Introduction
Marketing professionals all over the world are constantly adjusting their business strategies to reach out to the ever-changing demands and needs of customers (Lamarre, Galarneau, and Boeck 2012, p. 1). With the modern day shift to adoption of media services in the concept of marketing, Khalifa and Shen (2008, p. 112) opine that mobility is rapidly becoming an ordinary way of life.
Innovative business mind-sets that have effectively incorporated e-commerce in their marketing strategies view mobile social media marketing as the next best exhilarating business prospect that will enable businesses to relate to their customers successfully through new communication channels (Lamarre, Galarneau, and Boeck 2012, p. 1).
Mobile social media marketing differentiates itself from other marketing mediums such as newspapers, radio, and television. This arguably is due to its highly interactive nature supplied by web browser advantages and mobile device interfaces that make it possible to offer continuous access to prospective customers (Davis and Sajtos 2009, p. 16).
These rare advantages effectively suffice as one of the most robust, dynamic, and personal mediums that continue to shape modern day marketing in all corners of the world (Jadhav, Kamble, and Patil 2012, p. 45).
Mobile social media marking has the ability to integrate several forms of mobile device technology and practices such as the Internet, VoIP, mobile SMS, the Bluetooth, mobile e-mail, as well as concepts such as SMS marketing, mobile gaming, mobile advertising, and location based marketing (Lamarre, Galarneau, and Boeck 2012, p. 2).
Why the shift towards mobile marketing
As Lamarre, Galarneau, and Boeck (2012, p. 2) note, Mobile social media marketing taps abundantly into the massive reservoir of potentials that cut mobile service provision across the globe. These provisions have become used commonplace with consumers of all ages and by customer personal mobile interfaces.
In recent times, mobile social media marketing has been comprehensively discussed in modern day marketing ventures and has passed the test of management philosophy pigeonholed on its practices, principles, and strategies that underscores its consistent quality delivery.
Of much consideration has been the increased employees involvement, employee empowerment, top management commitment, benchmarking, team spirit, rewards and recognitions, quality leadership, consistent feedback mechanism and a healthy liaison between companies and consumers, as well as between businesses and their suppliers (Jadhav, Kamble, and Patil 2012, p. 45).
Most of the research on mobile social media marketing has majored in the manufacturing sector. Lately, however, they have spread over the service industry and public administration, each of which has proved to have travelled a robust trajectory towards the empowerment of e-commerce (Abbass and Akram 2010, p 30).
The advancements in the service sector, therefore, have occasioned the increased attention to the modern implementation of the mobile social constructs as better ways for companies to develop and enhance the global marketing trends.
For corporations, therefore, this new shift in the marketing trends holds an appealing assurance of being in constant and direct touch with their clienteles, thus helping them to nurture a repeated and robust rapport with the potentiality of brand. The move amplifies sales with an express competitive advantage (Lamarre, Galarneau, and Boeck 2012, p. 2).
In addition, given that the younger customers could be problematic to reach by means of traditional networks of communication. Mobile social media marketing readily offers an effective appeal, especially with the increased need to reach out to the younger consumer segment (Gao, Sultan, and Rohm 2010, p. 578).
This is because this consumer segment continues to be the brain behind the modern day business success. As such, they have to be lured in keeping with the social trends in the market (Jadhav, Kamble, and Patil 2012, p. 45).
Challenges of mobile social media marketing
Although mobile social media marketing hypothetically implies a prodigious deal of business opportunities, harnessing such possibilities continues to prove somewhat challenging (Aldás-Manzano, Ruiz-Mafé, and Sanz-Blas 2009, p. 745). Numerous obstacles relating to consumer behaviour continue to characterise it in ways that are yet to be resolved.
As Beck et al. (2008, p. 420) note, it is a forgone conclusion that a great number of consumers often have their mobile devices within reach, thereby establishing a robust network of communication between consumers and companies.
Over time, the challenge that has characterised mobile social media marketing revolves around the hitches in linking these two entry points by developing a craving from the prospective consumers to generate access to their mobile devices, whereby such consumers not only gain privilege, but also confidence in the company (Aldás-Manzano, Ruiz-Mafé, and Sanz-Blas 2009, p. 745).
The other challenge that is often encountered in the managing of the consumer’s interaction with the company’s communication facilities is whether this might be perceived as being explicitly intrusive on such mobile social media marketing platforms. These contests, according to Davis and Sajtos (2009, p. 15), are pointers that validate the fact that research into this particular zone is necessary, pertinent and well-timed.
Trends in mobile social media marketing and change management
It increasingly becomes very imperative for organisations to gain competitive advantage by nurturing a culture that guarantees businesses the ability to survive and manage change effectively (Jadhav, Kamble, and Patil 2012, p. 46).
Mobile social media marketing trends, according to Cao and McHugh (2005, p. 475), warrant the drive to carry out commerce that seeks to explore the domains of developmental paradigms which are in pursuit of the ever-changing buyer behaviour, habits and consumerism in general.
Trends in global trade offer valuable lenses through which organisational leaders with the necessary business zest could monitor their business growth, respond amicably to the demands and mitigate uncertainties within their business structures (Abbass and Akram 2010, p 30).
These newfound marketing trends are particularly useful in the concept of organisational intelligence, knowledge management, organisational design, and corporate strategy to reach out to the global consumers.
Given that the most widespread trends in the contemporary market are towards an all-pervasive and continuous change, as well as expanding the scope of interdependencies, close parallelism can be amicably drawn between the public and private sectors with the denominator being the propensity towards environmental change (Cao and McHugh 2005, p. 475).
Within these considerations, private and public sector organisations seek to thwart the approaching turbulent environmental glitches that are characteristic of traditional marketing. These marketing glitches are contained by dramatic technological changes, as well as socio-economic and political developments that continue to shape global trade.
In order to help shape, understand and manage change conduits and its processes more effectively, a comprehensive outlook of change management in global marketing often suffices as the best alternative in keeping with the ever changing market trends (Cao and McHugh 2005, p. 480).
The essence of mobile social media marketing
Mobile social media marketing is a venture of management that is concerned primarily with supervising, designing and controlling processes within a production function. The essence of this is to transform business operations especially in light of producing goods while tendering services that seek to meet the demand of consumers’ needs anywhere at all times (Choi et al. 2008, p. 320).
Mobile social media marketing as a concept of management, observe Bauer, Reichardt, Barnes, and Neumann (2005, p. 185), takes into consideration the responsibility of underscoring the efficacy of specific business functions that must be realised by way of using the limited resources as possible to meet customers’ satisfaction within a given timeline.
This archetypical business venture is also concerned with the efficacy that involves the conversion of inputs such as raw materials, energy and labour into outputs such as goods and services (Bauer et al. 2005, p. 185).
Succinctly, the essence of mobile social media marketing is its capacity to utilise capital and human resources such as technology and knowledge to convert raw materials and services into either tangible or intangible products in the forms of goods and services.
The basis of mobile social media marketing is to design the systems that control an enterprise such as arranging the facilities, coming up with procedures that align the business with mobile device inventory acquisition and scheduling business tasks and outputs while providing a safe passage that guarantees the smooth sail of business towards customers.
Standardisation lenses
The modern day consumer views business organisations through the lenses of standardisation and businesses that explore the domains of mobile social media marketing as a way of reaching out to their customers, so it normally gets a head-start in the populous market niche (Bouhlel et al. 2009, p. 705). This is so due to the fact that such businesses’ products and services are usually available to the consumers at the click of a call button.
Alternatively, prospective buyers could always browse, view and verify the specifications of a product or service offered by the company, thereby saving both time and money. To a spectacular advantage, the authors opine that prospective customers could make on-line requests and be served with various services and products instantaneously (How to make effective disclosures in digital advertising 2013, p. 1).
Mobile social media marketing, just like any other business venture, as argued by Josler and Burner (2005, p. 5), falls under categorisation schemes that classifies it within the highly sought after business motifs.
These consist of the conceptualisation of higher degree of communication, standardisation levels, production and service delivery functions, as well as entertainments (Kim, Kim, and Kil 2009, p. 142). Marketing within this business model, for example, offers tangible goods that must reach out to consumers. As such, a distribution system is often upped to get them to their targeted destination.
Service industries tend to deal directly with their customers, thus making distribution a less likely challenge at the behest. Here, the concern, however, is to make the services available to the consumers regardless of their global positioning and trends in time (Pisano and Shih 2009, p. 117). Broadly speaking, the focus is on what businesses can do in order to attain a high rate of production in a marketing function.
According to recent research in this area, the high-involvement media services by businesses can, for example, create positive attitudes and spellbinding confidence on the part of consumers (Demchenko 2004, p. 24).
Massey, Montoya-Weiss and O’Driscoll (2002, p. 275) and Soupata (2005, p. 25) concur that increased media marketing and its practices help generate the types of flexible behaviours that may lead to enhanced performance by businesses.
Social media applications embrace a wide collection of elements including collaborating projects, content communities, social networking interfaces, and virtual worlds, which essentially continue to factor in within the standard repertoire of communication for many businesses (Kaplan 2012, p. 1).
Currently, with the endowment of powerful mobile device to every consumer, several social media applications are gradually becoming mobile, as new entrants in the market persistently appear.
Conclusion
Mobile social media marketing is rapidly becoming the new face of modern world marketing trends allowing organisations in all parts of the world to effectively reach out to customers and meet their demands beforehand. For many businesses, it will continue to evolve as an integrating tool in communications and marketing strategies.
The continued use of mobile social media marketing is expected to expand the scope of global buying and consumption trends for companies and consumers that embrace it. Although mobile social media marketing offers the ability to create new and impressive opportunities, it also comes with challenges including demands for a rapid shift in the thinking skills – especially about marketing mix and market measurement stratagems.
Today, companies that are most effective in the frontiers of mobile social media marketing are not only experimenting with several business opportunities; they are equally empowered to create institutional metrics to quantify the impacts of their market energies.
In the years to come, effective use of mobile social media tools for marketing will be guided by the very businesses that have the ability to enter into this promising relationship with consumers, employees, supplies, and other stakeholders.
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