It is safe to say that the majority of industries can benefit from a social media presence. Real time advertising, analytics, and the capability to reach millions of consumers cannot be understated. The aviation and aerospace industry may be an exception to that blanket statement as the average consumer is most likely not shopping for a new jet after seeing a Facebook feed. Twitter would be an example of a social media presence that could provide those companies a viable platform to provide news for investors or help mitigate controversy.

Probably the most appropriate social media platform for aerospace companies is LinkedIn. Whether it be government contracts or commercial aviation, the aerospace industry is extremely competitive and one of the biggest advantages a company will gain is through a talented workforce. LinkedIn provides the perfect resource for companies looking to attract the best in the industry and for job seekers to gain insight into a company. All of the big players in the industry to include Boeing and Airbus have a strong presence on LinkedIn that provide insight into jobs postings and analytics.

Regardless of the industry, having a quality workforce is crucial for a company to be successful. The aviation and aerospace industry is extremely competitive, making a talented pool of employees an important factor to gain advantage over competition. LinkedIn is an excellent social media platform that can help a company attract the best and the brightest.

Gauging how effective a social media marketing initiative has been with reaching strategic objectives is critical, requiring careful consideration. Organizations use Key Performance Indicators (KPI) as a way to determine if objectives are being met, but selection cannot be arbitrary. The use of available metrics is fairly broad ranging from views to ratings and according to Tracy Tuten can make measuring effectiveness either fuzzy or quantifiable (344).

When selecting the appropriate KPI, a social media marketer should consider the customer journey and engagement. Further examination beyond counting views is necessary to better select a more quantifiable KPI that can help a firm determine effectiveness. The level of engagement during customer journey is a difficult ascertain making KPI selection even more crucial.

Just like in other areas of business, the Return on Investment (ROI) for a social media marketing campaign must be determined to decide whether or not it is worth continuing. ROI can be computed as the ratio of an input’s value used to the associated financial outcome and quantifies income generation from the marketing activities.

Although Facebook’s revenue dropped 24% in Q2 of 2018 they still pulled in over $13 billion. It is hard to imagine not having Facebook in the world. Pending a zombie apocalypse (not the zombies sitting in a restaurant staring at their cell phones), Facebook is here to stay. So what does the future hold in store for Facebook and what weaknesses could potentially cause them problems in the future.

In 2017, 99% of Facebook’s revenue came from advertising. Facebook revolutionized target advertising by providing a consumer interface to collect social footprints and form big social data. Given the recent “revelations” that Facebook was dealing user information on the side and the potential election influences that manifested, the general public has become more weary of the social networking site. I think this weariness could be evidenced in the aforementioned decrease in revenue and will continue to grow as user’s become more disenfranchised from advertising overload . Justin Young considers the degraded user experience from advertising as the number two internal strategic weakness.  I would consider this phenomenon, coupled with lack of diversification, as the greatest risk moving into the future.

Social media provides the ability to reach out across the globe in an instant to grow a brand or interact with consumers and is very crucial to a business. A plan is crucial to the success of any social media marketing campaign. Although I never plan on pursuing a marketing career, I realize that having a basic understanding of how to harness social media can add another “strategic tool” in my professional toolkit.

It can be extremely difficult to reach goals without a plan and creating a plan can be equally as difficult without a goal to base it on. Social media management is no different. It requires that an organization delve into a deep and thorough analysis to gain insight into the entire situation so they can define their objectives and develop a strategic plan. Tracy L. Tuten has developed a “Social Media Marketing Plan Outline,” which is an excellent tool for any social media manager (108).

The strategic plan helps to define the broad vision for a company’s social media marketing campaign, but the tactics used will dictate how the plan will be implemented. I found the concept of social media tactical planning most interesting and intimidating because regardless of how wonderful a concept may be, if it cannot be implemented appropriately, it will most likely fail.

Ultimately, for an organization’s social media marketing campaign to be successful, it will require a strategic plan, tactics to implement the plan, and effective management of all the moving parts.

 

Tuten, L. Tracy. Social Media Marketing. Sage, 2018.

 

 

Thanks for joining me!

I am currently a senior at Arizona State University pursuing a B.A. in Business Administration. During my final semester I decided to go outside my normal realm of experience and take a class devoted to social media in the workplace. I have extremely limited experience with social media including an obligatory Facebook account to keep in touch with family, a short stint on Twitter to get immediate motorcycle racing updates, and a LinkedIn profile to help me become an adult. I was never an advocate of social media and rarely used it to interact with other people. In fact I only made two twitter posts during the year and half I had it, with only one post getting a “Like.” As I write this blog, only LinkedIn has survived my social media purge of 2017 and I honestly do not think my virtual profiles will be expanding in the near future.

Although, I do not see a necessity for social media in my personal life, I do see how absolutely vital is for a business to instantly reach consumers, build its brand, and grown as an organization. Since the name of the class is Social Media in the Workplace, I will be using this blog as a way to document my path from social media obscurity to gaining a better understanding of social media marketing.

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton