Introduction to the topic
With the internet, as our prime means to promote business and capture a wider market base, using social media to influence the audience is the quickest and the most holistic way to expand our business presence. Today, more and more businesses are considering it as a big deal and customers also expect to be able to connect with various brands that they are interested in. Those who can do well in social media can enjoy the benefits of it. But, few industries seem to take advantage of social media better than other industries. For some, it is simply a natural outgrowth of an established marketing strategy, and others have done a great job by harnessing the power of social media.
Why this Topic?
The topic of social media marketing is interesting and has a lot of potential research to be done. Being one of the rapidly growing forms of marketing, it has had a significant impact on the company and customer relationship. The industry that is being focused on is the Sportswear industry. It is one of the top industries where the potential of social media marketing has been maximized. The scope of this topic is to have a better understanding of the effectiveness of social media marketing in the sportswear industry and the social media activity and strategy adopted by sportswear brands.
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Objective
- To analyze the impact of social media marketing focusing on the sportswear industry.
- To study how sporting goods brands, implement their social media marketing strategy.
- To analyze the customer’s perception and preference on the social media activity of top sportswear brands.
Industry Analysis
The sportswear industry is one of the most relevant industries impacted by social media. Market leaders like Nike, Puma, and Adidas have adopted social media marketing to reach the target market, which mainly consists of millennials.
The global sports industry is huge, estimated to be around $1.3 trillion. Within sports, the sportswear market is a great place for investors looking at strong brands in a large and growing market.
Major companies in the Sportswear Industry:
- Nike
- Adidas
- Puma
- Reebok
- Under Armor
Literature Review
The growth of Internet technology has modernized the sport sector via the development of plentiful sport-related websites and applications (Wang & Qualls, 2007).
The most important feature of Facebook is that compared with other social media networks it increases the loyalty of customers, rather than brand awareness via “dynamic interaction with its fans on Facebook” which enables to the brand improve the satisfaction of customers and client relations (Gamboa & Gonçalves, 2014).
The rapid growth of Internet-based activities has modified the nature of human activities to the extent, that firms must rethink their marketing strategies (Tiago & Veríssimo, 2014).
Social media and peer-to-peer content overall have changed the purchasing process significantly. Not only the pre-purchasing phase but also the behavior the decision-making during the purchase (Cao, Meister & Klante, 2014).
As stated by Gamboa & Gonçalves (2014), settling only for enhanced brand awareness without simultaneously further engaging their potential customers with the brand and creating customer loyalty, the brand is missing the potential “golden grail” for their social media interactions.
According to Budden, Anthony, Budden & Jones, (as cited in Tiago & Veríssimo, 2014) the possibility of co-creation of content allows to participants “to share knowledge, entertain one another, and promote dialogues among different cultures.”
Distinguishing the right tools is essential, and those that are successfully implemented by Nike, Inc. might not be helping Puma accomplish their goals. The motto of Nike, Inc. is “If you have a body, you are an athlete” (Sanussi, Lazarev, Jorgensen, Latsanych, Badtiev, 2014).
Data Collection
Type of Research
The research available is descriptive. Descriptive research is a study designed to depict the participants accurately.
Three ways of descriptive research used in this report:
- Observational, is defined as a method of viewing and recording the participants. The interaction and views of the customers on the social media pages of sportswear brands are observed.
- A case study is defined as an in-depth study of an individual or group of individuals.
- A survey is defined as a brief interview or discussion with an individual about a specific topic. Google Forms is used to collect the responses to the survey.
Type of Data
Both primary and secondary data are collected.
Primary data is collected by customer surveys about their view and awareness of the social media activity of the top sportswear brands.
Secondary data is collected from newspapers, magazines, articles, the internet, etc. about social media marketing in the sportswear industry.
Data Editing
- When collecting data from secondary sources, the content with digital marketing was limited to the social media portion. Thus, excluding the rest of the digital marketing.
- Collecting the results from the survey, the unclear or confused responses were excluded.
Why is the data being discarded?
The data that is being discarded is because it is unclear or irrelevant to the research that is focusing on the impact of social media marketing in the sports industry.
Techniques
1. Google Trends
One of the most used tools for research purposes. The search mechanic is relatively easier and gives a clear answer as Google is the most used web searching browser. Since social media has been an ever-growing part of the internet, getting the idea of what people are looking for accomplishes the research of the impact a social media campaign has on the consumer’s response.
2. Facebook Audience insight
One of the recent features added by Facebook. It gives the concerned party an idea of how the consumers react to a product or a brand. Sportswear brands have a great amount of followers on Facebook. The firms and the concerned party alike can get a view of how the consumer is responding to the brand’s social media activity.
This helps in segmenting the information based on demographics, behavior, region, age, etc. The Facebook Audience insight tool is a target-oriented tool that helps marketers in segmenting their products to cater to different target markets.
3. Google forms
It is a survey tool that collects information in the form of a poll or survey. All responses are automatically added and organized into a spreadsheet which you can view at any time.
It is a great tool to obtain customer insight as well as act as a suggestion box to understand the response of loyal customers.
4. Instagram Audience Insight
Instagram Insights is a native analytics tool that provides data on follower demographics and actions, as well as your content. This information makes it easy to compare content, measure campaigns, and see how individual posts are performing. To access Instagram Insights, you need a business account.
Since Instagram is currently the most popular social networking site, many brands have shifted their focus to Instagram marketing.
5. Survey Tandem
Survey Tandem allows you to share a link to your online survey with members of the community who will gladly fill it out in exchange for tandem miles. To earn tandem miles, you simply have to fill out other members’ surveys. Once you have collected enough tandem miles for at least one response to your survey, your survey becomes visible to the community. When members take your survey, your amount of tandem miles will reduce accordingly. As soon as you do not have enough tandem miles anymore, your survey will be invisible again until you collect enough tandem miles again.
Results by inferences drawn
The research led to the following results as per the analysis
- Instagram and YouTube are the top social media marketing sites for sportswear brands, dethroning the previously top-ranked Facebook.
- Athletes are the preferred brand ambassadors for sportswear products
- Advertisements that are grounded and less flashy draw viewer’s attention.
- Footwear products are the most searched sportswear.
- Brands’ social media activity is higher than other sites.
- YouTube has been the most consistent platform for social media marketing for sportswear brands.
- An attractive advertisement or article encourages people to research about the product.
Conclusion
Social media marketing is very effective for sportswear brands as internet users are more attracted to sports/fitness lifestyles and the advertisement along with the encouragement from celebrities from the sports industries, who have some of the biggest social media presence.
- Social media marketing is one of the fastest-growing methods of marketing with the ever-rising usage of the internet.
- The young generation is more attracted to sportswear advertisements they see on their newsfeeds or their social media handle.
- Creates significant demand and awareness about the products
- Forms a positive perception of the image of the brand
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