Executive Summary
Social media is one of the most important instruments for the generation of the brand image and higher revenues. Nonetheless, it is apparent that not of the companies pay significant attention to the social media campaigns, as it still remains a novelty. The primary goal of this study is to underline the importance of the social media and propose individual tips. Moreover, it is necessary to emphasize and discover that there is a strong connection between social media, reputation, and company’s brand equity.
The literature review was chosen as a primary tool to collect the background. It was revealed that the previously conducted studies are limited to the particular topics and do not cover the central questions of this research. In this case, KLM was analyzed as a case study, and it was revealed that there is a vehement connection between social media, reputation, and brand of the company.
Moreover, the primary roles such as social media as an idea generator, brand influencer, and ability to maintain sufficient relationship with the customer were introduced, and the importance of the social media was underlined. Additionally, the central tips, which the companies can utilize to enhance their brand image and performance with the assistance of the social media were developed.
The further research is needed, as the findings are rather limited since they focus on the airline industry. As for the recommendations for the future research, it should concentrate on the company, which operates in the other segment, as the company’s intentions vary. It is apparent that this type of limitations cannot be avoided since the firms differ in value generations techniques and mission statements in the different operating segments.
Social Media as a Revenue Generating Tool
Introduction/Research problem
Social media has a vehement influence of the development of the brand and ability of the company to perform efficiently on the market. It is apparent that with the development of technology more and more approaches become available to enhance the communication with the customers (Kotler & Keller, 2012).
It is evident that this aspect is rapidly gaining popularity since it allows companies generate the desired image in the market and maintain a sufficient and close relationship with the customers. The primary threat and misunderstanding, which is associated with the social media, is the availability and unlimited access to the information by the customers. It is apparent that these actions are not under the vehement control of the business, as sometimes the situations and the reactions of the customers are unpredictable.
Nonetheless, KLM is one of the successful examples, which utilizes social media as a primary driver for its actions. However, KLM started to use the social media to resolve the conflict and assist the passengers, who experienced difficulties due to the delay and cancelation of flights in the severe weather conditions (Holloman, 2013). In this instance, KLM case can be considered as a positive example of the company, which utilizes social media as a useful interactive tool.
However, only a limited number of the companies is able to use the social media effectively in order to increase the revenues. The problem can be stated as the fact that companies have a tendency to lack the required certain characteristics to maintain a sufficient interaction with the customers to generate higher revenues.
Additionally, the problem can be reformulated, as the enterprises underestimate the importance of the social media and its vehement influence on its profits and reputation. Consequently, the research questions are: ‘Do some companies underestimate the importance of the social media?’, and ‘Does the social media has a vehement impact on the business’ revenue, success and brand image?’
The significant features will be determined with the assistance of KLM case, as this company was able to understand the primary requirements of the social media interaction such its influence on brand, delivery of a sufficient customer support, and the importance of the social media as the idea generator. Nonetheless, a majority of the modern companies utilize social media as a supplemental marketing. However, they are not able to combine all the pivotal required features to reach success.
Nonetheless, it could be said that, in this case, the problem is hard to be evaluated, as the research about the priorities of the marketing communication tools cannot be easily determined.
Nevertheless, it is clear that the research is a necessity, as it will assist in determining the explicit features that a company should have to construct a reliable and successful social media campaigns. Additionally, this research paper will contribute to the understanding of the importance of the social media while establishing marketing channels, developing a brand, and maintaining relationships with the customers.
Literature Review
In this case, it is apparent that the stated research topic has been already discovered. A significant share of the marketing articles is devoted to the significance and relevance of the implementation of the social marketing as one of the primary communication tools.
Nonetheless, in this case, the fundamental goal of the literature review is to underline the importance and significance of the social media and determine the significant features of the social media to enhance the communication with the customers and generate higher revenues.
It is apparent that the necessity and the importance of the social media are actively emphasized in the articles and other publications. For example, in this case, the article Growing Importance of the Social Media in Business Marketing by Ciprian emphasizes and focuses on the growing necessity of the social media utilization as a primary communication tool and mentions the need for the understanding the principles to enhance the quality of this activity (Ciprian, 2015).
Firstly, the article underlines the importance of the social media in the business activities. However, it is not the primary goal of the article since it tends to provide the advantages of the social media usage, such as its low costs, ease of branding, and customer acquisition (Ciprian, 2015). Nonetheless, it is apparent that the presented knowledge explains the primary KLM’s principles, which the company used for the higher generation of the revenues.
Nevertheless, the article lacks providing the unique tips for the successful implementation of the social media technique. Consequently, the report does not correspond to its initial problem statement, and it is its crucial weakness. Nonetheless, the article still contributes to the development of the perception of the necessity of the social media as a primary communication tool with the customers.
Moreover, Kotler and Keller also emphasize social media as a valuable marketing tool and describe different kinds of its existence such as “online communities and forums” (2012, p. 546). Moreover, the authors provide particular tips to enhance the company’s performance in the social media and attract the attention of the customers to participate in the discussions.
It is apparent that Kotler and Keller use case studies to explain and underline the significance of the activities and provide potential examples of the implementation of the social media techniques. For example, Kodak created the Idea Center at Kodak Gallery to encourage customers to participate in the discussion and introduce new ways of the implementation of Kodak photographs (Kotler & Keller, 2012).
It is apparent that this source of the desired knowledge is rather educative, as it clearly explains all the required terms. It is vital for the understanding of the significance of the social media as a communication tool. Nonetheless, the authors do not discuss the social media as the revenue generator but they provide possible ways of successful implementation of this technique.
The article Be Where the Conversations Are: The Critical Importance of Social Media by Bradley also underlines the growing importance of the social media and proposes the individual changes, that a company should utilize to enhance its appearance and presence in the social media (Bradley, 2010). However, the author does not pay attention to the significance of the social media, as he assumes that it is a common knowledge.
In this case, the author starts with possible tips while utilizing various social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, and blogs (Bradley, 2010). Moreover, Bradley mentions that it is necessary to restructure the company and the mindset of the leader and the other team members to utilize the social media instruments properly (Bradley, 2010).
In the end, he mentions that it cannot be avoided, and, in this case, the adaptations have to be made as quickly as possible to avoid misconceptions about the brand’s image and the company’s values. It could be said that the article covers all the necessary information, which is required for the sufficient development of the social media campaign. However, in this case, the significant weakness is the fact that it does not vehemently focuses on the benefits, which a company can gain while using the social media.
Moreover, the article Understanding Social Media Business Value, a Prerequisite for Social Media Selection by Nagle and Pope provides the detailed process of decision making while determining and choosing the most appropriate social media approach (Nagle & Pope, 2013). Nonetheless, the primary weakness of the article is the fact that it does not provide the benefits or the possible impact of social media on the success, brand image, and reputation of the company.
Additionally, the article reviews the issue from the IT perspective, which can be applied in business but particular difficulties might occur during the implementation process. It is apparent that the particular focus on the technology development makes article rather narrow and limited and does not allow to fully exploring the existing issue.
It could be said that the article underlines the importance of the issue, which was chosen as the problem statement of the report despite its limitations. Nonetheless, it is clear that the further research is needed to acquire the new knowledge in this field.
Moreover, the article Social Media, Reputation Risk and Ambient Publicity Management by Aula focuses on the fact that the wrong or incoherent usage of social media might be a cause of the generation of the negative image of the company due to misconceptions and misinterpretations of company’s values and mission (Aula, 2010).
This article has a vital contribution to this research, as it emphasizes the significance of the social media. Moreover, its primary strength is the fact that shows the interdependence of company’s publicity and insufficient usage of social media. Nonetheless, analyzing and reading this article contributes to the understanding of the social media and its complexity as a marketing communication tool.
It is apparent that a numerous number of examples is presented to identify the importance of social media, determine the suitable ways of implementation, and the ability of the social media to affect company’s reputation. As it was mentioned previously, KLM is one of the most successful examples of the companies, who were able to use the social media to engage profoundly with customers and had a sufficient relationship.
The article Avoid the Drunk RIM Guys – Fly with a Facebook Friend: KLM Service Will Let Passengers Use Social Media to Pick Potential Seatmates by Jackson provides information about the one of the approaches KLM is using to maintain a sufficient relationship with its customers (Jackson, 2011).
The article shows that using this technique increases company’s revenue and makes it customer-oriented. Moreover, the article mentions that other airlines such as Malaysian Airlines and West Jet have a tendency to implement social media as the part of their strategy, as they think that it improves their brand image (Jackson, 2011).
The primary benefit is the fact the article provides the insides of the KLM social media strategy and states that social media has a vehement influence on the brand image of the corporation. Nonetheless, the primary weakness is the fact it is a newspaper article, and it does not provide the information about the social media strategy from the business perspective.
Additionally, nowadays it becomes questionable whether the social media replaced the traditional advertisement in terms of formation of the consumer’s perception of the brand. It is apparent that advertising and promotion contribute to the generation of the brand equity (Kotler & Keller, 2012).
In this case, the article Are Social Media Replacing Traditional Media in Terms of Brand Equity Creation? by Bruhn, Schoenmueller, and Schafer questions whether the impact of social media is stronger that the influence of the traditional advertising (Bruhn, Schoenmueller, & Schafer, 2012).
The article reveals that both kinds of the promotion have a strong influence on the brand’s equity. However, the social media vehemently affects the image among the consumers about the brand (Bruhn, Schoenmueller, & Schafer, 2012). It is apparent that the novelty of the article cannot be underestimated, as the present studies lack the careful analysis and juxtaposition of the influence of the social media the effect of advertising on the brand equity and.
Lastly, the article underlines the significance of the social media for the brand formation and the future success of the company. It could be said that the strengths of this article dominate, as this report provides the set of data, which can be actively utilized in the context of this research.
Moreover, some of the companies realize the importance of the social media as a brand equity generation tool. For example, in this instance, the article Managing Brand Presence through Social Media: The Case of UK Football Clubs by McCarthy, Rowley, Jane, and Pioch focuses on the creation of sufficient brand image with the assistance of the social media and the vehement communications with the customers in the context of football industry (McCarthy, Rowley, Jane, & Pioch, 2014).
In the end, it was revealed that a vehement attention has to be paid towards the development of the marketing techniques with the assistance of the social media, as they contribute to the sufficient communication with the customers. Moreover, the two primary features such as the management of the brand image in the social media and ability to determine the balance between the strategies to generate higher revenues of the efficient establishment of the social media campaigns were discovered (McCarthy et. al, 2014).
It is apparent that the article is beneficial in the context of the research problem, as it covers the primary benefits of the social media and its necessity as a fundamental aspect of the brand generation.
Nonetheless, the significant weakness of the presented knowledge is the fact that the article is limited to the football team context. It is apparent that the different industries focus on dissimilar market segments. Consequently, the strategies and the primary areas of focus while establishing a sustainable social media campaign may vary (Bruhn, Schoenmueller, & Schafer, 2012).
The research study The Effect of Advertising Awareness on Brand Equity in Social Media by Alhaddad implies that the perception of social media has evolved over time and emphasized the importance of choosing the right strategy while implementing social media campaigns (Alhaddad, 2015).
The findings revealed that the “advertising awareness has an effect on both brand awareness and brand image” (Alhaddad, 2015, p. 73). It is apparent that this research can be utilized in the context of this study, as it covers the primary questions, which are mentioned in the statement of the problem. It is apparent that the author underlines the importance of the social media as one of the brand’s equity generation tools.
Moreover, the article provides the precise definition of the important phenomena and contributes to the development of the social media campaigns to generate higher revenues and sustain a successful relationship with the customers. Nonetheless, the fundamental weakness of the knowledge, which is presented in the article, is the fact that it has some limitations in terms of implementation of the findings of the research in future, as it pays vehement attention to the mobile market.
Lastly, the article User-Generated Place Brand Equity on Twitter: The Dynamics of Brand Associations in Social Media by Andehn, Kazeminia, Lucarelli, and Sevin analyses how Twitter and the active participation of its users can be utilized as the brand equity development tool (Andehn, Kazeminia, Lucarelli, & Sevin, 2014). It is apparent that Twitter can be used as one of the social media generation tools.
However, the other social media platforms also exist, and consumer behavior might vary depending on the social network, which is used. It is apparent that the primary limitation of the article is its focus only on one social network, as the findings can be only applied in the context of Twitter.
In turn, the research Business Value of Social Media Technologies: Evidence from Online User Innovation Communities by Dong and Wu emphasized the fact that online user implementation communities have a vehement influence on the brand’s equity and boost the value of the firm (Gong & Wu, 2015).
In this case, the primary benefits of the article is the fact that it investigates companies, such as Dell and Starbucks, which belong to the dissimilar segments, and provides the sufficient arguments for the necessity of the social media. Nonetheless, the fundamental weakness is the fact that the findings are not applicable to multiple cases, as various companies have dissimilar missions.
In conclusion, it could be said that literature review revealed the necessity for the further investigation of the correlation of the brand equity and usage of the social media. It is apparent that this topic was actively explored previously. Nonetheless, there is no sufficient research, which will provide the relevant information about the social media as one of the key drivers for the company’s success in terms of positive brand image, higher revenues, and overall performance.
Moreover, a majority of the articles focus on the certain industries. Consequently, the findings and results can only be applied in the context of the particular field or industry. Nevertheless, the scholarly articles contribute to the understanding of the success of KLM in terms of application of social media techniques and the failure of some of the other companies.
It is evident that despite being under a vehement discussion, the social media still remains a novelty, and a majority of the companies lack the experience and know-how while implementing the social media strategies, and it is a primary reason for their inability to enhance their company’s image and generate higher revenues.
Data Analysis
Different methods can be used to analyze the research problem such as case studies or questionnaires. Nonetheless, in this instance, the case study is the most applicable approach, as it will help discover, which aspects have to be taken into account while implementing the social media campaigns.
KLM is the company, which is chosen for the evaluation. In the analysis, the understanding of the primary features of the successful implementation of the social media and KLM’s perceptions of the social media will be evaluated. Moreover, the influence of the social media on the brand equity will be analyzed. The findings will help underline the importance of social media to the other companies and introduce the suitable approaches for the implementation.
Firstly, it is crucial to discover the origin of the necessity of the social media implementation. According to Holloman, KLM implemented the social media technique to resolve the problem with the flight delays and cancelation (2013). Moreover, this campaign resulted in the increase of the revenue and boosted the company’s recognition on the market. It is apparent that with the application of the case, it could be revealed that the social media has a substantial impact on the company’s brand, image reputation, and revenues.
Additionally, Socialbakers, which is the social media company and aims at providing assistance to the enterprises, also provides the insides of the success of KLM. Firstly, it mentions that the enterprise pays a vehement attention to the perception of the roles of the social media.
It is evident that KLM was able to determine them precisely, and they can be described as following, a channel for the adequate support, an influencer, which affects the brand image, and acquisition channel (Socialbakers, 2015). In this instance, the case study method is also implemented to understand the importance of the roles.
It is apparent that the understanding of these functions is vital, as it helps any company, which is seeking for the path for the implementation of the suitable social media campaigns. Moreover, this case study contributes to the research problem, as it underlines the importance of the social media and provides the perceptions of the social media, which one must follow to generate higher revenues and have sufficient brand image.
It is apparent that the primary tip for the active social media can be summarized as discovering and understanding the roles. As in the case of KLM, this approach contributed to the development of the positive brand image and generation of the higher revenues. Additionally, while analyzing the case of KLM in the context of usage of various social networks, Kane mentions that the analysis of the data, which is actively posted in the social media, remains the requirement (2014).
Moreover, the social media should play a role of the enhancer of the interaction between the customer and the company and improve the ergonomics of the flights booking and traveling. In this instance, KLM introduced Meet and Seat social media campaign, which allows travelers to book the precise seats with their Facebook and LinkedIn accounts (Kane, 2014). This case study revealed that all of these aspects are essentialities for the establishment of the successful social media campaign.
In conclusion, it could be said that all of the research studies revealed, summarized and expanded the knowledge about the effect of the social media on the brand reputation, social image, and revenues. Additionally, analyzing the actions of KLM contributed to the understanding of the primary principles and roles of social media, which are necessary to build a relevant social media campaign. All of the findings discovered in this section can be utilized by the airline companies in future, as KLM case study was used.
Conclusions
The primary contribution of the research is expanding the knowledge and underlining the importance of the social media in the context of the airline industry.
It is apparent that the findings can be utilized by the companies from the other sectors, as some of the features have general nature of implementation. Nonetheless, the research combines all the necessary elements to underline the importance of the social media. Consequently, it will help some of the companies consider the social media as one of the essentialities and necessities for the brand generation and increase the revenues.
Nonetheless, it is evident that the research has significant limitations. Firstly, the case study was limited to the evaluation of KLM’s social media strategy. Consequently, the findings are rather narrow since they were discovered in the context of one company. Another limitation is the fact that the outcomes, tips, and results can be only utilized by the airlines.
Nonetheless, some of the primary principles such as roles can be actively implemented by the companies, which operate in B2C (Business-to-Consumer) markets. However, the findings might be entirely irrelevant to B2B (Business-to-Business) operations, as, in this instance, the social media campaigns are not aimed at the mass market.
As for the challenges, the search for the relevant information could be considered as a problem since a majority of the articles focus on the particular settings. In this case, it was hard to find the information, which will be applicable in the context of the research study.
As for the direction of the future research, it is evident that it should pay a vehement attention to the enterprise, which belongs to the other industry, as the perceptions, missions, and the management techniques of the companies might be different. Additionally, a similar research in the context of the B2B segment has to be conducted in future since B2B and B2C companies used different communication tools.
Furthermore, the future research should include the questionnaires to gather relevant consumer attitudes and perceptions about the necessity of the social media for the communication enhancement. Combining several research methods will help gather relevant information about the desired topic.
References
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