Marketing Perspective

FounderShield.com

After reviewing the 60 Minutes transcript, here are my thoughts regarding the following questions.

1. What do you notice about this type of marketing?
   What I notice most about this type of marketing is that is it everywhere! It has disrupted the marketing world as it gained lots of popularity and made millions of dollars. Big companies are taking notice and jumped on the social media influencers’ band-wagon in order to stay competitive and attract a new audience that they might not have been able to capture with their traditional marketing efforts.
   
   Before, the world of social media was unknown and unpredictable. Many were not sure how to make money in this industry, but now a 17-year-old can be a millionaire and make more money than a senior working professional who spent years on their craft and had traditional schooling with degrees and certifications. It definitely is a big money maker, and if done right, anyone can become a social media influencer and make lots of money as the possibilities are no longer just limited to celebrities, musicians, and artists.
   

2. What strategies are they employing?
   Social Media Influencers are using new strategies from creating new, original content, adding shock value, humor, and anything that tugs on their targeted audience's hear-strings. Using sex and explicit content is not new in the world of advertising and even clickbait to get eyeballs and sales. The ads have become shorter ranging from 5-30 seconds because more information is needed to be expressed in a short amount of time to get the main message out.
   
   Depending on the product or service, there are no rules as influencers have the ability to do (almost) whatever they want. The main strategy they are using is to create "hype" and excitement to entertain people. This also allows for user-generated content spread all over social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit, and so on. Happy customers equal customers who will share an article/photo/video/referral/etc. and this allows companies to have free advertising to promote their company.
   

3. What role do these influencers play in marketing?
   Influencers are the "middle-man". They bring exposure to companies and their products/services by providing reviews and their own thoughts about their whole buying experience and using the product/service. Consumers now have a live view of seeing products being demonstrated online without making the commitment to buy. Consumers have more information now more than ever when it came to sharing knowledge.
   
   Sometimes it is hard to trust a brand, so companies have figured out a way to humanize their brand more by creating "fans" who love their company and products/services. The ability to be part of a community, be seen, be heard are also ways that companies utilize social media influencers to connect on an emotional level with loyal customers and attract new customers.
   

4. How does the use of marketing perspective impact the relationship between the company and consumer?
   Social Media Influencer Marketing creates a more intimate relationship between the company and the consumer. The "user persona" is more relevant and seen as companies can now see, research, and interact with the types of people that are using their products/services. Companies can see them interacting with it, what they like, don't like, want to improve on, and also sharing a lot of data. Usually, there would have to be surveys sent out with incentives to get consumers' honest opinions and that is used to improve the product/service of a company. Now, it is much easier! Companies can create social media accounts, and hire or collaborate with social media influencers to see how the world is perceiving and interacting with their brand.