Effectiveness of Digital Marketing

This report discusses the marketing mix and communication mix of IKEA and explains the ways in which social media channels are used in communication’s strategy. It also describes the effectiveness of social media content in promoting company products using digital tools such as websites, search engines, social media, applications & emails.

Effectiveness of Digital Marketing

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................3
LO1............................................................................................................................................3
Describing Marketing Mix using example.............................................................................3
LO2............................................................................................................................................4
Discussing elements of communication mix..........................................................................4
LO3............................................................................................................................................6
Explaining ways in which social media are channels are used in communication’s strategy6
Describing Effectiveness of social media content.................................................................7
CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES...........................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Digital marketing can be defined as a process which uses digital tools such as
websites, search engines, social media, applications & emails to advertise and promote
company products. IKEA is a company founded in 1943 which deals with home furnishing
products to baby products and textiles & rugs. Present report will discuss marketing mix and
communication mix of IKEA. Further, it will throw light on company’s social media
handling in terms communication strategy. Lastly, it will explain effectiveness of social
media content.
LO1
Describing Marketing Mix using example
Marketing mix is a complete mixture of all the components which are relevant for a
marketing plan. The different elements of marketing mix works in alignment with one
another which focus on end users that are customers. These elements are also known as four
P’s i.e. Product, Price, Place and Promotion. Marketing strategy of IKEA is placed at a level
which has helped them to achieve great heights. The marketing mix of IKEA is discussed
below:
Product
IKEA is a company which always comes up with unique and attractive products which
become appealing to the target audience. Product line includes home decor items, furniture,
baby products, bathroom appliances, textiles and rugs (Burt and et.al., 2021). As per research,
IKEA has a product line of over 12000 products and sell in 50 different countries.
Price
The pricing strategy is designed uniquely that even after paying higher prices,
consumers are satisfied because of the quality provided to them. After a comparison with
competitors pricing strategy, IKEA products are more affordable. Shipping costs are reduced
because products are packed in flat packing which is an effective cost cutting method.
Further, it also allows freebies at their restaurants from Monday to Saturday.
Place
Global distribution network of IKEA includes various manufacturing sites which
uses flat packages. It has over 25+ distribution centres with more than 350 IKEA store
around the world. In recent years, IKEA has also added online stores and pick up points to
benefit customers. Store designing is done in such a manner that customers are tempted to

stay long and spend more (Rainanto and et.al., 2021). Cozy and comfortable restaurants by
providing quality food gives ideas about home decoration.
Promotion
For promotion & marketing, IKEA uses techniques like T.V. print media, online ad
campaigns, etc. Marketing strategy of company is quite original & distinctive from
competitors which helps in creating value to customers. IKEA also uses social media tools to
attract customers, and mainly improves sale through catalogue.
Along with 4 P’s, now-a-days, three more P’s are added to marketing mix which are
described below:
People
For IKEA, its customers & employees are very vital for them. Company has an aim
to provide excellent home décor products and services to customers, satisfying customers is
their focal point. Employees of company work together with enthusiasm and innovative mind
to provide quality products to consumers. There is no discrimination among employees on
basis of racism & religion.
Process
There are around 44 production units which makes own wood by having sawmills to
manufacture premium quality goods. Company uses latest technology in eco-friendly manner
to decrease wastage. Supply chain system of company is amazing where they buy raw
materials from 1800 suppliers (Marketing Mix of IKEA | 4Ps of Marketing Mix of IKEA.
2018). In addition to this, final product is sold to customers in pieces which is then assembled
by customers to save cost and time.
Physical Evidence
IKEA has huge no. of store outlets which counts around 350+ in 50+ countries that gives
wonderful shopping experience to customers. Stores have all the facilities from restaurants to
baby handling areas along with huge parking space. It also has an area at the end of store
where damaged or returned products are sold at great discounts.
LO2
Discussing elements of communication mix
Communication mix includes all those tools, techniques & methods to communicate with
potential customers and making attractive offers to enhance sales. Tools include social media,

print media, advertising, websites, exhibitions & events, etc. Brand building is not an easy
task and requires excellent marketing team to identify the ways to communicate to potential
audience.
IKEA is a well-known brand which has utilised the potential of advertising and
promotions on best way to appeal to customers in positive manner. Company has a very
brilliant communication mix to integrate applications of marketing which is discussed below:
Print media & Advertising
IKEA mainly depends upon print media and advertising to deliver the message to
target audience. Company has collaborated with many popular journals & TV channels on
global platform to attract customers (Elg and Welinder, 2022). For example, Swedish Furniture
chain designed a print ad where ‘somnig’ was printed with lavender ink which emits white
noise and consumers were motivated to place it next to their bed. In addition to this, 200
million catalogues were printed & published in 2013. Local newspapers are also used to
spread and convey the message to local audience.
Social media advertising
Generally, social media marketing also helps IKEA in attracting large customer segment
and to create brand awareness. Videos like “Experience the power of bookbook” & “Improve
your private life” have become popular on online platforms and proved to be successful for
IKEA. Furthermore, IKEA uses separate pages for every country on social platforms like
Facebook, Instagram, etc. to promote the brand.
Sales promotions
Various sales promotion techniques are adopted by IKEA which includes Customer
loyalty program where company provides membership facility to its customers in order to
avail discounts and other benefits. Organisation also provides seasonal price reduction offers
on special days and occasions like Black Friday or Cyber Monday.
In addition to this, accurate usage of attractive posters & display has added cherry to the
top where products are presented in the best ways to attract target audience (Husna, 2022).
Occasionally, free gifts are offered to customers having Family Card which ranges from free
hot dog to £500 cash.
Public Relations
IKEA’s PR team has clear vision about what content needs to flow to customers by
publishing stories and visuals. All the information is published on Prezly online newsroom
which becomes easier for customers to have information from just single platform. A lot of
information is shared on single stage and customers can pick up relevant information. E-mails

sent via Prezly are not boring & long messages but attractive visual overview. PR team can
also easily analyse the results of all the data that is floated to customers and their impact on
them. It can be easily identified whether the visuals & stories were effective or not. Further,
the feedback can help to plan future strategies.
LO3
Explaining ways in which social media are channels are used in communication’s strategy
LinkedIn: Company uses LinkedIn page in a very effective manner to communicate its offers
to consumers. Total followers on LinkedIn page is 2,373,584 where it posts unique content
which becomes attractive to potential customers. Generally, job openings are posted and
existing employees share their experiences on the page. Company also post videos & clips
about new products to be launched which creates a thrill among customers (Emam, 2022).
With the help of analytical tools, social media handling team can also identify the
effectiveness of each post. Sponsored ads can do a lot of work by influencing purchase
decisions of customers. Long-form content in the form of articles by IKEA’s top manager
influences thought leadership reputations by posting consistent and original content on the
platform.
Facebook: IKEA’s each country page has around 1.5 lakh fans where USA page has the
highest following with 3,411,985 followers. The 2011 Facebook Hong Kong Bedroom
Makeover contest was initiated where people has to share photos of their bedroom and how
IKEA can make it a better one. Simple and versatile content is generated by marketing team
to easily communicate the message to potential customers without much effort. In order to
enhance the engagement, social teams pose questions & polls, small YouTube clips or links
to albums, etc.
In addition to this, with popularity of Games Of Thrones, costumes of few actors
were made from IKEA rugs which soon became a trend on Facebook and sales picked up
(Elf, Isham and Gatersleben, 2021). After which, IKEA released its own DIY clips of
instructions on how to make capes from rugs. Company also launched a campaign of “Bring
Your Own Friend” where users were motivated to bring their friend to store locations and get
freebies & discount offers. This campaign also had a charity element where $1 was donated
to foundation.

Twitter: Unlike Facebook, IKEA also maintain different twitter feeds for different countries
with 6,66,000 followers on IKEA Canada page. Company makes very thrilling and appealing
posts on Twitter to attract customers. It also launches various campaigns like #LetsGoZero
campaign which aims to reduce carbon prints by 2030, #StayHome campaign during Covid
times to encourage people to stay at home where more than 1 million twitter users watched it
on Twitter (Truan, 2022). Another campaign of #IKEAhomestories was launched where users
were asked to make short videos of their own house which also includes their family
members and post them on twitter where eligible participants will get a chance to have a
makeover of their house.
Snap chat: IKEA is using Snap chat in a very significant manner to attract customers by
creating wonderful content in order to enhance and boost sales of company. It is turning
decluttering into a game called ‘escape room’ on Snap chat where users are asked to organize
items with products like furniture, etc. Here, IKEA has created a virtual room which with the
help of AR do little cleaning of the room with filters. There are 330 million users on Snap
chat which becomes easy for company to extend the content to greater audience from single
platform (Ozturkcan, 2021). The Augmented Reality is becoming a trend now-a-days which is
used as an excellent marketing strategy by IKEA in order to communicate with its potential
customers and users.
Describing Effectiveness of social media content
Social media is an effective technique or tool to market the products and enhance
brand awareness. Online tools like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter has become very popular
through which huge amount of information about company can be shared and it gets
recognised. According to my opinion, when relevant and accurate content is shared on
social media, customers do pay attention to such content and are encourage to make purchase.
It enhance the opportunities to reach new customers and target them. I also feel that when a
customer is satisfied and he shares his experience and positive feedback over the internet
helps to promote brand and attract potential customers.
In addition to this, it is also cost effective by advertising to a particular demographic
group which is the potential buyers. Furthermore, social media activities are happening in
real time which according to me gives business a chance to deliver quick customer care and
address the needs of people (Shahbaznezhad, Dolan and Rashidirad, 2021). If a customer is

complaining about the product or any of his bad experience, social media team can
immediately handle the situation and provide remedial actions to solve query of customer.
As per my research, social media is also effective because a large no. of audience can
be reached within stipulated time and limited resources. With just one click of a button, the
content can be reached to millions of users as compared to print or television media
marketing ideas.
CONCLUSION
From the report, it can be concluded that marketing mix is very important to execute
marketing strategies in effective manner. It can be said that IKEA has a very broad product
line to offer various products to its customers. Further, it can be summarized that company’s
sales promotions techniques is excellent along with good Public Relations team. Report also
articulates the fact that social media tools like LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. helps IKEA in
creating strong content and attracting potential customers via social media tools. Lastly, it can
be said that content which is shared through online platform is very crucial to create long
lasting impact upon customers.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Burt, S. and et.al., 2021. The changing marketing orientation within the business model of an
international retailer–IKEA in China over 10 years. The International Review of Retail,
Distribution and Consumer Research. 31(2). pp.229-255.
Elf, P., Isham, A. and Gatersleben, B., 2021. Above and beyond? How businesses can drive
sustainable development by promoting lasting pro‐environmental behaviour change: An
examination of the IKEA Live Lagom project. Business Strategy and the
Environment. 30(2). pp.1037-1050.
Elg, U. and Welinder, A., 2022. Sustainabilty and retail marketing: Corporate, product and store
perspectives. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. 64. p.102810.
Emam, A. A. G., 2022. The effect of applying the green marketing concept on the furniture industry
in Egypt (Applied study on IKEA). Journal of Design Sciences and Applied Arts. 3(2).
pp.286-311.
Husna, A., 2022. STRATEGI MARKETING COMMUNICATION MIX CAHAYA RICKY KOTA
TAPAKTUAN ACEH SELATAN DALAM MEMASARKAN MANISAN PALA. JIMSI:
Jurnal Ilmiah Mahasiswa Ilmu Komunikasi. 2(1).
Ozturkcan, S., 2021. Service innovation: Using augmented reality in the IKEA Place app. Journal of
Information Technology Teaching Cases. 11(1). pp.8-13.
Rainanto, B. H. and et.al., 2021. Interaction of Green Marketing Mix (GMM) and Pro-Environmental
Behavior (PEB) in the Hospitality Industry to Achieve Sustainable Industry Performance
(SIP). Review of International Geographical Education Online. 11(3). pp.1665-1675.
Shahbaznezhad, H., Dolan, R. and Rashidirad, M., 2021. The role of social media content format and
platform in Users' engagement behavior. Journal of Interactive Marketing. 53. pp.47-65.
Truan, N., 2022. (When) Can I say Du to You? The metapragmatics of forms of address on German-
Speaking Twitter. Journal of Pragmatics. 191. pp.227-239.
Online
Marketing Mix of IKEA | 4Ps of Marketing Mix of IKEA, 2018 [Online]. Available through: <
https://heartofcodes.com/marketing-mix-of-ikea/>