Practical Digital Marketing: Importance of Social Media Marketing in Business

This article discusses the importance of social media marketing in business and provides practical digital marketing strategies. It covers the marketing mix, communication mix, and digital marketing tools. The article also explores examples of effective social media content and campaigns using references to well-established models. The subject is digital marketing and social media marketing, and the course code and college/university are not mentioned.

Practical Digital
Marketing

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Part 1...............................................................................................................................................3
What is marketing................................................................................................................3
What is the marketing mix and where does communication fit in................................4
Digital marketing..................................................................................................................6
What is social media marketing.........................................................................................6
The significance of digital marketing and social media marketing in business..........7
Part 2...............................................................................................................................................8
Two examples of social media content, along with justifications on why they work. 8
Screenshots of effective campaigns using references to well-established models. .9
Why social media content is effective............................................................................11
CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Social media is a platform that connects people as well as serves best for digital
marketing. Social media is utilizing by almost every organisation as this helps in
marketing of their commodities and services. It provides a platform for promoting
themselves as it serves a great marketing tool. Sainsbury is taken as base company.
Sainsbury is specialised in selling of food business, clothing, telecommunications
equipment and other non food goods. This organisation was established in 1869 by J.J
Sainsbury in UK. In this report, it covers the importance of marketing functions and
marketing mix. It also includes the components of communication mix. Moreover, how
digital marketing could be utilised in communication strategies is also mentioned.
Part 1
What is marketing
Marketing is describes as buying or selling of products or services in order to
make money by the organisation as well as increase their sales and profitability. This
activity comprises of set of tasks, procedures for developing, interaction, offering and
exchanging those values for the consumers as well as society as a whole. Marketing as
a strategy encompasses all of the actions taken by a firm to attract and retain
consumers (Goswami and Sinha, 2019). This is something which could be
accomplished both offline and online. The goal of marketing is to thoroughly understand
the customer and convince them that the value proposition suits them and drives them.

What is the marketing mix and where does communication fit in
A marketing mix is a collection of traits used by a firm to advertise its products
and services in the market. This concept is related to the seven components of
Sainsbury's value proposition that comprises of product, pricing, place, promotion,
people, process and physical evidence. Sainsbury's provides value for money by
utilising cost-effective techniques as well as numerous marketing strategies (Mwijarubi,
2017). In context to Sainsbury’s, promotion mix is mentioned below:
Product: To preserve the institution's market share, the offering must be centred on
customer needs and wants. Sainsbury's unique selling point is its ability to develop a
diverse range of brand-name items in order to increase its collection in its chosen
industry.
Price: A business’s pricing plan should be assessed effectively in order to
sustain revenue. Sainsbury's approach is centred on providing high-quality goods at a
reasonable price. As a result, it is focusing on maintaining its quality standards in order
to retain customers in the long run.
Place: It is essential to position a product in the greatest possible location. This is
also important to give goods in such a manner that they might well also meet all
divisions based on individual needs (Helal, Ozuem and Lancaster, 2018). As a result,
Sainsbury's is rethinking goods distribution for e-commerce, physical stores and delivery
service.
Promotion: This comprises the company's marketing effort that takes into
account market targeting criteria. As a result, Sainsbury's has developed experience in

developing above- and below-the-line productive methods to help its firm grow
internationally.
People: Sainsbury's should develop an appropriate mix of people with consumer-
related knowledge. As a response, in effort to achieve its objective, it is focused on
satisfying its customers.
Process: It is necessary to have an efficient method of distributing products
(Kolb, 2017). Sainsbury's has worked hard to devise an effective approach for resolving
delivery system challenges.
Physical evidence: It is necessary to give physical evidence of high-quality
items. Sainsbury's is committed to presenting physical evidence of its items to potential
customers in this manner.
Communication mix
It is vital to personalize suggestions to specific clients. It is the most often used
means of communicating with customers. As a result, the communication mix contains a
range of aspects, each of which serves an important purpose. Advertisement,
promotional activities, press and a variety of other components are examples of these
aspects. Sainsbury's is committed to offering the most efficient way of product delivery
possible. Sainsbury's is dedicated to providing the most cost-effective product marketing
option to its clients (Bazi, Filieri and Gorton, 2020). It also has a significant presence in
the eyes of potential buyers. The firm adds value to its goods and services that
motivates customers to choose their products over those of rivals in the industry.

Digital marketing
Digital marketing is described as promoting of products and services through
online tools. This enables organisations to make interaction with the potential customers
with the help of internet. It encompasses of tools such as social media, e-mail,
multimedia messages and many more (Schegg and Stangl, 2017). There are various
types of digital marketing such as search engine optimization. It is a marketing tool
which includes the art and science for creates wed pages in order to capture the
customer attention as it provides opportunity to research and weigh the distinct factors
for reaching the highest rank. Digital marketing comprises of all the digital platforms
such as e-mail marketing, mobile marketing, social media marketing and many more for
developing strategies to achieve and make relations with the customers as well as
prospects.
What is social media marketing
Social media marketing is the utilisation of social networking sites to connect with
consumers in order to promote a brand, drive revenue and lead generation. This
encompasses posting high quality content to social media sites, responding to and
communicating with users, evaluating accomplishments and promoting a brand through
social media. Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat and Twitter
are now the most popular social networking sites. There are also a variety of social
media marketing tools provided to assist firms in making the most of their social media
networks (Mack, Marie-Pierre and Redican, 2017). Companies make use of social
media in a variety of ways. When a company is concerned about what others are saying

about it, it might have to examine social media interactions and respond to relevant
remarks.
The significance of digital marketing and social media marketing in business
Digital marketing methods and tactics provide organisation operators with vital
information about its competitors and also chances for growth. Social media is rapidly
becoming one of the most essential parts of digital marketing, with several benefits
which allow marketers to engage millions of people across the globe. The efficacy of
digital marketing and social media marketing in contemporary businesses is also due to
the fact that they provide a channel for effectively engaging customers (Imerlishvili,
2018). Businesses could benefit from a digital marketing approach that is both cost
effective and delivers long term results. Consumer behaviour has evolved and as a
result, promotional tactics used to contact customers have expanded. Establishing
online relationships with consumers and a great impression for the firm could assist
unknown people in closing sales more easily. Content marketing is an excellent method
for organisations that wish to focus on developing their online brand. It creates three
times the number of prospects as other more expensive methods, such as sponsored
advertising. Social media improves firm access across potential consumers while
gaining access to a large market with minimum effort and expenditure.

Part 2
Two examples of social media content, along with justifications on why they work
Finding social media content for marketing reasons may appear tough. WhatsApp,
Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook are just a few of the well-known platforms for
marketing businesses and their products and services. Sainsbury's promotes their items
across several channels in order to create a big audience.
Image: This is one of the most effective methods of retaining customers. Using a
technique makes it possible to have an impact on a big number of individuals.
Sainsbury's has utilised this strategy to catch the attention of a huge worldwide
population over a shared network (Capatina and et. al., 2018). Several large
corporations employ this approach to convey a pleasant image to their consumers. It
motivates staff to enhance the company's image. These promotional activities would
market on major e-platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, where a large number of
people are engaged. The corporation is concentrating on the formation of a competitive
team dedicated to providing outstanding client services. Improved consumer
involvement and achievements are provided by image marketing. Image branding
enables direct customer involvement and also a greater comprehension of the items
and services to offer.
Video: As technology advances, the use of diverse social media contents has now
become progressively essential. Sainsbury's has encouraged the use of video content
on different social media platforms in this approach. As a customer-focused corporation,
Sainsbury's seeks to incorporate video content advertising in order to be more efficient.
This approach helps in attracting new customers in order to expand a large prospective

audience (TONYAN, 2018). Various channels, such as YouTube and Instagram, are
utilised in this regard to advertise high-quality graphical representations for the best-
suited organisation. In feed clips are also used to advance the business's products and
build relevant data about various items. This is also recognized as one of the most
effective methods for achieving a certain goal. Furthermore, for optimum new
generation attraction, the firm can utilise live stream, IGTV, snap chat in-feeds and
Instagram stories where Sainsbury's was capable to get across to specific segments
with the assistance of this effective marketing promotion.
Screenshots of effective campaigns using references to well-established models
Argos Christmas Ad 2019: Argos reveal catalogues over the years - see them
here

Source: Argos Christmas Ad 2019: Argos reveal catalogues over the years - see them
here
RACE model
This is made up of effective digital marketing activities which could be tracked
and assessed. It encompasses the whole customer life cycle, including all aspects of
the consumer's journey from start to finish. Creating awareness, converting prospects to
customers and then participating in post-purchase interaction are all really attractive
areas for advertisers to operate in and utilize to create revenue.
Reach: Reach is concerned with advertising the goods and services on a global
scale, creating awareness in areas across the authorization but not beyond the effect.
Argos would be capable to grab the largest number of individuals by educating them
about the various goods supplied by Sainsbury's by the use of a catalogue in a three-
minute commercial. This is also known as the "Book of Dreams," and it's received a
number of publicity on social media.
Act: When a customer searches the web or uses social media, he or she
engages with the firm and takes decisions. Users' replies can include offering contact
information and seeking further details (Glucksman, 2017). The company’s unique
campaign has received a lot of good response from a large number of people. Its
objective was to increase public awareness of Argos' uniqueness. This measure
increased the company's global image including its market share.
Convert: This involves encouraging consumers to finish the last phase that
converts them into potential customers, regardless of if the purchase is made through
internet transactions or physical channels. This is the primary aim of the marketing

funnel and it is what actually determines the web business platform's profit creation.
This technique would be motivated by conversion rate goals. As a function of the
campaign, Sainsbury's Agros was fortunate to get a significant number of followers that
helped in the development of brand awareness using social networking sites.
Engage: The emphasis should be on building long-term connections with these
first-time consumers in order to boost loyal clients. This would result in increased sales
transactions and marketing. Offline and online interactions, such as with the website,
social networking sites email and certain other face-to-face contacts, could be useful to
create the customer benefit providing. This initiative has connected nearly a million
people, aiding Sainsbury's Argos in creating a consistent social media presence
which turned out to be a profitable company.
Why social media content is effective
Social media is a powerful marketing communication channel that could help a
company stand out of the crowd. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and many other social
media platforms have risen in popularity. They have evolved into ideal channels for
people to express their ideas, facts and opinions. Social media platforms are quickly
have become the primary means for people to engage with organizations. This is an
effective channel for contacting and connecting new or prospective customers (Balio
and Casais, 2021). Having a good social media presence also allows businesses to
approach and build excellent connections, with each interaction growing on the prior
one. Corporations could track its consumers' social media activities using social
listening. As a consequence, such information could be used to best fit the message
and target people than offline encounters. Cookies could also identify online behaviour

by collecting data about a person's surfing behaviour, such as how many web pages
have been visited, in order to retain a record of customers.
CONCLUSION
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that social media is important to
organizations because it enables them to reach, develop and connect with potential
customers no matter where they are. Communicating with a company's target audience
through social media would lead to higher brand visibility, prospects, earnings and
income. The importance of social media is explained by the fact that it offers value while
also providing a low-cost alternative for brand advertising. Furthermore, social media
gives users total control over the content they share with the rest of the world.

REFERENCES
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Balio, S. and Casais, B., 2021. A content marketing framework to analyze customer engagement
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Capatina, A. and et. al., 2018. Country-based comparison of accommodation brands in social
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Glucksman, M., 2017. The rise of social media influencer marketing on lifestyle branding: A
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Imerlishvili, G., 2018. Marketing as a key element in marketing strategy.
Kolb, B., 2017. Tourism marketing for cities and towns: Using social media and branding to
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Mack, E. A., Marie-Pierre, L. and Redican, K., 2017. Entrepreneurs’ use of internet and social
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Mwijarubi, L.B., 2017. The Role of Social Media Marketing Towards Increasing Hospitality
Training Demand (Doctoral dissertation, The Open University of Tanzania).
Schegg, R. and Stangl, B., 2017, January. Information and communication technologies in
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TONYAN, J., 2018. Using Digital Analytics to Assess Your Social Media Marketing Efforts.
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Online
(Argos Christmas Ad 2019: Argos reveal catalogues over the years - see them here, 2019)
[Online] Available through; https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/1204856/Argos-Christmas-
ad-2019-advert-catalogues-over-the-years-pictures