Final reflection on blogging

A blog (a contraction of the term "web log") is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary

During my time blogging I have learnt alot, not just about the subjects I have written about but about using blogging as a communication tool. I have come across businesses that use blogs to talk about their products, individuals talking about their profession, their lives or just about their thoughts and feelings.

According to a new study released by PR Week and PR Newswire, 52% percent of bloggers surveyed consider themselves journalists. This is an increase from 2009’s study, when just one in three had the same opinion. However, despite this, only 20% of bloggers obtain the majority of their income from their blogs; which is an 4% increase from 2009.

Read more: http://techcrunch.com/2010/04/01/study-52-percent-of-bloggers-consider-themselves-journalists/#ixzz0mV2aQoux

Blogs took off in 1999 when several companies and developers made easy blogging software and tools. Since then, the number of blogs on the Internet has now reached over 100 million. (About.com, 2010). Business blogs are a corporate tool for communicating with consumers or employees to share knowledge of their brand or products. Business blogs are a great way to connect with potential customers but just like everything they have their advantages and disadvantages.
Politicians have even joined the blogging world by working alongside bloggers to increase interest and communicate their policies. This is very important in the world of politics especially in the lead up to the 2010 election. Blogging early in the debate, Gary Gibbon wrote about Gordon Brown's opening statement: "Wow! What an opening address... Everything he hasn't done before: clear, forceful, he looked passionate and warned of peril." (Channel 4 News, 2010).

Public relations has typically been seen as a subordinate, support function to activities such as advertising, but it’s importance now appears to be becoming more recognised with the developments in electronic marketing. The web is now used extensively for public relations purposes. (Brassington, 2006). Blogging plays a bit part in the progress that has been seen over the past few years.
There are countless marketing blogs on the web. Successful marketing through blogs creates a community of interest where readers are involved in the use and lifestyle of a product or service. Blogging creates interactive communications using low cost self-publishing and syndication of content. It is not a way to make money or sell products. Companies that have used blogs to sell overtly have so-far failed and generated protest. (Horton, 2003).

Advantages of Blogging

Freedom of speech - Blogs enable people to write about what they want, when they want to. There are millions of blogs out there so the chances of someone reading your personal blog if they do not know you are very slim.
Share knowledge with other people - There are many professions out there who share their wisdom with the world through blogging. This can help smaller businesses get more knowledge and even help students with their studies. The knowledge that other people can share can be extremely valuable.
Make friends online - When writing blogs, a lot of bloggers gain regular readership or followers. These people can easily turn into friends as you are essentially letting someone into your world to read your thoughts and/or feelings.
Can be used as a diary - Blogs or online journals are very easily turned into a diary of your day to day life. This is a great way of keeping a permanent record of your life which can be reflected at a later date.

Disadvantages of Blogging

Need to keep it constantly updated otherwise you lose potential readers - When up keeping a business or marketing blog it is essential to regularly add posts to keep your readers going back for more. If a business slacks in the about of updates they give, reader will be lost and therefore potential customers too.
Easy to start, hard to maintain - Blogs are very easy to get going as most people will start a blog as they have something to say or a product to talk about. The key however to a successful blog is to maintain the site, this can be difficult as your business has to come first and time is often short.

Blogs seem to overall be a good support and communication tool for businesses. The research has showed that whether communicating a brand, a product or yourself blogs are a valuable tool to enhance your image. Readers like to feel involved with the blogger and receive a clear message. This fact is good for businesses as they have another tool to turn consumers into customers.

Segmentation, targeting and positioning

Segmentation, targeting, and positioning are marketing tools used by a company to gain competitive advantage in the market. They help the company to differentiate its product offering from that of its competitors and ensure that the same reaches the exact market profile for which it is intended.

Segmentation, targeting, and positioning together comprise a three stage process. We first determine which kinds of customers exist, then select which ones we are best off trying to serve and, finally, implement our segmentation by optimizing our products/services for that segment and communicating that we have made the choice to distinguish ourselves that way.

Demographic segmentation consists of a wide variety of bases for subdividing markets, and each of these is now discussed:

•Age is a good segmentation variable for such items as clothes where the fashion-conscious young are more susceptible to regular changes in style and older segments are perhaps more concerned with such factors as quality and comfort.

•Sex is a strong segment in terms of goods that are specifically targeted towards males or females and again an obvious example is clothing. Here, fashion is a powerful element when purchasing, and a whole industry surrounds this criterion.

•Income as a segmentation base is more popular in certain countries like the USA than others who regard such matters very privately.

•Social class is possibly the single most used variable for research purposes.

Social Class

"the overall rank of people in society; people who are grouped within the same social class are approximately equal in terms of their social standing, occupations and lifestyles" Soloman 2006

Social class is a very important topic to understand, as it is very important to the lives of most people in society. It is often difficult to tell which class a person is in, as this can be measured in a number of different ways. There are two major definitions of class, these are called objective and subjective definitions.

Objective definitions of class focus on things that can be measured about a person's life, such as their occupation (job).Occupation is a good example of an objective definition of class.

Subjective definitions of class focus on things that can not be measured, such as the social class that a person thinks they are in. For example, a person with a lot of money may still consider themselves working class. They may live in a working class area and have working class friends. In other words the class that a person thinks they are in, is likely to affect the way they act.

Measuring Social Class in Great Britain

Today social class is established largely according to occupation, and for many years, British marketers have used the grading system below. It has been widely used to group consumers, whether for research or for analysing media readership.

A – upper middle class - Higher managerial, administrative or professional
B - middle class - Intermediate managerial, administrative or professional
C1 – lower middle class - Supervisory or clerical, junior managerial, administrative or professional
C2 – skilled working class - Skilled manual workers
D – working class - Semi-skilled and unskilled manual workers
E – lower class - State pensioners or widows, casual or low grade workers

Soloman 2006 states that in many animal species, a social organization develops whereby the most assertive or aggressive animals exert control over other and have the first pick of food, living space and even mating partners. People are not at all different from this, we have developed a natural 'pecking order' where we are ranked in terms of our standing in society.

In our lecture on social class we were given the task of creating a mood board of a particular class. My group were given middle class which I found a hard class to categorise as there is upper middle, middle and lower middle to cover. Due to this I found it hard to complete this task in the lecture but have had another go and this is what I have found.

Middle Class

These mood board are of working class and upper class and were put together in the lecture by the other groups.

Working Class

Upper Class

We discovered that classes are quite difficult to define in terms of products and someone who fits into the working class category can still enjoy the luxuries in life so marketers still need to target all classes with high class products. Its the same with less expensive and luxurious items, the middle classes will still purchase these items if they are marketed in the correct way.

Group Conformity

A group is two or more individuals who share a set of norms, have role relationships and experience interdependent behaviours.

This is an interesting article on conformity, http://psychology.about.com/od/psychologyexperiments/a/conformityexper.htm

If someone does something or acts in a certain way, do you think you would follow as they lead or do what you think is correct? Watch the video below and you will be amazed what some people will do to fit in.

Maslows Hierarchy of Needs show that belonging as a big factor, people naturally want to belong to something. This might be a group of friends, a social society, a sports team or whatever. People need to fit somewhere to have that sense of belonging that everyone craves.

You can also belong to a group depending on your social class, the way you dress or where you shop. For example 'The Chav' It came into everyday language in 2005, I didn’t remember hearing it much before that. It refers to a type of youth, supposedly uncultured, maybe a bit anti-social, perhaps even violent, but certainly marked out, at least from the point of view of the critic, by very bad taste. Chavs are supposed to wear a lot of flashy jewellery, white trainers, baseball caps, sham designer clothes, girls expose a lot of mid-riff. Soloman 2006 states that reference groups may exert either a positive or negative influence on consumer behaviours. In most cases, consumers model their behaviour to be consistent with what they think a group expects of them. In some case though, consumers may try to distance themselves from other people or groups who function as avoidance groups. He or she may carefully study the dress or mannerisms of a disliked group and go out of their way to avoid buying anything that might identify them with that group.
Burberry for example have struggled with their reputation since the media have portrayed Chavs to be seem head to toe in Burberry style clothing as before they were seem as a high class fashion brand.

In Britain today there is public debate suggesting that we are losing this essential sense of belonging and that globalization, for example is far from bringing people closer together it is actually moving us apart.
We hear that our neighbourhoods are becoming evermore impersonal and anonymous and that we no longer have a sense of place. On one level, belonging is certainly changing. While in the past a sense of belonging was more defined in terms of the traditional markers of social identity such as class or religion, people are now far more able to choose the categories to which they belong. We are now able to select from a wide range of groups, communities, brands and lifestyles those with which we wish to align ourselves and which, in turn, shape our social identities.
At the same time we may, or may not, remain rooted in our families or in the place in which we were born. We have much greater opportunity these days to opt in and opt out of various groups but we still want the same things from membership of these groups. We have timeless needs for social bonding, loyalty, security and acceptance. These have been with us since the Stone Age and throughout our history we have created social networks and groupings to serve these ends. So what does this landscape look like today? Is it that much different from that of the past?

Over 50's Marketing

Soloman 2006 states 'By the year 2010, 20% of Europeans will be 62 or older. The fastest growing age segment can be explained by the aging of boomers, an increase in awareness of healthy lifestyles and nutrition, coupled with improved medical diagnoses and treatment.' This means that today the over 50's are a much larger target market for companies to attract.

The following link shows how the population is changing over time http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4045261.stm

According to research from Millward Brown 2005 as consumers the over 50's or 'Grey Market' represent a opportunity for most marketers. In developed markets, they are relatively more prosperous, and are open to new ideas. As heavy media consumers, they can be reach more easily than many segments; but in terms of content, communications need to be carefully targeted for this audience. In general, with age come a sense of increase confidence. Membership of a 'tribe' becomes less important, and a sense of identity is more likely to come from within. As a consequence, older people are not a homogeneous group; health, wealth and lifestyle attitudes also play a role. Some prioritise holidays, some prefer to lead a quiet life at home entertain by TV and some seek new experiences, while other aim to become influential in their communities.

While there can be assumptions that older people are set in their ways, this older target market can be as experimental as the younger generations. A study conducted by Millward Brown Firefly Australia suggests that people over 55 years old are as open to new opportunities and experiences as the younger targets. Endorsement of the statement "I am adventurous and will try new brands and products before anyone else" was 21% for under 55s and 22% for over 55s.

Some 50 year old these days are 51 going on 35. They are computer literate, style conscious, knowledgeable about contemporary music and, probably more 'groovy' than grey. Remember, both Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney to name but two, are now the wrong side of 50. They consider themselves to be in the 35 year old marketplace. However, there are others in that same segment that are old before their time and it shows in everything they do.

According to a recent TGI survey, the Third-Agers can be divided into five lifestyle groups:



'Thrifty Traditionals', accounting for 17% of the age group. They are not well off and budget for every penny, are heavy TV viewers and read down market tabloids.

'Outgoing Fun Lovers' contribute another 20%. They are magazine oriented, enjoy travelling, eating out, entertaining and are above average viewers of TV.




'Astute Cosmopolitans' account for 18% of the age group. These are the ones with most money, read broadsheet newspapers, specialist and lifestyle magazines. They enjoy foreign holidays and are light TV viewers.





'Apathetic Spenders' for a further 22% of the group. They take on debt through credit cards and do not like foreign holidays. Favoured newspapers are the tabloid press.






'Temperate Xenophobes' make up the remainder. They love the Radio Times, most definitely do not like foreign food or travelling abroad and are heavy TV users.

Each generation produces its own heroes who can increase interest and sympathy. One formula that works internationally with the over-50s is to feature celebrities from their generation in advertising. When a celebrity appears on the screen in adverts aimed at the over-50s viewers, they understand that this advert is aimed at them. The fact that a personality who they admire has taken the risk of being associated with a brand is a pledge of sincerity. For example, Michael Parkinson has been around for a long time and has an image of being strong, secure and likable. For Sunlife this was obviously their aim by using him as the face of their Over50Plan.

Saga is a big marketer to the over-50s, they have been selling cruises, insurance and other services to older consumers since the 1950s. Its database containing demographic information is the envy of the direct marketing world. However, many believe its profile is more geared to post-retirement age groups than “young 50s”, leaving a gap in the market. In an article in Marketing Week, David Benady states, "The current set of 50-somethings may be a Peter Pan generation that refuses to grow old; certainly, stars such as Madonna and Iggy Pop are doing a good job of preserving their youth. And people’s pursuit of staying younger older makes it easier for marketers looking to separate the new grey wave from their cash."

Over 50's marketing is a very large area to cover, as Bendady say they are the new younger over 50 who are very different to over 70's. Marketers will definitely need to take this into account when trying to get their product or brand out their. The big question they should be asking is 'Which section of the over 50's should we be targeting?'

Research on Charity Giving

Charity can be defined as an openness and generosity to others, especially in the support of those in need. Encyclopedia (1997)

The UK charities market is extremely crowded, with a large number of charities and relatively slow growth in new registrations. The financial income of the market is concentrated in just a few very large charities, with 0.4% of charities accounting for over half the sector’s income. Mintel (2008) Because of this choosing which charity to support is difficult.

The over 30’s focus group that I interview as part of my charity research appeared to give more money to charity as they have more disposable income than Students. The students said they would give more if they could but also preferred to get involved with activities to raise money than give straight donations. The over 30’s also appeared to be very influenced by their children. One person said “now my children are getting older they want to be more involved in school activities which means I end up donating to causes that the school has picked and not myself”.

Cancer Research UK currently has the highest voluntary income of all charities with two thirds more income than Oxfam. The next highest charities by voluntary income are; British Red Cross Society, Save the Children, Action Aid and UNICEF-UK. Mintel (2008). There are also the smaller charity organisations who are locally based or just starting out, these charities may be less well known and have a smaller support system. When asking our focus groups which charities they usually donate to a similar response was recorded for both, neither group said they would never give to a larger charity such as Cancer Research UK but were more inclined to give to smaller or local charities as they can witness the effects that donations make and see where their money goes. One student said “I would not give to big charity campaigns as my money would get eaten up in overheads and not actually help the charity itself”.

Mintel (2008) suggests that; one third of consumers who have a positive attitude towards charities are inactive when it comes to giving. Over a third of consumers are completely unengaged with the charities sector, whilst just under a third is sceptical about how much good their donations will do. There are three types of consumers when it comes to charitable giving, the unconcerned, the sceptics and the givers who represent a third of the population. Of the three target groups, the givers are the most positive about charities and are the most likely to wear charity wristbands/ribbons. These consumers are motivated by making other people’s lives better, and they are more likely than the population as a whole to trust charities and think they are impartial. However, even though they are very much in support of charities, three quarters of these consumers still do not like being stopped and asked to make a donation on the street. When the focus groups were asked about giving donations on the street the students flat out said no they would not give money or account details to anybody who stopped them in the street. However the Over 30’s group said they would not give their account details to anybody on the street but they do like the sentiment of giving spare change to a charity representative with a donation pot all agreed the spontaneous giving made them feel good about themselves.

Children’s charities were also popular among the focus groups for different reasons. The student focus group said this was because they have known people growing up that have been affected by illnesses therefore can relate to the charities with the charities they also said that children are important as they are the next generation and should have the best care. The over 30’s on the other hand feel that children’s charities are important as most have had their own children so would want the best care if anything ever happen to one of their own. 'Using real-life personal stories in communications is likely to strike a chord with consumers'. Mintel (2008). The results have shown a strong preference from both groups of donating to disaster charities especially the students.

Generational Marketing - Gen X

Generation X " the cohort of consumers aged 18 - 29, who were profoundly affected by the economic recession of the early 1990's" Soloman 2006

Generation X is commonly abbreviated to Gen X. This generation was born after the baby boom ended, the earliest birth dates used by researchers ranging from 1961 to the latest in 1981. The term Generation X has been used in demography, the social sciences and marketing though it is most often used in popular culture. There is a population of about 60million people who fall into Generation X.

Music for Advertising

The top hit songs of the 1990's were;

1. Nirvana, Smells Like Teen Spirit 1991
2. U2, One 1991
3. Backstreet Boys, I Want It That Way 1999
4. Whitney Houston, I Will Always Love You 1992
5. Madonna, Vogue 1990
6. Sir Mix-A-Lot, Baby One More Time 1999
7. Britney Spears, Baby One More Time 1999
8. TLC, Waterfalls 1994
9. R.E.M, Losing My Religion 1991
10. Sineado’Connor, Nothing Compares To You 1990

These are songs that all age groups within the Gen X category can remember and relate to. Marketers that want to market to this particular generation could use these hit songs to reach them through nostalgia advertising.

Values

The number of divorces granted in the UK in 1961 was 27,000. This doubled to 56,000 by 1969, and doubled again to 125,000 divorces by 1972. This fact would have effected peoples values and this generation changed dramatically from the previous Baby Boomers.

Technology

Gen X would have grown up with technology booming. They had Colour TV with 30+ channels, VCRs, Nintendo Game Consoles and also Sir Timmothy John invents the World Wide Web at the start of the 90's.

Personality / Attitude

• They like money, but they also say they want balance in their lives, this makes it hard to influence them to buy
• They're self reliant and impatient
• When thousands of their parents were laid off in the early 1990s, Gen X decided company loyalty was a 'sucker act'
• Gen X adopts chameleon personality to cope - meaning the like to go with the flow and keep up to date with the latest tech

This group consumes media differently than earlier generations. Communicating with them through traditional marketing channels can be difficult. So to communicate your message, and get them to take action, research has found that the best way is with a combination of online marketing and direct mail. Direct mail is one of the most powerful ways to market to Gen X according to a recent study conducted by InnoMedia, NuStats, and Vertis. They say that 86% of Gen Xers bring in the mail the day it's delivered. Furthermore, 68% of Gen X retail direct mail readers have used coupons received in the mail. Gen X consumers rate 75% of the mail they receive as valuable.