Digital Communication Strategy for Apple Inc.

This report discusses the digital communication strategy of Apple Inc. and its importance in the growth of business. It analyzes the use of social media, chat software, video conferencing, and blogs by the company. The report concludes with recommendations for the company to expand its social media presence.

RUNNING HEAD: Digital Communication Strategy
Digital Communication Strategy
Assignment 2: Report
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
Digital communication and its importance..................................................................................................4
Digital communication strategy used by Apple Inc......................................................................................7
Conclusion and Recommendations...........................................................................................................10
References.................................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
Business communication is the flow and exchange of ideas, information and thoughts within the
workplace. Business communication often takes place in a formal manner. It is either done
through the formal channels like meetings, notices, video conferencing or take by informal
channels like chats, advertising, communication, etc. Business communication does not mean
that the flow of information will be only internal but it can also be with the external stakeholders
like community, customers, etc. It serves as a catalyst to the progress of the organization. The
assignment discusses the digital communication strategy of an organization. It will discuss the
importance of digital communication at a workplace and in the growth of business and how it
helps in connecting the business with the world (Baruah, 2012).
The assignment will discuss the digital communication strategy of Apple Inc. the
company operates on a large scale and recently became the first publically listed company worth
$1 trillion. Communication is the essence of the company and this report will analyses the digital
communication strategy of the company with the help of different articles and sources.

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Digital communication and its importance
Digital communication has a prime role in the business environment. Social media is one form of
digital communication and it is used widely by the organizations in order to connect with the
customers. On one hand, social media provides a big platform to the company to promote its
brands and to connect with the customers but on the other hand, it can also harm the reputation
of the company. It can negatively affect the company at a much faster rate. It’s a revolution
which eliminates the barriers of communication and brings everyone on the same platform but it
also faces certain challenges.
The companies uses digital platforms for promoting their products and services. Brand
awareness is one of the prime motive of digital communication. The development of internet
technologies have transformed the way in which the personal and professional life of people
interacts. The companies use social media channels like Twitter, Facebook and many other
applications in order communicate with their customers. They share the information about their
new products or innovative changes in their existing products. They also share any offers or
discounts provided on their services. This helps in making people aware about their brand and
also helps in developing a good network of customers for the company (Çizmeci & Ercan, 2015).
Technology has become an essential part of people’s lives. The world without technology
seems impossible now. There was a time when the companies used to communicate to its
customers through newspapers and radios only but now there are numerous channels where the
companies can reach to masses. Digital communication is not only faster but is more versatile.
Adoption of digital communication has been done by almost all the business organizations to
connect with their internal as well as with external stakeholders. But it is very important for the
businesses to make the right choices for communicating their messages. The companies need to
consider the size of their audience, the purpose of message, the tools to be used and budget for
the communication which is to be made (Stohl, Etter, Banghart & Woo, 2017).

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It is evident that the businesses are nowadays more active on social media because it
maximized their effectiveness but they need to evaluate the positive and negative effects of the
same in order to save it from negative publicity among the public. The companies make digital
strategies in order to communicate and achieve their goals. Digital communication sharpens their
interactions with the stakeholders and provides them an opportunity to interact without any
disruption. It connects people sitting at various locations and brings them together. In recent
decades, digital communication has gained prime position in the lives of people and in the
business world too (Pawar, 2014).
Online communication has increased the potential of the businesses to develop contacts.
The online customer is well inform about the product, service. Its importance and how to choose
between different alternatives available. The correct and fair information provided to the
customers helps in creating a win-win situation for the customers. It is also rightly said by the
marketing Guru Philip Kotler that the marketing today relies more a more on the relationships
made with the customers. There are multiple platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter,
Tumblr and others where the business could connect with the customers. There are several
advantages of being on these platforms; like Brand development and awareness, the product
development, it helps in attracting new customers and helps in fighting the tough competition in
the market. It also helps in building good networks and develops long term customer
relationships. It assist the company to enter and sustain into global markets and in reducing the
costs of using the traditional communication tools. Businesses are more easily going global
because of the increased ease of communication and networking with the help of digital
communication (Hennig-Thurau, et. al., 2010).
Mobile communication is another aspect of digital communication. With the increase in
the usage of mobile communication, the success of mobile and digital communication strategies
is also growing. As per Patrutiu-Baltes (2016), 45% of the emails are opened on mobile devices
and only 36% on desktops. Not only emails but the social media accounts are checked on
mobiles only by most of the people. The sale of smartphones have also increased because of the
same. Most of the homemakers, professional, students and aged people are now a days connect
to the internet which opens a huge opportunity for the business to promote its businesses over
there and increases its sales (Hoffmann & Weithaler, 2015).

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Using a digital tools by the business can increase not only its efficiency but also its
productivity and quality of services. The digital communication tool should be chosen by the
business which matches its objectives and structure. The interface of the digital tool should be
user friendly so that it can be used by most of the people. The communication and information
should be designed in such a way which is useful and easier for the audience to understand.

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Digital communication strategy used by Apple Inc.
Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. is a technology company running worldwide but headquartered in America. The
company is known for its quality products like IPhone, IPad, Mac and more. The employees are
motivated to do their best and to reimagine the future of the business. Apple is the leader in the
technology world and the essence of this success is effective communication and networks.
Apple at Work
Apple provides a platform to its employees where they can work productively and solve their
problems creatively. They work with a common purpose and share a common goal. As per
Apple, the world has never been as mobile as it is today and they provide such products to their
employees which helps them to stay connected with each other, share their innovative ideas and
a lot more. Within the business, the employees can spread the information if they are available
for meetings face to face but if the employees are sitting at various geographical locations
especially in the case of global organizations, it becomes tough for them to communicate. For
solving this purpose, Apple provides devices to all the employees and empowers them to connect
internally. A custom portal is created for employees where they work, connect, share and
implement the ideas. The employees are given smooth adoption process and are free to select
their products. The employee portal is designed to guide them and it also manages the eligibility,
efficiency and productivity of the employees (Riihimäki, 2017).
Chat software’s
The company believes in using the right tools. For maintaining a good networking system
internally, the company focuses on the swift communication channels. It implements a company
chat software’s where easy communication can be done in seconds and also provides a cloud
technology to save and secure the data. The employees are given all the facilities to communicate
but with the privacy rules and policies (Alden & Naglieri, 2012).

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Digital advertising through Social media
Social media is one of the most powerfully form of digital communication. It is the platform
where masses can be communicated at once. A low cost method of communication where most
of people are available and are informed. Apple has no as such planned social media strategy but
it uses all the available platforms in a way which creates brand loyalty among the consumers. It
uses social media differently from its peers. The company launched its first social media
campaign in 2014 and it helped the company in promoting its products among its potential
customers. The company believes that not all social networks are good for company’s business
and the company should strategize and use only those channels which are beneficial to them
(Mattu, 2015).
Video conferencing and Blogs
The company uses video conferencing in order to conduct meetings with the professional sitting
at different regions of the world. This helps in eliminating the distance barriers and provide an
advantage of face to face meeting where decisions can be taken speedily. The company also
promotes internal blogs where the employees are empowered to work more efficiently and are
open to share their views and ideas which helps them in capitalizing their minds. These blogs
are also written in order to foster innovation in the company. The company take these ideas
given by the employees and empower them by giving rewords (Johnson, Li, Phan, Singer &
Trinh, 2012).
Twitter
Apple joined twitter recently in 2016 an din just two months the company gained 3 lac followers.
This has encouraged the company for using digital platforms as it can provide incredible growth
to the company. The company believes in constantly answering the questions of the customers
which satisfies its customers. It gives value to every kind of feedback and tries to resolve it as
soon as possible. The company communicates in a positive way and provide right direction to
people. It also plays a strategy by not giving generic responses but always respond like the
customer is talking to a real human. It provides a personalized feel to the customers (Petrovic,
2010).

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Apple changed the world by using its most creative marketing strategies. The company believed
in communicating inside out. The company uses the Golden Circle marketing method where they
believe that everything they do is user friendly and designed to make it easier for the customers.
They understand the needs of the customers and provides personalized services to its customers.
That is why, it is the leader of the industry (Mickalowski, Mickelson & Keltgen, 2008).

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Conclusion and Recommendations
It can be concluded that digital communication has become an essential part of the business
world and most of the companies are nowadays using Internet technologies for communicating
to their stakeholders. The report discusses the digital communication strategy of the leading
technology provider Apple Inc. which communicates with its employees through technological
devices and also provides them a platform where they can provide their insights, share their
opinio0ns and innovative ideas. This fosters the innovation in the company. Also, the company
believes in using the digital channel which matches the objectives of the company. It believes
that not all the channels are beneficial for the company. The company recently started using
social media which proved as huge success because of its prompt responses and services to its
users. This shows that amazing customer support makes amazing marketing and vice versa.
Apple is planning to widespread its social media presence strategically so that it can reach
masses and be the leader of the industry. It is recommended that the company should make use
of Facebook and other social media accounts in order to achieve better presence in the market.

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References
Alden, A. F., & Naglieri, A. G. (2012). Reaching real-time moving targets: The use of digital
communications to inform and mobilize college students. New York Journal of Student
Affairs, 12(1), 3-35.
Apple (2018). Apple at work. Retrieved from https://www.apple.com/business/.
Baruah, T. D. (2012). Effectiveness of Social Media as a tool of communication and its potential
for technology enabled connections: A micro-level study. International Journal of
Scientific and Research Publications, 2(5), 1-10.
Çizmeci, F., & Ercan, T. (2015). The Effect of Digital Marketing Communication Tools in the
Creation Brand Awareness By Housing Companies. Megaron, 10(2).
Hennig-Thurau, T., Malthouse, E. C., Friege, C., Gensler, S., Lobschat, L., Rangaswamy, A., &
Skiera, B. (2010). The impact of new media on customer relationships. Journal of service
research, 13(3), 311-330.
Hoffmann, C., & Weithaler, L. (2015). Building Brand Reputation in the Digital Age:
Identifying effective brand communication to win the moment of truth online. Retreived
from https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/search/publication/7511481.
Johnson, K., Li, Y., Phan, H., Singer, J., & Trinh, H. (2012). The Innovative Success that is
Apple, Inc.
Mattu, R (2015). Apple clarity and communication keep brand at top. Financial Times.
Mickalowski, K., Mickelson, M., & Keltgen, J. (2008). Apple's iPhone launch: A case study in
effective marketing. The Business Review, 9(2), 283-288.
Patrutiu-Baltes, L. (2016). The impact of digitalization on business communication. Sea:
Practical Application of Science, 4(2).
Pawar, A. A. (2014). Study of the effectiveness of online Marketing on integrated Marketing
Communication. School of Management, DY Patil University, Navi Mumbai.
Petrovic, O. (2010). A digital platform for marketing communications in the mobile and social
media space. In Conference on e-Business, e-Services and e-Society (pp. 182-192).
Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.

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Riihimäki, J. (2017). Performing internal communication with the help of digital tools: A study
of how employees utilize internal communication together with digital tools. Retrieved
from https://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1136334/FULLTEXT01.pdf.
Stohl, C., Etter, M., Banghart, S., & Woo, D. (2017). Social media policies: Implications for
contemporary notions of corporate social responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics,
142(3), 413-436.