TARGET AND SOCIAL MEDIA

Prepared forShari Weiss

BUS300 Professor

Prepared byTaylor Weaver

San Francisco State University

October 29, 2018

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY……………………………………………………………................iiiINTRODUCTION ...……………………………………………………………………….……. 1FINDINGS ...……………………………………………………………………………….……. 2

Utilizing Social Media Channels Effectively...……………………….…………………. 2Customer Care Preferred Chanel.…….....………………………………………………. 5

Targets Positive Message..………………..…......……………………………………… 7SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS.…………………………….... 8WORK CITED...…….…………………………………………………………………………… 9QUESTIONAIRE………………………………………………………………………………..10

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Figure1. Facebook As A Business Profile Dominator.…………………………………………..22. Target Competes with Competitors for Social Media Followers………………………33. Most Used Channels for Customer Care……………………………………………….54. Why Improve Customer Experience?.…………………………………….……………65. There Are A Lot Of People On Social Media………...………………….……………..7

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report has found how Target Corporation can continue to be successful on social media. The

information provided are new additional strategies Target may use to ensure a greater social media

presence. Furthermore, it shows a comparison of social media followers compared to Targets competitors,

Amazon and Walmart. Finally, the report examines the success of utilizing Social Media Influencers to

promote their brand and products.

The data provided in the report was gathered from various online sources, including websites dedicated to

gathering statistics such as talkwalker.com and statista.com. Anecdotal evidence was gathered through the

distribution of surveys.

Research into the relationship between Target and Social Media provided the following:

Utilizing Social Media Channels Effectively: Target can gain more followers through

correctly creating posts and content directed towards different audiences, this will allow

them to gain more followers than their competitors Amazon and Walmart.

Customer Care Preferred Channel: To maintain brand loyalty, Target can use social

media as a real-time connector to their users for all customer care comments.

Targets Positive Message: Target can maintain their positive image and increase sales

by endorsing and collaborating with popular Social Media Influencers on different social

media channels.

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Given the findings in this report, Target should focus their efforts towards following social media content

trends on their different profiles. By creating new and exciting content, Target will continue to gain

consumers and increase their sales in-store and online. Influencers are a key in connecting with new

users.

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INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND

Target Corporation a leading retail chain that is known for the variety of products they sell. Their “Expect

More, Pay Less” motto represents their main focus to allow consumers to shop at an affordable price.

Today, Target Corporation using different social media channels to target their audience.

PROBLEM

Although Target Corporation seems to have a strong presence on their social media channels, they still

seem to struggle compared to Amazon and Walmart. Their advertisements need more guidance to the

different audiences they have on their social media platforms. They may accomplish this by offering

special discounts available only through their channels.

SIGNIFICANCE

We have seen the importance of social media throughout the recent years and Target Co. can take

advantage by creating better content online. This may come by either endorsing social media influencers

or holding special discount codes that can be found on the different channels. More importantly, a strong

social media presence will gain loyal consumers and increase revenue online and in-store.

SCOPE

This report is meant to explain to the marketing team of Target Co. the importance of social media to gain

more shoppers. In addition, the information provided is meant to show what can be done to improve their

existing social media presence over their competitors, e-commerce Amazon and low-price Walmart.

ORGANIZATION

This report explores the importance of a strong social media presence through targeting various age

groups and content preferences compared to Amazon and Walmart through content and followers.

Information then describes social media used as a top customer service contact channel for consumers.

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Finally, the report focuses on their choice of social media influencers and their overall positive impact for

the Target Co. brand.

FINDINGS

Utilizing Social Media Channels Effectively

Social media in general has finally shown how much of an impact different companies can have through

their profiles. Today, there are about three million businesses who actively advertise on Facebook alone

and an estimated eight million business profiles on Instagram. About 80% of users online follow a

business account on some form of social media. Worldwide, there are over 2.23B Facebook users

monthly, which is an 11% increase compared to last year. Instagram has about 1B users monthly and

Twitter has about 326M users per month. Figure 1 shows how many users are on different social media

apps.

Figure 1: Always on …Facebook

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Designed by: Martin ArmstrongSource: http://infographic.statista.com/normal/chartoftheday_11312_always_onfacebook_n.jpg

Although Instagram is a younger platform, they are rising in popularity compared to the top channel,

Facebook. Target has been maximizing their followers on all social media channels at 24M on Facebook,

3.2M on Instagram, and 1.9M on Twitter. Facebook is a powerhouse channel because it not only has been

around longer, but it has a wide range of users. Figure 1 exemplifies how Facebook has been the current

leader for most used social media channel for the past year.

Although Target has been gaining many followers online, they still are competing with Amazon and Walmart.

Both companies have a strong presence online and generate effective content based on their different

consumers. We have seen this through Amazon offering student discounts with their student email provided.

Also, Walmart has advertised online different online promotions that are only through discount codes provided

on their Facebook or Instagram posts. Figure 2 shows a comparison of the three companies; Target, Walmart,

and Amazon, and their social media followers.

Figure 2: Target Competes with Competitors for Social Media Followers

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1 2 30

5,000,000

10,000,000

15,000,000

20,000,000

25,000,000

30,000,000

35,000,000

TOP BRANDS AND SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS

Series1 Series2 Series3

Target Walmart AmazonInstagram Twitter Facebook

Designed by: Jennifer MastinSource: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

As shown, Target trails both companies on Facebook followers but leads in Instagram followers. Amazon

is a strong leader in having the most Twitter followers. Target Co. can gain more followers in these

categories by offering exclusive deals through their social media posts. Instagram has a “shop by tag link”

that allows users to simply click the links in the posts that will automatically add in discount codes. This

is an amazing feature that makes shopping with Target that much easier because who doesn’t love

discounts?

Twitter is used by Target to allow real-time communication for promotions with their followers. Tweeters

can view different discounts and advertisements on Target’s timeline feed and ask any questions

regarding the information posted. This continues to allow a conversation between user and company

which shows Targets care for giving the best and recent discounts.

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Through social media, Target is able to target their audiences by location and specifications. Social media

allows Target Co. to advertisement different products based on the users “likes” on their profiles, this is

especially important to ensure their consumers are seeing the most relative information regarding their

preferences.

Customer Care Preferred Channel

Customer service has been proven to either make or break a company regardless of their product

popularity. Although products are important as well, if the customer service is not up to expectations, the

company will lose their consumers.

In the past, customer service was provided by either calling into an automated number or by walking into

a physical store. Now companies are shifting their old ways to utilizing their social media profiles to

address all concerns. Target is able to answer all questions and issues by simply responding to users posts

online. Figure 3 shows how users choose social media are their preferred form of customer care channel.

Figure 3: Most Used Channels for Customer Care

Created by: A.J RuizSource: https://www.v12data.com/blog/90-percent-social-media-users-reach-out-retailers-why-social-media-your-secret-weapon/

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Customer loyalty is the most important character for using social media. By using real-time responses

online, it shows how much companies care about their followers. About 71% of consumers who have has

a good social media service experience with a brand online are likely to recommend it to others. Figure 4

shows how impactful social media is for improving the customer experience.

Figure 4: Why Improve Customer Experience?

Designed by: Toma Kulbyte / GenesysSource: superoffice.com/blog/customer-experience-statistics/The customer experience completely shapes the consumers view of the brand and their products. Brand

loyalty can only be achieved by ensuring the consumers are happy at all times. Target needs to continue

to respond to all issues and concerns through their various social media channels. By doing so, they will

continue to grow a strong following base and beat e-commerce Amazon and low-price Walmart in

followers.

Targets Positive Message

Social Media is a great way for Target to showcase their message to the community. They have already

begun to achieve this by endorsing multiple Social Media Influencers. An Influencer is someone who is

sponsored online by a company to promote their products and brand. Companies generally choose

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different public figures to cover all their different audiences. Target has done a great job in ensuring they

have an equal representation by endorsing on different social media channels Megan Batoon - Dancer,

Lizzie Armanto - Skateboarder, Denise Biddot – Plus Size Model, and Kamie Crawford – Model. Figure

5 shows how many users are on multiple sites.

Figure 5: There Are A Lot Of People On Social Media

Designed by: David EricksonSource: http://trends.e-strategyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/PI_2015-01-09_social-media-new_03.pngBy utilizing these influencers, Target continues to promote their brand in a positive light. Users get to see

that Target represents every type of shopper no matter beliefs, gender, or preferences. Chrissy Teigen,

Model and Cook Book Author is the newest influencer to join the Target brand. She has a full collection

of cookware essentials that go hand-in-hand with her best-selling cookbook. She is a positive message

influencer on Instagram who inspires her users to be genuine and express themselves through different

cooking meals. Target chose an amazing influencer to really promote their positive message stance.

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SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

SUMMARY OF PROBLEMS

Public perception of Target is the top priority when it comes to social media marketing. Target

Corporation needs to ensure they maintain a positive presence on their social media channels. Target still

trails in some followers on certain profiles compared to their rivals, Amazon and Walmart. They need to

re-focus on the importance of audience engagement and proper content posts.

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SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

1. Target social media presence should revolve around targeting different audiences to ensure proper

impressions.

2. Social Media is the preferred channel for customer service.

3. Target uses various Social Media Influencers to promote their brand and impact sales.

RECOMMENDATIONS

In order for Target to continue success on social media, they need to re-focus their content posts

to format users preferences. This allows the users to view content that is most attractive to them.

Also, by continuing to endorse different influencers, they gain the loyalty and sales from the

influencers followers.

WORKS CITED

1. https://corporate.target.com/article/tag/1870/social-media

2. https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2017/03/07/target-comes-out-top-digital-

marketing/

3. https://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/advisor/target-rocks-using-social-media-digital-

marketing-reach-230539061.html

4. http://mediakix.com/2017/04/target-marketing-on-instagram-case-study/#gs.4K8elLo

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5. https://www.talkwalker.com/industry-research/retail/target-social-media-analytics

6. https://www.statista.com/statistics/398136/us-facebook-user-age-groups/

7. https://www.statista.com/statistics/246199/share-of-us-internet-users-who-use-instagram-

by-age-group/

8. https://www.v12data.com/blog/90-percent-social-media-users-reach-out-retailers-why-

social-media-your-secret-weapon/

9. https://www.statista.com/statistics/253577/number-of-monthly-active-instagram-users/

10. : http://trends.e-strategyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/PI_2015-01-09_social-media-new_03.png

11. http://infographic.statista.com/normal/chartoftheday_11312_always_onfacebook_n.jpg

Target and Social Media Channels

#1 We are doing this survey to gather data about how many people follow Target Corporation on social media. This data will give us a clearer picture of how effectively Target Corporation is using social media channels.

Please check the appropriate answer.

1. How old are you?

_x_ 18 – 24

___ 25 – 34

___ 35 – 44

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___ 44 – 60

2. Do you shop at Target?

_x_ Yes ___ No

3. Do you follow Target on social media?

_x_ Yes ___ No

If YES, which social media channels do you follow? Please check all that apply.

_x_ Instagram _x_ Facebook

_x_ Twitter _x_ Other

If you checked “Other” please list below.

Pinterest

4. Do you ever see Target advertisements on social media?

_x_ Yes ____ No

If YES, which social media channel(s)?

_x_ Instagram __x_ Facebook

____ Twitter ____ Other

If you checked “Other” please list below.

__________________________________

5. Have you ever gone to Target because of an advertisement you saw on social media?

_x_ Yes ___ No

If YES, which social media channels?

_x_ Instagram _x_ Facebook

____ Twitter ____ Other

If you checked “Other” please list below.

__________________________________

6. Do you follow a Target influencer?

_x_ Yes ___ No

If YES, who?

Chrissy Teigen

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Please return the completed survey to us via email at tweaver@mail.sfsu.edu as soon as possible.

Thank you for your time and feedback.

Target and Social Media Channels

#2 We are doing this survey to gather data about how many people follow Target Corporation on social media. This data will give us a clearer picture of how effectively Target Corporation is using social media channels.

Please check the appropriate answer.

1. How old are you?

_x_ 18 – 24

___ 25 – 34

___ 35 – 44

___ 44 – 60

2. Do you shop at Target?

_x_ Yes ___ No

3. Do you follow Target on social media?

___ Yes _x_ No

If YES, which social media channels do you follow? Please check all that apply.

___Instagram ___Facebook

___Twitter ___Other

If you checked “Other” please list below.

____________________________________

4. Do you ever see Target advertisements on social media?

_x_ Yes ____ No

If YES, which social media channel(s)?

_x_ Instagram __x_ Facebook

____ Twitter ____ Other

If you checked “Other” please list below.

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____________________________________

5. Have you ever gone to Target because of an advertisement you saw on social media?

_x_ Yes ___ No

If YES, which social media channels?

_x_ Instagram _x_ Facebook

____ Twitter ____ Other

If you checked “Other” please list below.

____________________________________

6. Do you follow a Target influencer?

_x_ Yes ___ No

If YES, who?

Chrissy Teigen

Please return the completed survey to us via email at tweaver@mail.sfsu.edu as soon as possible.

Thank you for your time and feedback.

Target and Social Media Channels

#3 We are doing this survey to gather data about how many people follow Target Corporation on social media. This data will give us a clearer picture of how effectively Target Corporation is using social media channels.

Please check the appropriate answer.

1. How old are you?

_x_ 18 – 24

___ 25 – 34

___ 35 – 44

___ 44 – 60

2. Do you shop at Target?

_x_ Yes ___ No

3. Do you follow Target on social media?

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___ Yes _x_ No

If YES, which social media channels do you follow? Please check all that apply.

___Instagram ___Facebook

___Twitter ___Other

If you checked “Other” please list below.

_____________________

4. Do you ever see Target advertisements on social media?

_x_ Yes ____ No

If YES, which social media channel(s)?

_x_ Instagram ___ Facebook

____ Twitter _x_ Other

If you checked “Other” please list below.

Snapchat

5. Have you ever gone to Target because of an advertisement you saw on social media?

___ Yes _x_ No

If YES, which social media channels?

___ Instagram ___ Facebook

____ Twitter ___ Other

If you checked “Other” please list below.

____________________________________

6. Do you follow a Target influencer?

___ Yes _x_ No

If YES, who?

__________________________

Please return the completed survey to us via email at tweaver@mail.sfsu.edu as soon as possible.

Thank you for your time and feedback.

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