Marketing Communications of Facebook Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing Communications of Facebook - Essay Example However, in many cases marketing initiatives fail in achieving the goals set. The reasons are many; failures in planning and monitoring the relevant processes have been found to negatively influence marketing plans worldwide. On the other hand, when a firm operates in a highly competitive industry, the challenges for marketers are increased. Firms that are already well known in the market are more capable of preparing effective marketing schemes. Such case is Facebook. The particular social networking site has become quite popular within a short period of time. In this case it was not only the fact that the site was the first of such kind that entered the global market. Indeed, through the years other sites, with similar features appeared; still, Facebook remained the key competitor of its sector. Its marketing practices had a key role in this success. The marketing communications of Facebook are analyzed below using appropriate theoretical models and theories. Table of contents Intr oduction 4 1. Consumer Buying Process for Facebook 1a. What is the Facebook customer experience throughout the 6 stages of the Consumer Buying Process. 4 1b. What 4 internal and 4 external factors can influence Facebook customers during this process 5 1c. The 3 roles that customer can play throughout this process 6 2. Promotional Mix Tools for Facebook 2.1 Conduct a report to critically evaluate the characteristics, features and effectiveness of any 3 marketing communications tools 2.1.1 Advertising 6 2.1.2 Public relations 7 2.1.3 Direct marketing 7 3. Facebook Communications Process 3.1 How all the 9 elements of Communication Process specifically apply to global social networks such as Facebook. 7 3.2 What 4 limitations, and 3 Barriers Facebook marketing department should be aware of before planning their global marketing campaign. 8 4. Market Research prior Facebook Campaign 4.1 Comparison of the characteristics and benefits of Qualitative and Quantitative research methods 9 4.2 Why Facebook marketing department can still benefit from both research methods 9 4.3 Diagram of the Continuum of Research Techniques 10 5. AIDA at Facebook 5.1 How the AIDA model can still be utilised by Facebook to organise the Promotional Mix message into 4 phases 10 References Introduction The development of effective marketing strategies can be a challenging task, especially when referring to highly competitive industries. Social networking is a rather recent activity, compared to other market sectors. The services of firms operating in this industry could be effectively promoted using traditional marketing methods, which are appropriately customized for meeting current market trends. Moreover, qualitative and quantitative research techniques can be employed for identifying the changing customers’ preferences in regard to this sector’s activities and features. Facebook has become the key competitor in the specific industry. The effective use of marketing for promot ing the site’s features can be considered as the key advantage of Facebook compared to its rivals, in the context discussed below. 1. Consumer Buying Process for Facebook 1a. What is the Facebook customer experience throughout the 6 stages of the Consumer Buying Process. The 6 stages of the Consumer Buying Process can be described as follows: a) Problem recognition; at this phase, the needs of the customer in regard to a product/ service are identified; in terms of Facebook, the customer realizes that he needs to communicate with other people and share his experiences/ knowledge, b) Internal and External research; after identifying his needs, a customer proceeds to the research required

Economics Supply and Demand of Gasoline Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Economics Supply and Demand of Gasoline - Essay Example The paper tells that the gasoline price has ostensibly undergone extensive fluctuations mainly because of the product nature and the industry which supplies the world with oil. Note that a bulk of the aggregate oil output is produced by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). This influential group is organized as a cartel and composed of nations in the Middle East including United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait among others. The main produce of these countries is oil and other petroleum products. Other countries, including the United States, are largely dependent on these countries for their oil supply. With their rich oil resources, these nations created the cartel which has the ability to control member countries' oil production capacity and output quotas enabled them to collude to raise the oil price by. Given its mandate, a supply of oil including gasoline is significantly affected by political unrest arising between these oil-exporting countries and o ther countries as well. To illustrate this point, a supply of petroleum products was adversely affected by the war between Iran and Iraq in 1979. This tumultuous battle between two of the largest oil producers had caused a global oil supply shock and resulted in a dramatic increase in the price of oil. The limited oil supply then was further aggravated by the restricted means of transporting oil products to the rest of the world. Similarly, Iraq's invasion of Kuwait that spawned the Gulf War also caused a leftward shift in the supply curve during early 1990's. Aside from wars, OPEC also has the power to impose sanctions by restricting the supply of oil production to other countries in light of political reasons. For instance, the cartel initiated an embargo on export oil and cut down supply as an indication their protest for western nations' support of Israel. This caused a sharp leftward shift in oil supply curve and ultimately resulted in the severe escalation in the price of oil in 1973. In terms of domestic supply, the United States recently encountered supply shortages brought about by Hurricane Katrina. It is reported that the calamity has adversely impacted the supply chain from the off-shore rigs in the Gulf Coast, which is the largest source of oil for the domestic market. The short-term shutdowns due to power outages during the peak of the hurricane-affected two major on-shore pipelines. Furthermore, it was reported that at least 10% of the country's refining capacity was not operational in the wake of the storm. Apart from these, Louisiana, the epicenter of the hurricane and heavily devastated, also houses one of the main ports that serves as one of the most important inlets for oil imports. This means that supply is not only affected by the factors affecting actual production but also by the transportation of oil products.