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Social Media and Public Sector Policy Dilemmas
Week 7 – Discussion Question:
In the report SOC, the authors (Fyfe and Crookall) make the following initial point: “Social media demand a new paradigm regarding the ownership, use and management of information. The challenges of privacy and official languages can be managed within that new paradigm. The problems linked to information management, privacy and security are simply new manifestations of old phenomena; there have always been risks of improper disclosure and misuse of government information” (Fyfe & Crookall, 2010).
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The report concludes with four (4) items they identified as “needed” and five (5) specific “recommendations.” Drawing on the report, our texts, other sources and your own professional / personal experience with social media do the following: Select ONE of the recommendations and discuss ways of implementing this recommendation in your own agency or business setting. Be as specific as you can with regard to implementation strategies.
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Social media marketing
Over the years, the prospects of business activities, the growth of the global economy, and the growing populations have spurred the growth of various businesses worldwide. As such, the numbers of firms competing for the limited available resources have increased exponentially.
To make themselves stand out, creative companies have adopted the use of modern technology to create an edge over their competitors. One such use of technology to help the company stand out includes the use of social media for various business purposes. This report focuses on the use of social media by a selected company to perform social media marketing and therefore create customer value.
Social Media
Social media refers to the computerized network driven set of technologies that assist users in the creation and sharing of information with other users through various websites and applications (Obar & Wildman, 2015, pp. 746 – 747). The use of such networks has grown immensely in terms of numbers as well as usage. At the end of 2018, for example, the social media giant, Facebook Inc., had a monthly user base of about 2.2 billion users (Statista, 2017).
Similarly, Australia has had an increase in the numbers of social media users. Statistica reports indicate that Australia had an estimated 17 million Facebook users by January 2018. These users range from ages 13 to 65 and even older (Statistica, 2018).
In addition, the usage of social media has expanded from simple networking of friends, colleagues, and family, which was the initial intended use of social networks. Today, the use has spread to include all aspects of personal life and business. Big corporations are no longer left behind but are now part of the social media bandwagon. The growth in numbers of social media users, as well as the capabilities of the social media networks, has inspired businesses to take up social media as important tools in their portfolio to enable them to access their users in a faster and convenient way.
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Social media marketing
Among the key areas that inspire businesses to join social media is the ease with which they can access millions of their potential customers. The use of social media by companies is largely driven by the will to engage the growing numbers of users and also market their products to them. Social media marketing refers to the various strategies and processes adopted by various users of social networks in a bid to gain online traffic and attention (Saravanakumar & Sugantha, 2012; Hoffman & Fodor, 2010).
Business ventures are taking up social media marketing to allow for the use of better and cheaper alternative marketing for their products and services online. In addition, social media marketing is used to manage the brands of the company by addressing complaints and assessing the satisfaction of the consumers in an easier and faster manner compared to using other traditional channels.
Customer value
Customer value refers to the use of various tools available to the company to deliver the needs and desires of the specific user (Payne & Holt, 2002; Woodruff, 1997). The reference to customer value is imperative to the success of any firm. In this regard, many companies have taken up understanding the needs and wants of their clientele in a bid to increase sales as well as to foster a long-lasting relationship with the customers.
In addition, the firms are investing much more into research and development of new ideas, products, and brands as a means to understand the customer needs better. Such an improved understanding of customer requirements enables the companies to deliver customer value, as well as create customer value models that will help them in their development and customer management (Anderson & Narus, 1998).
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Jetstar
In order to further understand the use of social media in creating customer value, I will use Jetstar Airways to show how a firm can successfully use social media and social media marketing to create customer value. For Jetstar Airways, the company has a wide social media presence. It is among the few corporations that have taken up numerous social media accounts on various websites.
Jetstar Airways has social media profiles on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr, YouTube, and Instagram. This is not the case with most other companies who opt to use just a few accounts that they can successfully manage. However, Jetstar Airways, despite having a widespread presence, has managed to stay active and in touch with their customers on the various social media platforms.
Jetstar Airways Social Media Marketing
Jetstar Airways has taken on social media marketing as a serious marketing approach in a bid to lure in more customers as well as develop a long lasting relationship with their current customers. In this regard, Jetstar Airways commits up to 40% of their total marketing budget into social media and other online channels (JetStar, 2011). Given the size of the company, this is a sizeable investment and shows the firm’s commitment to the use and value of social media marketing to its growth and success.
In this regard, and owing to the size of the company, Jetstar Airways uses different accounts for the group level of the company, as well as other regional and market specific profiles (Jetstar Newsroom, n.d.). These are intended to enable personalized service and faster reach to specific categories of clients, a feat the company has managed to successfully achieve.
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Jetstar Airways and customer value
According to an interview with the Chief Marketing Officer of Jetstar Airways, the airline took a strategic step to invest and improve on their digital marketing approach (Cameron, 2017). The approach used by the firm was a learning first and capability second, where the initial focus was on building expertise around digital marketing.
The second approach was building automation and personalization systems that would further assist in customer service and handle the various factors that contribute towards the improvement of customer value. These include internal factors such as a unifying vision, increase of the projects’ returns, and improvement of the effectiveness of communications (Cameron, 2017; Snyder & Tai, 2014).
The firms’ activities, especially the localized pages on Facebook and Twitter, are designed to engage the customers and keep them communicating with the brand. Examples of these pages are the main Jetstar Airways pages, Jetstar Asia, Jetstar NZ, and Jetstar Australia. These provide relevant information and tips on both company and flight-related topics, as well as general life issues that get their followers talking and sharing the content. Such engagement allows for the growth of the brand’s online presence and the creation of better relationships that lead to the development of customer value.
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Therefore, in conclusion, Jetstar has managed to create customer value through the effective use of various social media platforms. From the engagement in social media, the company is able to grow their online presence and educate potential customers about their products and services. The connection between such customers and the brand grows with the satisfaction of having their needs and wants, as well as expectations met as they had envisioned.
Obar, J. A., & Wildman, S. (2015, October). Social media definition and the governance challenge: An introduction to the special issue. Telecommunications Policy, 39(9), 745 – 750. doi:10.1016/j.telpol.2015.07.014
Payne, A., & Holt, S. (2002, December). Diagnosing Customer Value: Integrating the Value Process and Relationship Marketing. British Journal of Management, 12(2), 159 – 182. doi:10.1111/1467-8551.00192
Saravanakumar, M., & Sugantha, L. T. (2012). Social media marketing. Life science journal, 9(4), 4444 – 4451.
Snyder, D. J., & Tai, P. A. (2014). Customer Satisfaction At Low Cost Airlines: A Case Study Of Jetstar Pacific Airlines (JPA). The Clute Institute International Academic Conference, 254 – 265.
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The M.S. in Digital Social Media Admission Essay
Statement of purpose.
INSTRUCTIONS:
This statement should be approximately 600 words, typed and double-spaced. Be sure to address the following prompts in your statement. Care should be taken to submit a clear, concise and well-written essay.
Describe your reasons for applying to the M.S. in Digital Social Media, your preparation for this field, and other aspects of your background and interests. What role should digital social media play in society and how will you utilize your training in the field of digital social media after receiving your master’s degree?
We prepare you with the critical foundation in the science and practice of digital social media that you need to drive the future of communication, new media technologies and business. You will learn the theory, skills and strategic mindset that are essential for undertaking, developing and managing social media platforms, digital media, apps and online communication. As you engage with our expert faculty, you will build a personalized course of study that culminates with the design, incubation and execution of a portfolio-building capstone project. Our STEM-designated degree program and unmatched location in Los Angeles, a worldwide epicenter for the digital, social, technology and media industries, will empower you as a professional or entrepreneur across business, marketing, advertising, entertainment, education, and beyond.
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Social Media and Networking Sites
Introduction
Social media has been at the forefront of the digital revolution. Social media has created a borderless world and revolutionized communication by helping individuals to share information, photos, videos and other content instantly over the internet.
Background Information
Advancement in technology has led to increased access to the internet and internet-enabled devices such as smartphones and computers. This can be described as the cornerstone of social media, which relies solely on the internet and internet-enabled devices.
Since the advent of social media site, Six Degrees in 1997, numerous social media sites including Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat, MySpace, Periscope and Meerkat have been developed.
These networks have allowed users to share photos, videos, personal updates and other content online from anywhere across the globe. In this regard, social media has contributed immensely in enhancing seamless communication across the world.
Thesis Statement
Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube as the main social networks have each designed their networks with unique characteristics aimed at enhancing social connections while providing the best user experience.
Discussion
Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube continue to grow immeasurably, as individuals seek convenient avenues to communicate and share information. While most social media networks serve closely related purposes, each has its own unique characteristics. These are discussed below:
Twitter
Twitter’s main purpose is to help individuals connect with what is of interest to them, whether it is friends, celebrities, experts or news agencies.
The post length on Twitter is only 140 characters. This means that the networking site is more concerned about creating interest than providing detailed information.
A user’s connections on tweeter are known as tweeps, while statements posted by users are known as tweets.
To connect with another user and see their updates, one must ‘follow’ them by clicking the follow button.
Hashtag (#) is a prominent and widely used feature on Twitter. The # is used in creating key words used to refer to a specific subject, such that others can follow and contribute to the conversation through the hash tag. Clicking the word with the hashtag, the user can read all posts related to the subject.
Facebook
Introduction
Facebook encourages people to reconnect and find new connections online. Through the use of email, images, instant messaging and video sharing, Facebook allows users to look for family members or long lost friends through their profile.
A Facebook post may consist of a maximum of 63,206 characters, which gives users freedom to express themselves in both short updates and detailed updates to keep their connections informed.
An individual’s connections on Facebook are known as ‘friends’ and can share information, photos and videos on each other’s ‘wall’, which is the individual profile page where account owners can share thoughts, pictures, videos and other content.
To connect with a friend, one is required to make a friend request on the page. The potential friend then receives a notification and decides whether to accept or decline the request
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LinkedIn users link and follow each other through connections.
Users provide personal information including education qualifications, professional qualifications, work experience, current employment details and contact details to allow interested persons to ‘connect’ with them.
LinkedIn allows users to connect to others through people already known to them. Using the ‘Get introduced’ function, users can send messages to current contacts to introduce them to a potential contact.
LinkedIn helps users to obtain information that is highly relevant to them by suggesting groups with relevant information. The ‘Groups You May Like’ makes an analysis of attributes that are similar between members through algorithms and then suggests the groups to members depending on their interests.
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YouTube
YouTube allows video sharing through users’ YouTube accounts, also known as ‘channels’. These may range from short videos to videos that are 11 hours long and a maximum of 128GB.
Advertisement revenue is a prominent feature of YouTube, with advertisements being strategically placed in the most popular videos. By creating interesting or popular video content, users can earn money based on the number of advertisements linked to their content.
YouTube has a ‘Trending’ page, which allows users to find popular and current content as quickly as possible
The popularity of videos is determined by the number of views.
Users often rely on the views and video shares to determine how well their videos were received.
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Conclusion
This discussion is a clear indication of how social media has enhanced interaction between individuals and also enhanced the flow of information.
It is apparent that social media has indeed been instrumental in enabling social and professional connections in the contemporary society.
A discussion of the most popular social media networks being Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube reveals that each social media network is created with a specific objective, and that the various characteristics possessed by these media have enhanced their use and relevance to users.
As technology continues to advance however, it is imperative for social media sites to diversify and allow users to share additional content in order to garner additional users.
As an example, it is notable that technology advancement and availability of high speed internet has enabled live video streaming over social networks. This is a feature that the social media networks discussed above can utilize to enhance connections and attract users.
Social media networks should not be rigid in terms of the content that should be shared by users and they should therefore strive to provide variety and innovation in sharing content.
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Role of Media in Influencing Decision-Making in P-20 Education
The Role of Media in Influencing Decision-Making in P-20 Education
Research Question
What is the role of media in influencing decision-Making in P-20 Education?
Rationale
The media, especially television, video, and social media, are often viewed negatively in the education sector. In early childhood and K-12 models of education and in more conservative environments, children are even discouraged from exposure to media such as video and social media, which are considered bad influence over learners. In such surroundings and circumstances, it is perceived that media can only affect education in a negative way.
However, this negative perception about the influence of media on education is fast changing in many settings, institutions, and jurisdictions as more studies unearth the real nature of the correlations between media and learning or education (Jabbar et al., 2014). In recent times, it has become more apparent that media not only affect learners but also decision makers and policymakers in educational institutions.
Decision-making is core to the success of all educational concepts, models, systems and institutions. Given the fundamental influence and role of media in modern educational systems, the media, most likely, influence the people and processes in learning institutions in several ways (Galway & Sheppard, 2015). Thus, the proposed study is justifiable in several ways. First, the study may enable P-20 education stakeholders to establish whether media is a core external force that affects their decision making, thus influencing P-20 education’s relevance and competitiveness in the education sector and in economic circles.
Second, from the study’s findings and recommendations, it may be possible for P-20 education leaders and learners to appreciate the potential role of media as an incentive to decision-making and education improvement. Third, the study may be of help to P-20 education’s stakeholders by highlighting how media can be used to influence federal, state, or local educational policy to favor the pursuit of skilled, knowledgeable, and productive learners and workforce.
Background Information
The P-20 is a model of education that builds on the principle that educational programs, financial and human resources, strategies, performances, expectations, and outcomes should be focused on the early years of learners’ growth and development. Unlike the early childhood and development concept, the P-20 model covers the kindergarten or early childhood years, the K-12 years, and the post-secondary school years.
The main purpose of P-20 education is to ensure that pre-school, K-12, and college years are formative years during which self-discovery ought to be emphasized. Instead of the public education system mandating everything that students learn, educators should be more concerned with preparing learners for their future life’s challenges. The years following the P-12 should be characterized by academic performances and outcomes that would imply quality adult life.
P-20 education also covers learners’ lives during their workforce years. That is, an education should prepare an individual to survive and perform in the workforce long after graduation with post-secondary education. The skills acquired during learning must translate into expertise in the workforce.
Essentially, P-20 education is based on the realization that the knowledge and skills that learners acquire in their early childhood or K-12 education should prepare them for college education and their lives in the workforce. Thus, all the stages of academic development are weighted equally and allocated the deserved financial and human resources and effort.
Numerous studies have been conducted to establish the connection among communication, communication technology, communication media, the learning process, and education. While studies have been done on the influence of media on education in general, no studies have been done to link media and decision-making in the concept of P-20 education. Most studies have just plainly established the relationship between media and education.
In one such study, Cuc (2014) sought to establish the influence of media on both formal and informal education. In the study, Cuc (2014) not only studied the influence of media on learning but also rephrased the research question and hypothesis to help the research establish how media affects the process of learning and the actual and potential relationships between media and learning. The commonest media found to greatly influence education are books, television, radio, video, and social media (Cuc, 2014).
Malin and Lubienski (2014) established that the practical dimensions by which media influences education are the development or inculcation of new interests in learners, adoption of novel leisure-time skills, availability of fresh entertainment options and expanded areas of learner preoccupation.
Malin’s and Lubienski’s (2014) findings concurred with Lubienski, Scott and DeBray (2014) who established that while media has positive influences on education, most learners pick up media messages and turn them into behaviours and cultures, which interfere with learning processes, habits, and activities. Clearly, media influences education in various ways and may possibly greatly influence decision-making in emergent concepts such as P-20 education in the technologically advanced 21st century.
Data Sources and Collection Methods
The proposed study will combine qualitative and quantitative research approaches to collect and process exhaustive data on the variables and constructs of the study. The study will specifically target P-20 stakeholders as the source of its data and information, targeting a population of 1500 and a sample size of 300. The sample size will be representative of P-20 education officials, educational programme managers, school and college administrators, teachers, local education leaders, education system’s beneficiaries and the public. Selective methods of sampling such as purposive sampling, expert sampling, snowball sampling, modal instance sampling and diversity sampling will be used in the study.
The main reason purposive sampling techniques are preferred for this study is that these techniques enable the researcher to access the targeted sample rather fast (Shields & Rangarjan, 2013). Second, purposive sampling techniques make the identification of the potential respondents with the desired characteristics. Purposive sampling also enables the use of a variety of qualitative research approaches (Mannay, 2010).
Data will be collected using questionnaires, interviews, observations and focus group discussions while data analysis will be done using Statistical Packages for Social Science (SPSS) software and Microsoft Excel. The questionnaires will contain structured and unstructured items to capture qualitative and quantitative data. However, the study’s independent and the dependent variables will be identified prior to the development of the data collection tools.
The analysis and presentation of the findings will be done using inferential and descriptive statistics. The study will use Spearman’s Rho, regression and ANOVA to establish correlation between the dependent and independent variables of the study and establish the role or influence of media on decision making in P-20 education.
Possible Impact on the Field
The proposed study is likely to impact educational policy and advocacy once the role of media in decision-making in P-20 education is established. From the findings of the proposed study, P-20 educationists may be able to design and realign their advocacy efforts champion the preferred educational policies notwithstanding the findings of earlier studies on the role of the media on education. The study may also erase any doubts on the role of media on education that may have been reported without much evidence, particularly on the effects and effectiveness of media on education.
In particular, P-20 educationists and other stakeholders may be able to associate media with educational decision making for the first time. From the proposed study’s findings, educational policy advocates may read implications of media on education that have elided research experts in their interpretation of study findings. Hence, the study may be of great help to the policymaking processes in P-20 education.
The other likely impact of the study is the elimination of the disconnect that exists between high school and college on one hand and adult life on the other. From the study’s findings, educationists may be better placed to give the most appropriate and effective classroom support and guidance to learners that would prepare learners for the challenges of adult life. The study may also help in the better use of media to make educational decisions that would create a seamless kindergarten-to-college education system.
References
Cuc, M. C. (2014).The Influence of Media on Formal and Informal Education.Social and Behavioral Sciences, 143(1); 72.
Galway, G., and Sheppard, B. (2015). Research and Evidence in Education Decision-Making: A Comparison of Results from Two Pan-Canadian Studies. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 23(1); 10.
Jabbar, H., Goldie, D., Linick, M., and Lubienski, C. (2014). Using Bibliometric and Social Media Analyses to Explore the “Echo Chamber” Hypothesis. Educational Policy, 28(2), 281-305. Retrieved on November 2, 2016 from http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0895904813515330
Lubienski, C., Scott, J., and DeBray, E. (2014). The Politics of Research Use in Education Policymaking. Educational Policy, 28(2), 131-144. Retrieved on November 2, 2016 from http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0895904813515329
Malin, J. R., and Lubienski, C. (2014). Educational Expertise, Advocacy, and Media Influence. Retrieved on November 2, 2016 from http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/1706
Mannay, D. (2010). Making the Familiar Strange: Can Visual Research Methods Render the Familiar Setting More Perceptible? Qualitative Research, 10(1): 91.
Shields, P., and Rangarjan, N. (2013). A playbook for research methods: integrating conceptual frameworks and project management. Stillwater, OK: New Forums Press.
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Diabetes mellitus is one of the most prevalent non-communicable diseases in the world. The disease is associated with societal and economic burden particularly among patients from low and middle income countries. Particularly, Diabetes is an important public health concern in the USA as it affects about 29.2 million people (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014).
The burden of morbidity and mortality caused by diabetes mellitus is evident among the Americans as more than 4% of people diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes mellitus are diagnosed with diabetes related health complications. The management strategies are complex processes as they entail controlling multiple risk factors that cause complications. There is emerging evidence on effective socio- behavioral interventions that are effective in diabetes management and prevention of chronic diseases such as diabetes but most effective strategy is self management practices (Ramadas et al., 2015).
Web based media have improved patient knowledge, lifestyle modifications and clinical outcomes for a range of health conditions. Web-based interventions have the potential to close the gaps in diabetes self care and self management intervention on the clinical (glycemic control, blood pressure and weight) and psychological (self care and quality of life) outcomes (Kalsen et al., 2016). However, previous web- based interventions have focused on the principles of effective education behavioral modification in diabetic patients and very few have emphasized on diet.
The proposed study is unique as it puts into consideration the ethnic and cultural background of diabetic patients to tailor the dietary change based on individual needs and preferences. Therefore, the proposed study will explore a web-based dietary intervention program (myDIDeA) for people diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus to evaluate the interventions feasibility and acceptability by the population.
Proposed PICOT
Despite the extensive actions to educate the diabetic population on effective management strategies for diabetes mellitus, there are still several issues that hinder this goal. One of the obstacles that have not been explored adequately is educating the patients about the most effective dietary changes.
Health care providers use the strategy of ‘one size fits all’ strategy, ignoring the fact that dietary needs and preferences are unique for each patient. Consequently, most of the patients diagnosed with diabetes report poor control associated with inappropriate diabetes management and preventive measures (Plaete et al., 2016).
There is need to narrow the gap between nursing knowledge regarding diabetes management and preventive processes (Kalsen et al., 2016). The purpose of this evidence based project is to develop a web- based intervention that incorporates diabetic dietary management practices in patient’s diagnosed with diabetes mellitus with the aim of reducing HbA1c levels within a period of nine weeks.
In this context, the PICOT statement is: In patients diagnosed with diabetes Mellitus (P), web-based dietary intervention program (myDIDeA) (I) is more effective than the standard care (C) in maintaining the Hb1Ac within normal range, (O) within a period of nine weeks (T).
The primary aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of web based diet intervention on patient’s knowledge, attitude and behavior in patients diagnosed with diabetes mellitus. The study aims to determine the impact of the intervention on blood biomarkers and nutrient intake. The eligible participants will be randomly allocated to the control group and the web based diet intervention.
The control group will receive standard treatment to patients with diabetes mellitus. The web-based dietary intervention program (myDIDeA) is borrowed from Ramadas and colleagues. The dietary plans developed based on the Nutrition Recommendations and Interventions for diabetic patients by American Diabetes Association (Kalsen et al., 2016).
The content of each lesson plan will be studied for its relevance to local community and fine tuned to suit each patient. Each lesson plan will have five Likert scale items that start from strongly agree =5 to strongly disagree =1). The participants will be assigned to the dietary recommendations will be based on scores generated. The recommendations aims at addressing the dietary barriers in order to motivate the participants based in the lesson plans.
The participants will be briefed on web-based dietary intervention program (myDIDeA) and will be given unique username and password through e-mail and SMS after randomization. Login reminders will be emailed each time the website is updated with new lesson plan. Participants will be also encouraged to send their questions to nutritionist through the email.
Reflection
Given the fact that diabetic patient control their health, self management training is an important strategy to improve the quality of care. Patient self management interventions have been indicated to be beneficial in both glycemic control and quality of life, but its participation is low and its effectiveness wanes over time. In addition, accessing professional support for self management is limited. This calls for strategic interventions that are promising and those that offer ease of access for patients who are computer literate or illiterate as they can be scaled up at a little cost (Kalsen et al., 2016).
Health care limited to clinic visit is not meeting the demands of the patients diagnosed with diabetes. Healthcare systems that use Web-based communication offer a great opportunity to shift focus from office based healthcare towards daily lives at home. This health information technology is important because it improves the interaction between the service user and the healthcare providers which enhance effectiveness of chronic illness (Yu et al., 2014).
However, there is little research on the impact of web based interventions and shared electronic records in primary care for patients diagnosed with diabetes. The internet has emerged as an effective medium for exchange of information. The healthcare industry has recognized the internet’s potential and web- based education programs and is slowly being integrated in nursing prevention and management of chronic care in diabetes management. They have demonstrated some favorable outcomes thereby bridging gaps in diabetes self care and management (Pal et al., 2013).
Conclusion
Diabetes has become a very important health issue in the world. There is urgent need to improve the overall self management education on best strategies for diabetes self management. Increasing use of web based interventions by consumer for promoting health information is an ongoing revolution in the health information technology, and it implies that the service users are accepting the new era of health information technology.
However, the full potential of this technology is yet to be achieved due to high attrition rates as well as limited uptake. This study aims to shed light in these limitations by identifying the characteristics related to web base interventions and attrition and in suggesting effective strategies that will help optimize these clinical outcomes.
Karlsen, B., Oftedal, B., Lie, S. S., Rokne, B., Peyrot, M., Zoffmann, V., & Graue, M. (2016). Assessment of a web-based Guided Self-Determination intervention for adults with type 2 diabetes in general practice: a study protocol. BMJ open, 6(12), e013026.
Ramadas, A., Chan, C. K. Y., Oldenburg, B., Hussien, Z., & Quek, K. F. (2015). A Web-Based Dietary Intervention for People with Type 2 Diabetes: Development, Implementation, and Evaluation. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 22(3), 365–373. http://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-014-9445-z
Pal, K., Eastwood, S. V., Michie, S., Farmer, A. J., Barnard, M. L., Peacock, R., … & Murray, E. (2013). Computer‐based diabetes self‐management interventions for adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The Cochrane Library.
Plaete, J., Crombez, G., Van der Mispel, C., Verloigne, M., Van Stappen, V., & De Bourdeaudhuij, I. (2016). Effect of the Web-Based Intervention MyPlan 1.0 on Self-Reported Fruit and Vegetable Intake in Adults Who Visit General Practice: A Quasi-Experimental Trial. Journal of medical Internet research, 18(2).
Yu, C. H., Parsons, J. A., Mamdani, M., Lebovic, G., Hall, S., Newton, D., … Straus, S. E. (2014). A web-based intervention to support self-management of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: effect on self-efficacy, self-care and diabetes distress. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, 14, 117. http://doi.org/10.1186/s12911-014-0117-3
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The consumer insight research conducted focused on exploring more on the impact of the social media posts about lifestyle and dining on the outcomes of marketing communications and the responses given by the clients. The study focused on identifying the effects of the creative marketing communication strategies for the lifestyle or restaurant services.
The male vs. female Instagrammer and the male vs. female consumer were used in the collection of the essential information. The visual stimuli experiment method was used following a randomized fashion.200 participants aged between 18-59 years were used in the study (Pitt et al, 2017).
A summary on the participant’s passion about foods, brand attitude, and foodie consumer was conducted on part one followed by an experimental study. The major finding is that envy influences the brand attitude of the Instagrammers. In this case, it should be considered as an essential marketing aspect of various products and services.
EVALUATION OF FINDINGS
Based on the results acquired it was found that the Instagram post factors do not impact the response of the consumers. Envy was also not influenced by the consumer segment or the sex of the Instagrammer. Envy is not seen to be influenced by most of the factors of interest. The brand attitude is influenced by various factors of interest that were used to test the relationship.
Envy was seen to have a little influence on the brand attitude while Instagram post attitude influenced the brand attitude in a significant manner (Pitt et al, 2017). Despite envy having a marginally small significant influence on brand attitude, the influence is said to be positive in nature which implies that it can be used as a predictor of the post or brand attitude while also considering other factors simultaneously.
The consumer segment also has an effect on the influence of envy on the post attitude and brand attitude as found through Instagram. Based on the result after carrying out a multiples regression model, the foodie consumer segment was said to have more envy on the Instagrammers as compared to the non-foodie consumers. Since envy has a positive influence on the brand attitude, consequently brand attitude also increase among the segment of the foodie consumers.
Envy has a major role when it comes to predicting the attitude of the particular consumers towards a particular brand (Pitt et al, 2017). In this case, social media marketing should consider it as a crucial aspect when it comes to assessing the attitude of consumers towards various products or services which form the brand. Because the influence of envy on brand attitude increase based on the segments, it would be advisable to consider different marketing strategies for particular target consumers.
Communication and advertising strategies can be useful in evoking envy through the promotion strategies which would try to sell the positive benefits of brand attracting more consumers to test irrespective of their segment (Yeung, 2014). Marketing communications research is essential on campaign developments. Through marketing communication, the focus on the particular segment of consumers is made possible while it offers the perfect chance to transmit the benefits of a particular brand accurately.
RECOMMENDATIONS
It is important to adopt the best marketing strategies to ensure the brand’s name is well promoted to all the potential consumers. Based on the results and findings acquired from the research study, better insight about the marketing communication has been efficiently gained. Factors such as envy and source liking are found to have some great influence on the brand attitude. I would recommend that the right and specific marketing strategies such as the right communication channels are adopted during campaigns for different brands (Shen et al, 2016).
The specific marketing strategies based on the particular target consumers of interests is necessitated by the fact that the brand attitude and envy vary based on the segment of consumers. Other factors such as post attitude and the consumer preference should be considered during the social media marketing. The consideration of the factors and different aspects that influence brand attitude is essential in designing the right marketing communication strategies.
Pitt, J., Singh, C., and Ang, L. (2017). MKTG204 Investigating the effects of social media posts with branded information on consumer responses: Assessment Task 2B, Session 1, 2017 Consumer insights survey results. North Ryde: Macquarie University.
Shen, G. C. C., Chiou, J. S., Hsiao, C. H., Wang, C. H., & Li, H. N. (2016). Effective marketing communication via social networking site: The moderating role of the social tie. Journal of Business Research, 69(6), 2265-2270.
Yeung, H. F. (2014). Consumer Food Safety Insight: Pre-and Post-Survey Analysis of Consumers Receiving In-Person versus Web Based Food Safety Training (Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Davis).
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Use of social media platform to affect the perceived norms of Sexually Transmitted Diseases by college students
Introduction
Sexually transmitted diseases (STD) among the American youth remains are a social problem and persistent health issue of concern. According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the adolescents and young adults between the ages of 15-24 years are at risk of acquiring STDs (Tyler & Melander, 2012).
The prevalence rate of unprotected sex and sexually transmitted diseases among the college students is an increasing concern for the public health. Young people are sexually adventurous and often tend to engage in unsafe sexual practices which are often associated with sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies (Bull et al., 2012).
Despite the fact that sexually transmitted diseases are preventable, there are more than 15 million sexually transmitted infections incidences in the USA. Individuals infected with STDs are two times are likely to acquire STI that have no cure such as Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and HIV.
The most effective approaches to control sexually transmitted diseases among the college students include use of condoms and abstinence. Previous intervention have focused on educational programs to reduce sexually transmitted and negative consequences associated with risky sexually behavior. However, these programs are less effective (Young & Jordan, 2013).
The youth’s risks are influenced in part by their perception about risky sexual behaviors and the peer’s perceptions. Therefore, if their peers engage in risky behaviors, they are likely to engage in risky behaviors and if they believe that the peers engage in healthy behavior, then they are likely to engage in healthy behavior too.
This behavior is best described by the Theories of Reasoned Action and Planned Behavior (TRA/TPB). According to these theories, if a person believes that the other reasons like him or her, they will endorse a particular behavior or will behave in a specific way and is more likely to enact the behavior regardless of their internal knowledge (Young & Jordan, 2013). This study aimed at evaluating if the use of social norms media strategies affects the perceived norms of risky sexual behavior among youths (Aged 17-24 years) (Guse et al., 2012).
Description of the evidence based topic
Social norms media campaigns have been found successful at lowering unhealthy lifestyles such as alcohol and tobacco campaigns. The research was a youth driven social media based campaign that aimed at increasing knowledge about risky sexual behaviors among the youth 18-24 years. Social media technology is constantly used by the youths making it a strategic outlet to provide interventions to risky sexual behaviors to the adolescents.
The campaign used combined the traditional media (print materials) and the modern approaches (Facebook, twitter). The primary objective of this project was to evaluate the preliminary influence of using social media to increase health awareness and knowledge about risky sexual behaviors (Black, Schmiege, & Bull, 2013).
In order to reduce the high risk behaviors, it is important to close the gap between the actual norm and perceived norm. To determine the actual and perceived norms of sexual behaviors among the college students, a thorough literature review was conducted from the National Health Statistics 2011 Reports. The data collected was then used design the print materials for poster and Facebook campaign for Southeast University Campus.
The posters were distributed among the college students. After eight weeks, an electronic short multiple choice survey was conducted among the college students in the campus to evaluate the impact of the social media poster captains on believability, retention of messages, recall of the poster signs, and their perception of risky sexual behaviors.
Presentation of evidence analysis
According to National Health Statistics 2011 Reports reported that 11% women aged 15-25 have never had sexual encounter, 69% had one partner and nearly 8% of the youths had multiple partners in the past 12 months (Chandra, Copen, & Mosher, 2013). Data analysis was done to evaluate if the perceptions of peer risky sexual behavior have a narrow normative gap as compared to the previous analyzed data.
From the 124 participants, 46% of the participants did not believe the message and had higher perceived norm of multiple sexual partners had in the past 12 months, whereas 24% believed the message had one number of sexual partners. Approximately 30% of the participants recalled the posters and social media content and had lower perceived number of sex partners as compared to those who did not see the media content.
However, the extent of risky sexual behavior obtained from the regional data was significantly different from the post intervention data. There was less number of perceived partners and sexual activity for students in this college than the post-intervention than the data.
From this study, it is evident that youths have poor knowledge on the dangers of risky sexual behavior. Unfortunately, it was difficult to determine the extent of interaction had with the campaign media prior to the completion of the survey. Therefore, it was difficult to interpret if the campaign was effective in changing their perception and believes about risky sexual behavior.
However, it is evident that peer behaviors are an important factor when predicting the actual risk behavior among the youth (Dowshen et al., 2015). The understanding of peer influence through social media is still limited. There is need to research the relationship between the perceived norm and actual norm. The widespread use of social networking sites by the youths is an ideal venue to reach the youth with tailored strategic health awareness knowledge.
It has been demonstrated that internet based interventions will improve sexual behavior and health outcomes. This study indicates that technology based initiatives can be superior as compared to the traditional methods, especially in changing youths attitudes towards the reproductive health information (Tyler & Melander, 2012).
Conclusion
This study highlights the need to the need to adopt new strategies to educate the youths regarding risky sexual behavior. The interventions should engage the youth while respecting their privacy. The new interventions should include mobile optimization because most of the new media information is best consumed this way by the youths. Ultimately, the campaign indicated some feasibility in informing the young adults with optimal social media strategies and it provided a platform that can be used to shape the future social media based campaigns.
References
Black, S. R., Schmiege, S., & Bull, S. (2013). Actual versus perceived peer sexual risk behavior in online youth social networks. Translational Behavioral Medicine, 3(3), 312–319. http://doi.org/10.1007/s13142-013-0227-y
Bull, S. S., Levine, D. K., Black, S. R., Schmiege, S. J., & Santelli, J. (2012). Social media–delivered sexual health intervention: a cluster randomized controlled trial. American journal of preventive medicine, 43(5), 467-474.
Chandra, A., Copen, C. E., & Mosher, W. D. (2013). Sexual behavior, sexual attraction, and sexual identity in the United States: Data from the 2006–2010 National Survey of Family Growth. In International handbook on the demography of sexuality (pp. 45-66). Springer Netherlands.
Dowshen, N., Lee, S., Lehman, B. M., Castillo, M., & Mollen, C. (2015). IknowUshould2: Feasibility of a Youth-Driven Social Media Campaign to Promote STI and HIV Testing Among Adolescents in Philadelphia. AIDS and Behavior, 19(0 2), 106–111. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-014-0991-9
Guse, K., Levine, D., Martins, S., Lira, A., Gaarde, J., Westmorland, W., & Gilliam, M. (2012). Interventions using new digital media to improve adolescent sexual health: a systematic review. Journal of Adolescent Health, 51(6), 535-543.
Tyler, K. A., & Melander, L. A. (2012). Individual and Social Network Sexual Behavior Norms of Homeless Youth at High Risk for HIV Infection. Children and Youth Services Review, 34(12), 2481–2486. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.09.012
Young, S. D., & Jordan, A. H. (2013). The Influence of Social Networking Photos on Social Norms and Sexual Health Behaviors. Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, 16(4), 243–247. http://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2012.0080
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Background Analysis and insights into media consumption
Fast food industry is one of the most competitive markets as there are several of them across the UK and the world respectively. Every year there are new firms entering the market however the ones that sustain the customers interest are the old ones such as KFC, MacDonald’s, pizza hut among others. Most of the companies are creating marketing campaigns in order to attract new customers, create brand awareness and sustain the interest of the consumer.
Harland Sanders is the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken; he started this business sixty-five years back. It started as fried chicken restaurant but later started offering other products like grilled and roasted chicken, sandwiches and desserts. The company has opened its branches in other parts of the world where they sell the same products and use the same brand name. The spices used and methods of preparing the chicken is the same all over the world.
KFC is getting competition from all areas; some of the common competitors include, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, CHICK-FILA, INC and CAJUN OPERATING COMPANY. Popeyes delicacies comprise of fried chicken and biscuits. They also sell Cajun –style fried chicken and seafood. The company has several branches in twenty-five countries across the globe. They are the biggest competitors of KFC since they offer the same products as the company but what keeps the KFC at the top of the competition is their secret recipe combined with their marketing strategies.
Marketing campaigns mostly include media such as Television, radio and social media. Social media are broken down into various different platforms such as Facebook, instagram, Twitter, Linked in and YouTube which are the most successful ones in our days, with billions of monthly users (Kallas, 2017). KFC’s YouTube channel has more than 270 thousands of subscribers and views of their videos are reaching over million viewers per video on average. YouTube is a source of media that has high reputation over all generations therefore KFC couldn’t be a step back.
Additionally KFC uses platforms that are friendly to young professionals such as deliveroo. Facebook is the biggest social network on the web, both in terms of recognition and total number of users. With nearly 1.8 billion users, Facebook is a great media for connecting people from all over the world and can positively or negatively affect companies (Guide, 2017). Further on another social media that KFC uses is twitter. With twitter short texts can be shared of 140 characters or less with the combination of videos, images, links polls and some other options.
KFC can easily interact with users by mentioning usernames and re-twitting posts. Therefore, twitter is a great way to interact and quickly state your point all around the world (Kallas, 2017). Instagram is another platform that more artistic niches take place and may not be the best fit for every business however KFC advertisements have artistic background therefore instagram is a very good method of promotion. In addition to social media another key media is TV however it is an expensive method of advertisement therefore due to the fact that it attracts different age groups it has an effect on consumers.
KFC can use TV advertisements through Netflix as it is going to interact with the target audience which is young professionals and teenagers. In addition to these, the company also uses print media to market their products, they use the newspapers or magazines to advertise what they offer and their services. The print media is appropriate for those who cannot have time to watch the online adverts and those who cannot access the electronic media.
Media objectives:
Over 40% of the chicken products sales come from the students. The goal of this campaign is to increase the chicken sales by 30 % among the students. The company will reach over 10 million in 200 markets using social media and print media.
The company will launch the campaigns in September with the television at a level of 400 GRPS which is the best level for launching new campaigns. The media campaigns include social media, magazines and newspapers. The company will launch these promotional campaigns in the month of November in all the leading markets.
The use of Facebook as a campaign media helped in gaining more audience since facebook users always use it every day thus increasing the frequency of how much the product is viewed. The company can reach several people with one advert on Facebook thus it lowers the frequency with the audience.
To increase the market share by 10%
In terms of market share, McDonald’s is ahead of KFC in the globe market. A survey on which fast food chain provides the best burger and fries concluded that 34% of the respondents noted that they prefer McDonald’s and 10% choose KFC (Lang, & Heasman 2015). On burgers, KFC was the most preferred choice with 15% followed by McDonald’s at 10%. When it comes to globe market share of the MacDonald’s takes the lead with a market share of 17% followed by KFC with 10.8% (Lang, & Heasman, 2015).
KFC should focus on increasing market share to become a leader in the global market share. The company intends to attract teenagers and young adults who are the main fast food consumers. The marketing campaign should increase market share by 10% to put KFC ahead of McDonald’s and make it the leading fast food company in the globe.
To increase awareness about KFC products on burgers, and fried chicken
KFC must create awareness about products it is offering. Market analysis indicates that Starbucks and McDonalds have managed to make products known around the globe. KFC must generate interest in their products mainly the teenagers and adults. The marketing campaign will focus on creating awareness and improving KFC brand awareness in the globe.
Increasing awareness means that more people will get to know the brand or never forget about it thus customers will be kept informed about new products that are arising the market and products that are already in the menu. This can also help the company through the word of mouth. By keeping the customers informed, this might lead to people talking about the brand and this can positively affect the company.
To create brand loyalty
KFC campaign aims at retaining 80% of the target market. In the past, KFC has employed various media marketing strategies that have increased the market share, but this time the company will also be looking for a way to retain market share. They will heavily rely on using various forms of media to reach this objective. The marketing campaign will focus on showing the customer experience and explaining to customers why they should continue visiting KFC. The marketing campaign will introduce KFC loyalty cards which will be used to reward customers who visit KFC many times.
Target Audience specification:
Target audience are young teens and adults at the age of 16-28. Those people are the ones that grew up in an electronics-filled and increasingly online and socially-networked world. They are the generation that has received the most marketing attack/attention from huge firms, medium and small ones (Anon, 2017). In addition to that young adults-professionals and teenagers spend a lot of time during the day on social media and online platforms such as Netflix and thus KFC would have the ability to sustain the interest and attract the attention of them.
Further to that young generation depend on social media because it’s their communication method, and also it’s the place where they share their opinions, posts and pictures about everyday life. However, young generation receives every day huge amount of advertisement on social media therefore KFCs advertisement has to be considered as friendly and enjoyable by the young generation in order to take it into consideration.
The target audience are mostly female non- vegetarian who have money to spend on our delicacies. Most of these people are working and may not have time to prepare meals at home. They are people who mostly dwell in the urban centres and families who may sometimes decide to go out for a treat. Another target group is that f students who mostly buy lunch from restaurants since they are not in a position to make their lunch due to little time or lack of interest.
Media mix and supporting rationale:
Media mix uses various communication channels to achieve the marketing objectives. Using a combination of media channels enables accompany to effectively communicate products. An effective media mix ensures that the right message gets to the right audience (Babin, & Zikmund, 2015). In marketing, a company identifies the target market. For instance, the main strategy audience for KFC is the young adults and teenagers. It is important to use media mix to ensure that the company reaches a maximum number of the target market.
An effective marketing mix aligns with buying stage of the consumers. Once a company creates rawness of products it must convince consumers to make the buying decision. For instance, KFC can create awareness by placing an advert on movies but can further influence the buying decision by providing detailed information about products in the fast food magazines.
The main media channel that KFC will use is placing advertisements on various Netflix movies. The channels will be used to reach global consumer since Netflix is online television that is watched by consumers around the globe. KFC will use social media to market products. The company will establish interactive shows on YouTube to provide young people with an opportunity to ask questions about the products. The company will increase presence on social media platforms such as Facebook, and Twitter. It will use fun video and photos to attract young people to read posts about the company and attract many people to like the pages as well. The social media will be an effective way of reaching out to young adults and teenagers. Research indicates that young adults and teenagers are likely to access the social media at least once per day (Babin, & Zikmund, 2015).
. The company can further use mobile phones to text young people and communicate with them directly on announcement and offers. Research indicates that the young people like texting hence the company can use texts to further influence the purchasing decisions of the young adults and teenager (Pelsmacker, & Kitchen, 2014). The use of print media like the magazines and the newspapers will also attract the customers to the restaurant.
These types of media were selected since they were the best that could fit the company’s requirement. Television is effective since many people can access it and it can also make also help in creating awareness among the target group and lure them into buying the products. The print media like the magazines are appealing to the eye and thus can attract people to read it hence make the target group learn more about KFC and visit the restaurant.
The magazines also give reasons why the people should try the products and this arouses their interest in buying the products. Social media is a platform used by many people therefore the company will be in a position to reach several people at the same time. Through likes from the available customers and their positive comments, the target group will have the urge to have a taste of what the others are praising thus increasing the customers hence increase in revenue.
Media schedule:
Scheduling is used to show the patterns of time in which advertisements will run. Scheduling is used to allocate time slots to ensure that an advertisement reaches the target audience. There are three main models of scheduling that are used in advertising continuity, flighting and pulsing. Continuity model is used for advertisements that run throughout the year (Licciardello, 2013). The flighting model advertises products in intervals. For instance, advertisements activities are increased during the season that the demand for the products is increasing.
The pulsing model employs the continuity and flighting schedule aspects. KFC will make use of the pulsing model. It will use heavy advertisement during the peak period. KFC will make use of heavy advertisements such as placing adverts on movies during peak periods such as festive period but also use social media and high school media to advertise products through the year.
In Addition to that the advertisement on Netflix will also be played at the KFCs website after a few weeks’ time. It has been decided to exclude August from the time table as it is a holiday period for most of the people plus students therefore the respond during that period would have been low. The adverts will be launched in September when the students resume school since they comprise of the largest population among the target groups.
Timeline
Activity Time Frequency
Launching of television campaigns September-December 2017 Weekly
Launching of internet ads January- February 2018 Daily
Launching of newspaper ads March 2018 Weekly
Magazine Launching April 2018 Monthly
Media
Time
Duration/Space
Frequency
Adverting on Netflix
Summer Period (June and September). Fast food thrive during summer period
The advertisement will run for one minutes
The advertisements should run in all popular shows.
Festive period (December) Festive periods cause a decline in fast food sales hence it is important to advertise to attract more customers during festive periods.
One minute advertisements
The advertisements should appear on every commercial break.
High School Advertisements
May-June during football season
Whole Day
KFC will interact with students and hand them flyers throughout the day.
High School and College publications
January-December
One page
Once per month.
Social Media
January-December
Update social media pages everyday.
Social Media (Youtube)
October
Once a post and keep uploading youtube video to social media such us Facebook.
KFC website
After the end of the Netflix TV ad.
Main page of the website.
Free- and can be used to remind the customers about the advertisement.
Media Schedule Time Table
September
October
November
Media
W1
W2
W3
W4
W5
W6
W7
W8
W9
W10
W11
W12
Netflix
High School Advertisements
High School and College publications
Social Media( YouTube ad)
Video of the ad on KFC website
Social Media
December
January
February
March
W13
W14
W15
W16
W17
W18
W19
W20
W21
W22
W23
W24
W25
W26
W27
W28
April
May
June
July
W29
W30
W31
W32
W33
W34
W35
W36
W37
W38
W39
W40
W41
W42
W43
W44
Budget allocation:
The company will mainly use three channels of advertising the social media, supporting high school football and advertising on Netflix. The estimated average cost of advertising using the Twitter is 2325 British Pound per month, and Facebook is 1940. British Pound per month (Percy, 2015). The average price of advertising on Netflix is 270 pounds per advertisement. However, the costs of advertising on Netflix will vary depending on the duration of time the advertisements will take place and on the shows that the company chooses. The budget allocations are indicated in the table below
Media
Estimated Costs
Advertising on Netflix ( placing advertisements in popular shows and advertisements run for 1 minute)
£90,000,000
Social media
£51180
Supporting High school football
£450,000
Other advertisements such as putting flyers in high school and colleges and advertising on high school and college publications
£61,200
Total
£111507,380
The company estimates that the average cost of advertising on Netflix is 270 pounds per advertisement. The company plans to introduce advertisement that will run for one minute and the advertisement will be played on the most popular shows such as The House of Cards. The company has budgeted 9million pounds to run advertisements. The estimated cost of advertising on Facebook and Twitter per month is 4255 pounds. Since it will run for 10 weeks and the total cost is 51180 pounds. The company intends to contribute 450thousand pounds to support high school football.
Media Evaluation:
Media evaluation determines the effectiveness of the media tools that are used by a company. Media evaluation determines if the media that was used to communicate the message was effective in getting the message to the target audience. KFC will make use qualitative and quantitative media evaluation to measures the effectiveness of campaign (Christensen, 2015).
KFC is the biggest chicken company in the whole world; this is as a result of the consumers’ satisfaction and hence came back for more goods from the restaurant. The employees are also satisfied with their jobs because they get good salaries. The employees should be made happy since it results in better performance and productivity among them. The company also considers corporate social responsibility to the community; this has also resulted to the company’s success.
References:
Anon. 2017. What is Millennials (Millennial generation)? – Definition
