoložive alate.
o Koliko su nositelji brendova na Hrvatskom trzistu upoznati sa brzinom promjene
trendova i samim alatima drustvenih medija? Te koliko su spremni na promjene u
svrhu jacanja brenda i svijesti potrosaca?
Mislim da je vecina upoznata s facebookom i twiterom i sl. Ali da ga svi koriste na pravi
nacin, o tome bih se dalo raspravljati. Jos prosle godine masa istih je imala profil
umjesto page, sto dovoljno govori o znanju i samom pristupu socijalnim mrezama.
Ponavljam, soc mreze su odlican slusni aparat i alat za interakciju s klijentima.
Mislim da u hrvatskoj imamo problem da su klijenti cesto neuki, te da se firme cesto
prilagodjavaju klijentima jer nemaju drugog izbora, a onda s druge strane samim time
zaostajemo na svjetskoj sceni.
Hrvatsku oglasavacku i socijalno oglasavacku scenu bih usporedio s americkom 2009-
2010.
Tvrtke su svjesne promjena, pitanje je samo koliku im važnost daju. Društvene mreže
najbolji su primjer: neke su ih odmah prihvatile prepoznavši njihov potencijal i važnost u
direktnoj komunikaciji s potrošačima, dok ih druge smatraju tek pukom zabavom. Već sad
se može reći da su ovi drugi propustili jednu veliku priliku koje im društvene mreže pružaju
u ostvarivanju marketinških aktivnosti. Što se samih alata tiče, svijest o njima je dosta
ograničena, s njima su u puno većoj mjeri upoznati stručnjaci za društvene mreže, odnosno
community manageri.
o Koliko su hrvatske kompanije zapravo upoznate s cijelim pojmom drustvenih medija
i kolko su spremne na promjene?
Najvise su upoznate kompanije koje su u stranom vlasnistvu i oni donose novitete na
scenu, zato sto im cijela marketinska strategija dolazi iz vana i oni su ti koji imaju novce da
ulazu u edukaciju koristenja novih tehnologija i sam nacin oglasavanja na istim. Npr sluzba
za korisnike bonbona odvija se iskljucivo preko soc mreza...sto smanjuje troskove itd.
o Koje drustvene mreze su dostupne kompanijama uzevsi u obzir specificnosti
ciljanih javnosti brenda kako bi ojacale svijest potrosaca istog brenda? Za koje
mreze su kompanije najvise zainteresirane i zasto?
Mislim da su najvise zastupljeni facebook i twitter, youtube kanal, tu i tamo linkedin,
medjutim mnoge druge poput asmallworlda ili internationsa...tek trebaju otkriti. Fb,
tw, li, su najcesce koristene iz razloga sto su najpoznatije u hrvatskoj te na tim
mjestima mogu pronaci najvise svoje publike. Nisu za sve kompanije idealne
socijalne mreze, za jedan siemens ili za firmu koja se bavi nekretninama to svakako
nije toliko zanimljivo, dok za one koje nude nove proizvode siroj masi, informiraju ih
o njima i slicu, zasigurno bolje prolaze. Apsolutni primat drži Facebook. Razlog
tome je vrlo jasan: u Hrvatskoj je gotovo milijun i pol ljudi na toj društvenoj mreži,
što je s obzirom na penetraciju interneta u našoj zemlji dosta visoka brojka.
Brendovi su shvatili da putem njega mogu direktno doći do potrošača te su shodno
tome prilagodili svoje marketinške strategije. Osim toga, Faecbook pruža
mogućnost dosta preciznog prikupljanja fanova, pa brendovi mogu lako doći do
svoje ciljane publike. Uz Facebook, raste i upotreba Twittera, no zbog male
zajednice još uvijek mu u većoj mjeri ne pridaju važnost.
Za koju mrezu se vasa agencija odlucila?
Facebook, Twitter i Google+.
o Zasto bas za tu odredjenu aplikaciju/e?
Na Facebooku je 24sata prisutan oko četiri godine, tako da postoji neki kontinuitet
aktivnosti. Ovu mrežu odmah smo prepoznali kao idealnu za naše marketinške aktivnosti,
ali i za pomoć u kreiranju novinarskog sadržaja. Koristimo Twitter zbog njegove brzine i
direktne komunikacije s čitateljima, dok Google+ profil održavamo zbog potencijala koji,
ipak, tek treba pokazati.
o Zasto ne za neku/e druge?
o Na koje naciene kompanije koriste te drustvene mreze kako bi privukle potrosace i
ojacale brend? Molim vas da opisete.
Neke to rade na dobar neki na vrlo los nacin, stvar je privuci paznju, pokrenuti
raspravu, natjerati ljude da lajkaju, komentiraju, sharaju i slicno (ne da su tome
prisiljeni), vec da to prave jer zele podijeliti informacije koje tvtka nudi s svojim
prijateljima. Mnoge koriste nagradne igre, popuste, kreiraju aplikacije i slicno...
o Prema vasem iskustvu, koliko su kompanije uspjele povecati svijest o svom brendu
nakon implementacije odredjene aplikacije?
Da li su drustvene mreze dovoljno jak komunikacijski kanal za brand management i
brand awareness, te ako jesu, zasto?
Jesu, no ne smatram da trebaju biti isključivo sredstvo za postizanje tih ciljeva.
Upravo zbog ranije spomenute direktne komunikacije koju omogućuju te načina na
koji pojačavaju word of mouth smatram da bi svaka marketinška agencija ili odjel
trebala imati aktivnosti na društvenim mrežama u svom fokusu.
o Koje bi preporuke dali hrvatskim kompanijama kako bi na sto bolji i bezbolniji nacin
ojacale svoji bren i svijest kod postojecih i potencijalnih potrosaca. Nako potrebne
edukacije i prikupljenih informacija koji bi po vasem misljenju bili najbolji sljedeci potezi
nositelja brendova kako bi ojacali svijest potrosaca o brendu?
Mislim da je se najbolje prepustiti agenciji koja iskljucivo radi oglasavanje na soc
mrezama, iz razloga sto firme cesto zaposljavaju osobe koje nisu adekvatne za taj
posao, te donesu vise stete nego koristi. A uz to ih koriste da budu multipraktik u
firmi, pa im pisanje statusa i objavljivanje clanaka bude tek usputni posao koji rade.
Mislim da je uvijek dobro pratiti neke svjetske kompanije, gledati sta oni rade, na
koji nacin, te slicne strategije, naravno prilagodjene primjeniti na nase trziste.
Brendovi moraju shvatiti da je komunikacija putem interneta, a posebno kroz
društvene mreže, unijela velike promjene u marketingu. Brendovi trebaju
identificirati društvene mreže na kojima mogu ostvariti maksimalan efekt, napraviti
strategiju nastupa i brinuti o njezinoj provedbi. U svakoj tvrtki, bila ona velika ili
mala, treba postojati osoba koja će se brinuti o imidžu na način da osluškuje što
ljudi pričaju o njoj. Naravno, nije dovoljno samo osluškivati, valja i propisno reagirati:
ulaziti u komunikaciju sa svakim pojedinim potrošačem koji za to pokaže interes i
pobrinuti se da bude zadovoljan. Uz malo truda, dobit će ambasadora brenda čiji će
glas biti itekako važan kod budućih marketinških aktivnosti.
Interview 4
o Kako je razvoj Interneta (Web 2.0) utjecao na marketinsko okruzenje i kako je
promijenio brend management? Kako se taj efekt odrazio na kompanije te njihove
brendove?
o Koje je promijene u svijesti potrosaca donio razvoj Interneta?
U prvom redu potrošači su postali svjesni svoje moći – na društvenim
mrežama njihovo dobro, a pogotovo loše mišljenje o proizvodia i uslugama
vide ostali korisnici i zbog toga se osjećaju ravnopravnima u komunikaciji s
kompanijama.
o Koja je razlika u brend managementu danas i prije nekoliko godina, s
obzirom na razvoj Interneta?
Puno veći dio budžeta se ulaže u online kampanje, uglavnom na račun
smanjenja budžeta za tiskane medije. Kompanije sve više traže inovativnost u
korištenju medija, a ne samo kreativna rješenja u sklopu strogo definiranih
briefova. Samim tim, kompanije su otvorenije za proaktivne projekte i kampanje
budući da one najčešće uključuju kreativne upotrebe prvenstveno društvenih
medija.
o Standardni marketinski alati vise ne slijede trendove trzista. Koliko su nositelji
brendova (kompanije) svjesne tog efekta? Sto su morale promijeniti?
Kompanije ulažu sve više novaca u online medije, a na agencijama je zadatak da
slijede tržišne trendove. Velike agencije su često pretrome u tome i to je otvorili
prostor za male specijaliziranje digitalne agencije koje često dobivaju poslove na
natječajima (pitchevima) protiv velikih agencija isključivo na račun kreativnosti i
praćenju trendova.
o Koliko su nositelji brendova na Hrvatskom trzistu upoznati sa brzinom promjene
trendova i samim alatima drustvenih medija? Te koliko su spremni na promjene u
svrhu jacanja brenda i svijesti potrosaca?
Kompanije su spremne uložiti više u online, a pogotovo u društvene medije. Najveći
problem je educiranost brand managera koji ne znaju propoznati i evaluirati dobre
online prijedloge, a problem je i kapacitet agencija koje nisu u stanju pratiti značajni
rast tržišta. Također je problem i pogrešna pretpostavka needuciranih brand
manadžera koji smatraju da je sve na internetu besplatno, a onda se iznenade kad
shvate da kvalitetna produkcija i kvalitetna kreativa ipak ima cijenu.
o Koliko su hrvatske kompanije zapravo upoznate s cijelim pojmom drustvenih medija
i kolko su spremne na promjene?
Hrvatske kompanije su otvorene prema drustvenim medijima od samog početka
njihove popularnosti u zemlji. Još uvijek najuspješnija kampanja na društvenim
medijima u regiji je Životinjsko carstvo na Facebooku koje je lansirano 2008.
Godine, a danas je teško pronaći tvrtku koja nije imala neke aktivnosti na
društvenim medijima.
o Koje drustvene mreze su dostupne kompanijama uzevsi u obzir specificnosti
ciljanih javnosti brenda kako bi ojacale svijest potrosaca istog brenda? Za koje
mreze su kompanije najvise zainteresirane i zasto?
Najpopularnija mreža je Facebook s 1.400.000 aktivnih korisnika u Hrvatskoj i velika
većina aktivnosti se odvija na njoj. Druga najpopularnija je LinkedIn s gotovo
300.000 aktivnih korisnika, ali do sada nije značajnije upotrebljena za marketinške
svrhe. Treća najpopularnija je Twitter s 10.000 aktivnih računa (korisnika i
brendova) i na njoj ima veliki broj marketinških aktivnosti. Twitter možda nema veliki
broj korisnika, ali na njemu se nalazi veliki broj novinara i PR-ovaca i vijesti s
Twittera često završe u masovnim medijima i na taj način do velikog broja korisnika.
Foursquare koristi manje od 10.000 korisnika, a za Pinterest nemamo podatke ali
sumnjamo da se radi o još manjem broju.
o Za koju mrezu se vasa agencija odlucila?
DRAP najčešće preporučuje Facebook svojim klijentima, ali imali smo kampanje
i na Twitteru i Foursquare. Za masovne bradnove gdje je doseg medija bitan,
Facebook nema ozbiljne konkurencije. Jedina iznimka su PR kampanje kojima
je cilj doći do masovnih medija koristeći Twitter. Najbolji primjer za to je
YouTube video o društvenim mrežama (http://youtu.be/tdmBgOHRln0) koji je
preko objave na Twitteru završio na dnevnim vijestima RTL –a ina taj način
ostvario svoj cilj.
o Zasto bas za tu odredjenu aplikaciju/e?
DO sada smo imali više od 100 aplikacija na društvenim mrežama, pretežito
na Facebooku. Najuspješnije su Životinjsko carstvo na Facebooku koja je
osvojila zlato kao najbolja niskobudžetna kampanja na EFFIE Croatia 2010.,
te Euromania 2012 koja je osvojila Best in show kao najbolja online
kampanja na MIXX 2012.
o Zasto ne za neku/e druge?
Koristili smo i druge društvene medije, ali najbolji rezultati su do sada bili
postizani na Facebooku.
o Na koje naciene kompanije koriste te drustvene mreze kako bi privukle potrosace i
ojacale brend? Molim vas da opisete.
Najčešće se radi o otvaranju službenog profila i kombinaciji oglašavanja (SocialAds)
i community managementa. U boljim slučajevima, radi se o kreativnim kampanjama
koje uključuju i aplikacije, društvene igre i sl.
o Prema vasem iskustvu, koliko su kompanije uspjele povecati svijest o svom brendu
nakon implementacije odredjene aplikacije?
Najbolji primjer je Životinjsko carstvo koje je uspjelo podići prodaju za 32% i 39% u
2008. I 2009. Kao rezultat kampanje na društvenim medijima.
o Da li su drustvene mreze dovoljno jak komunikacijski kanal za brand management i
brand awareness, te ako jesu, zasto?
Društveni mediji pojačavaju jake reakcije potrošača na kampanje. Ukoliko uspijete
izazvati snažne, pozitivne emocije kao rezultat vaših aktivnosti na društvenim
medijima, rezultat će biti jako pozitivan. Ovo nije jako i vrlo često brandovi ne uspiju
postići takav efekt i u tim slučajevima društveni mediji nemaju značajnu prednost u
odnosu na primjerice online display oglašavanje bannerima.
o Na koji nacini ili preko kojih medija educirate zaposlenike o novostima i koristenju
drustvenih medija?
Naši djelatnici su stručnjaci za društvene medije koji svakodnevno prate sve
relevantne strane i domaće portale i blogove o društvenim medijima.
o Koje su najcesce prepreke u komunikaciji s hrvatskim kompanijama koji zele biti
prisutne na novim medijima? Na koji nacin te prepreke rjesvate ako ih ima?
Najveći problem je edukacija i nerazumijevanje medija. Postoji velika razlika između
konzumacije i kreiranja sadržaja i potrebno je neko vrijeme da bi klijentima objasnili
koje stvari stvarno funkcioniraju u praksi, a koje samo zvuče dobro kad ih se pročita
na nekom od brojnim Social media blogova.
o Koje bi preporuke dali hrvatskim kompanijama kako bi na sto bolji i bezbolniji nacin
ojacale svoji bren i svijest kod postojecih i potencijalnih potrosaca. Nako potrebne
edukacije i prikupljenih informacija koji bi po vasem misljenju bili najbolji sljedeci potezi
nositelja brendova kako bi ojacali svijest potrosaca o brendu?
Najbolja preporuka je da budu kreativni i inovativni i da ne pokušavaju kopirati uspjehe
drugih. Na društvenim medijima većina kampanja funkcionira samo jednom zbog svoje
kreativnosti, ali kopiranjem te kreativnosti ćete samo dobiti kopiju koju krajnji korisnici
kao takvu prepoznaju i
Interview 5
o Kako je razvoj Interneta (Web 2.0) utjecao na marketinsko okruzenje i kako je
promijenio brend management? Kako se taj efekt odrazio na kompanije te njihove
brendove?
Utjecaj je izuzetan. Pogledajte brend menadžment otprije nekoliko godina, a
pogledajte ga sada – svi veći, pa i manji, brendovi su na društvenim mrežama. Web
stranice postoje već duže vrijeme, ali u sklopu njih su sada i korporativni blogovi,
integrirane su i društvene mreže. Brendovi nisu više zatvoreni i nedodirljivi, putem
društvenih mreža postali su naši prijatelji s kojima svakodnevno komuniciramo.
o Koje je promijene u svijesti potrosaca donio razvoj Interneta?
Potrošači odlučuju direktno komunicirati s brendom, stoga putem društvenih
mreža pitaju ono što ih zanima, prate promocije, druže se s brendom. Brend
je na taj način postao bliži, a i lakše je stvoriti emocionalnu vezu između
brenda i korisnika.
o Koja je razlika u brend managementu danas i prije nekoliko godina, s
obzirom na razvoj Interneta?
Osim načina koji su bili uobičajeni (reklamiranje putem tradicionalnih medija
itd.) brendovi su morali prihvatiti društvene mreže. Njihova je moć neupitna,
a na brendovima je da odaberu hoće li uzeti svoj dio kolača ili ne.
Ovim su brendovi dobili puno povoljni način promocije, a ujedno i čuju iz
prve ruke što korisnici misle o njima.
o Standardni marketinski alati vise ne slijede trendove trzista. Koliko su nositelji
brendova (kompanije) svjesne tog efekta? Sto su morale promijeniti?
Većina kompanija i brendova su svjesni promjena, stoga su prisutni na društvenim
mrežama. Oni koji još to nisu učinili, vjerojatno će u kratkom roku, jer je sve jasnije
da je rečenica – vaši potrošači su već tamo i razgovaraju o vama, a na vama je
hoćete li se pridružiti ili ne – itekako istinita.
o Koliko su nositelji brendova na Hrvatskom trzistu upoznati sa brzinom promjene
trendova i samim alatima drustvenih medija? Te koliko su spremni na promjene u
svrhu jacanja brenda i svijesti potrosaca?
Društvene su mreže došle nešto kasnije u Hrvatsku nego u zapadnije zemlje, ali
trend je prihvaćen. Većina tvrtki i brendova svjesna je utjecaja koji društvene mreže
imaju, stoga prihvaćaju i promjene – neki brže, a neki sporije. Oni kojima je teško
pratiti promjene taj zadatak predaju agencijama specijaliziranim za društvene
mreže.
o Koliko su hrvatske kompanije zapravo upoznate s cijelim pojmom drustvenih medija
i kolko su spremne na promjene?
Većina tvrtki je upoznata s pojmom društvenih medija i većina ih je spremna za
promjene – neki ih lakše prihvaćaju, neki nešto teže. No, svi su svjesni da je utjecaj
društvenih mreža prejak da bi ih se ignoriralo.
o Koje drustvene mreze su dostupne kompanijama uzevsi u obzir specificnosti
ciljanih javnosti brenda kako bi ojacale svijest potrosaca istog brenda? Za koje
mreze su kompanije najvise zainteresirane i zasto?
Na prvom je mjestu uglavnom Facebook zbog svoje raširenosti i činjenice da
najveći broj korisnika koristi upravo tu društvenu mrežu. Facebook je prilagođen
brend menadžmentu, stoga se profili brendova i kompanija razlikuju od privatnih
profila, a brendovi imaju kompletan set alata koji im olakšava upravljanje ovom
društvenom mrežom (oglasi, sponzrirane priče, statistike itd.). Na drugome je
mjestu Twitter, a slijede LinkedIn, Google Plus, Pinterest itd. Svakoga se dana
pojavljuju nove društvene mreže koje valja imati na oku, ali treba imati na umu da
nije svaka društvena mreža za svakoga, stoga treba pronaći odgovarajući kanal za
komuniciranje poruka brenda.
o Za koju mrezu se vasa agencija odlucila?
Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram
o Zasto bas za tu odredjenu aplikaciju/e?
o Kao agencija koja se bavi društvenim mrežama moramo pratiti trendove i
usvajati nove društvene mreže brže od drugih kako bismo ih mogli
preporučiti našim klijentima.
o Zasto ne za neku/e druge?
o Ovo su trenutno najposjećeniji kanali društvenih mreža. Istražujemo i sve
nove koji se pojave.
o Na koje nacine kompanije koriste te drustvene mreze kako bi privukle potrosace i
ojacale brend? Molim vas da opisete.
Društvene mreže traže veliku razinu interaktivnosti s korisnicima. Ovisno o vrsti
društvene mreže nudi se zanimljiv, edukativan, informativan i zabavan sadržaj kojim
se privlači korisnika na interakciju. Bitno je slušati korisnike i pokušati riješiti njihove
probleme. Brend/tvrtka na društvenim mrežama mora pokazati osobnost kako bi
korisnici imali osjećaj da pričaju s osobom, a ne sa primjerice sokom, mlijekom ili
pelenama. Tako se razvija uzajamno poštovanje i povjerenje.
o Prema vasem iskustvu, koliko su kompanije uspjele povecati svijest o svom brendu
nakon implementacije odredjene aplikacije?
Ukoliko se društvene mreže ispravno koriste, odjek može biti velik. Treba imati na
umu da nije dovoljno samo kreirati profil i isključivo komunicirati samo o brendu, i to
jednostrano, bez interakcije s korisnicima. Takva komunikacija nije dovoljna,
potrebno je imati jasnu strategiju i ciljeve te metode kako te ciljeve postići.
o Da li su drustvene mreze dovoljno jak komunikacijski kanal za brand management i
brand awareness, te ako jesu, zasto?
Društvene su mreže itekako jak komunikacijski kanal za širenje svjesti o brendu jer
je lako doći do ciljane skupine (primjerice, Facebook oglasi mogu se usmjeriti
prema ciljanoj skupini s obzirom na njihovu dob, interese, lokaciju, spol itd.), a i
zbog činjenice da se sve radi u stvarnome vremenu. Dobra promocija može se lako
proširiti putem društvenih mreža, ali to može biti i dvosjekli mač – lako se proširi i
negativna vijest, stoga na to treba biti spreman i imati jasan plan za kriznu
komunikaciju.
o Na koji nacini ili preko kojih medija educirate zaposlenike o novostima i koristenju
drustvenih medija?
Putem konferencija, e-knjiga, webinara, portala, a i sami se međusobno educiraju.
o Koje su najcesce prepreke u komunikaciji s hrvatskim kompanijama koji zele biti
prisutne na novim medijima? Na koji nacin te prepreke rjesvate ako ih ima?
Neke kompanije nisu sigurne što su to društvene mreže i koje koristi one mogu
imati od njih. Kad se poslovanje jedne tvrtke ne mijenja godinama, teško je usvojiti
nove metode i kanale komunikacije prema potrošačima. No, ukoliko žele biti
konkurentni na tržištu, moraju ih prihvatiti. Putem uspješnih kampanja, koje smo
ostvarili s prethodnim klijentima, prikazujemo im što društvene mreže mogu značiti i
za njih.
o Koje bi preporuke dali hrvatskim kompanijama kako bi na sto bolji i bezbolniji nacin
ojacale svoji brend i svijest kod postojecih i potencijalnih potrosaca. Nako potrebne
edukacije i prikupljenih informacija koji bi po vasem misljenju bili najbolji sljedeci potezi
nositelja brendova kako bi ojacali svijest potrosaca o brendu?
Izrada komunikacijske strategije bi uvijek trebala biti prvi korak za komunikaciju na
društvenim mrežama. U njoj se, osim načina komunikacije, definiraju i ključni parametri
koji će se mjeriti, a ovise o tome koji je cilj te komunikacije i razlikuju se od brenda do
brenda. Tek nakon dobro postavljenih temelja može se razviti uspješna komunikacija s
korisnicima na društvenim mrežama.