SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING STRATEGY ANALYSIS AND IMPLEMENTATION TO INCREASE CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT (CASE STUDY AT PT. XYZ)

 

Della Hernita Putri1, Sfenrianto2

Information Systems Management Department, BINUS, Jakarta, Indonesia

della.putri@binus.ac.id, sfenrianto@binus.edu

 

Abstract

social media plays a significant part in marketing promotion techniques in the modern, digitalized corporate world. Because of its rapid growth, it is important to note social media's influence on marketing for both small and large businesses, using social media as a marketing tool necessitates the owner to develop customer connection with their follower(s) or member(s). Posting content to social media must have a clear concept and strategy to be successful, not only for promoting the business but also it can increase sales and dig up more information about their follower(s) by doing various kind of interactions and activities. This study attempted to investigate and explore the impact of Social Media Marketing Strategy Analysis and Implementation to increase Customer Engagement at PT.XYZ. This study uses a social media marketing strategy framework by Tuten & Solomon, and a qualitative method which data collection is done by interview and observation. The result showed that with maximizing the features and applying the concept social media marketing strategy, can increase the customer engagement and in the sales conversions as well

 

Keywords: social-media; marketing; customer engagement; sports marketing strategy; digital marketing.

 

 

Introduction  

Every business and corporation focuses on improving their marketing strategy to do their business more successfully in this competitive industry to suit their customers’ expectations, and one of the strategies is social media marketing. According to (Felix, Rauschnabel, & Hinsch, 2017), Social media marketing (SMM) is a key strategic activity that can achieve organizational goals and create value for internal and external stakeholders. According to (Bento, Martinez, & Martinez, 2018); (Yang, Long, Li, & Rehman, 2016), Social media is one of the widely used tools in marketing communications resulting brand-related consequences including brand awareness and customer engagements

PT Berjaya Multi Sportindo – Rising Tigers Sports Academy agrees that the using of social media tools has generated a new dynamic in sports marketing. As we seen recently in Indonesia specially in Jakarta, many sports clubs and communities has contributed the growth of technology in many ways to promote their business. Social networks and social media ensure the rapid extension of posts on the Internet. There are billions of active users on these media every month (Chen, Kong, Xu, & Mao, 2019). Users of the social media platform have access to a variety of open areas and tools for discussions and engagement (Mount & Martinez, 2014). Customer engagement is the right step to get closer to customer through interaction besides their purchase activities, with relevant content in social media to engage the audience by finding out what is needed, so then the company able to create strong bonds with the customers, especially by the pandemic situations where social media usage and social media users accessing the platforms is continues to increase.

As a first step, data from PT.XYZ social media account shows that from April to May 2022 for published content could reach 4,734 Instagram user accounts (down 8 .9% from the previous month), with 62 Instagram user accounts engaged (down 28.8% from the previous month), while the number of followers did not increase or remain. From this data, it can be concluded that the content created and published has not been able to increase customer engagement. It is hoped that an effective social media marketing strategy can increase the customer engagement in the future (Johnston, Tether, & Tomlinson, 2015).

The major goal of this study is to recommend the appropriate social media marketing plan analysis and implementation created by PT. XYZ to boost customer engagement, as can be inferred from the description of the backdrop given above.

According to (Tuten & Solomon, 2017), There is active participation in social media in the form of communicate, create, join, collaborate, work, share, socialize, play, buy and sell, and learn in an interactive network and depend on each other. Another idea is that social media can connect people across the divide between mass and personal media, allowing them to speak with one or more persons as well as thousands or even millions of other people.

Social Media is an internet-based application that allows the development, consumption and sharing of user-generated content.

Meanwhile, according to (Alhaddad, 2015) social media is a phenomenon that has attracted a lot of attention from both organizations and individuals who interact on social media networks. Social Media has also changed traditional communication which can enable consumers to make positive and negative influences.

Currently, as the development of the Internet keeps progressing, promotion and marketing strategies via social media are a new development that makes it easier for businesspeople to achieve goals quickly. According to (Seo & Park, 2018), Social Media Marketing has received a lot of attention since the success rate of advertising through social media is more than 55% higher than conventional advertising.

 

Methods

Qualitative data are the sort of data used in this study. Data that approaches and characterizes anything refers to what is meant by qualitative data, which can also be referred by this term. This information can be seen and captured. This type of data is not numeric. Focus groups, one-on-one interviews, observation, and other similar techniques are used to gather this kind of information. There are two data sources, first one is primary data that was collected officially from the key providers, in this case is a result of Instagram account PT XYZ insight overview. And the secondary data gathered via observations and interviews performed at the time this study was conducted, supporting research analysis that covers content, customer interactions on social media, as well as limitations on the use of social media marketing

 

Results and Discussion

The results of direct interviews with two groups of informants are used in this study to undertake in-depth analysis in addition to secondary data in the form of Instagram social media insights from PT. XYZ. Informants are those who have knowledge of the details required for performing research.

The marketing and social media team of PT. XYZ and direct customers, namely parents whose family members actively participate in PT. XYZ activities and follow social media, were chosen as informants by purposive sampling in accordance with the research objectives.

Informant Characteristic

Table 1 Informant Characteristic

Informant

Profile

Number of Informant

Objective

Internal Informant

The marketing and social media team of PT. XYZ

2 persons

Social Media Marketing (SMM) Strategy

External Informant

Parents whose family members are actively involved in the activities of the PT. XYZ and also follow social media.

5 persons

Customer Engagement from social media activities.

 

The results of direct interviews with two groups of informants are used in this study to complete in-depth analysis in addition to secondary data in the form of Instagram social media insights from PT. XYZ. Informants are those who have knowledge of the details required for performing study. The marketing and social media team of PT. XYZ and direct customers, namely parents whose family members are actively involved in PT. XYZ activities and also follow social media, were considered as informants by qualitative approach in in accordance with the study's goals.

 

Social Media Marketing Strategy

PT. XYZ was founded in 2020, it was still during the pandemic's early phase. As a marketing tool, the company set up an Instagram account in the hopes of boosting customer engagement as well as business promotion.

Sports marketing has undergone a major transformation because of the use of social media platforms, according to PT. XYZ. Numerous sports clubs and communities have contributed to technological advancement in many ways to promote their businesses, as we have lately seen in Indonesia, particularly in Jakarta. Social media marketing is different from traditional marketing. Social media and social networks ensure the rapid expansion of posts on the Internet. There are monthly billions of active users on this platform (Chen et al., 2019).

Table 2 Interview Result with Internal Informant

Objective

Interview Result

What is the purpose of using social media?

The management and social media team are aware that social media plays an essential role, specifically:

•            As a media to enhance program awareness

•            As a medium to access clients directly

•            To build interaction.

 

Social media Instagram PT. XYZ launched in 2020. PT. XYZ’s social media strategy and operations are entirely the responsibility of the social media staff.

Target

PT. XYZ’s current focus is on:

·      Parents with children aged 4-15 years who actively use social media.

·      School or Institutions with extracurricular programs in line with the PT. XYZ program.

·      Sports Community

Budget allocation

The management fully supports the initiative, and allocating a dedicated budget to develop social media marketing strategy

Social media channel

Instagram (Linked to Facebook), dan TikTok

The impact of social media and how to measure it

Unfortunately, PT. XYZ’s presence on Instagram hasn't had much of an impact. The number of people who contact the admin to question about existing programs or request a trial is the metric used to measure the effectiveness of social media marketing.

Obstacles

Create a timeline with the precise posting and content producing times.

 

The table below displays the findings from the analysis of the social media marketing plan implementation during the research. The information was gathered from the Instagram account PT. XYZ Insight Overview before and after the implementation of Social Media Marketing Strategy:

 

Table 3 Analysis Report of Instagram Account PT. XYZ Insight Overview

Metrics

Preliminary Data

Final Data

Account Reached

4.734

3.672

Reached Audience

Top Countries

INA (97,5%), SG (0,5%), and others

INA (90,3%), INDIA (1,8%), and others

Top Cities

JKT (68,2%), BKS (6,5%), Depok (5,6%) and others

JKT (56,1%), BKS (5,3%), Depok (4,1%), and others

Top Age Range

25-34 (45%), 35-44 (45,44%), 45-54 (3,9%), and others

25-34 (36,2%), 35-44 (36,2%), 45-54 (4,8%), and others

Gender

Women (78,5%), and Men (21,4%)

Women (58,9%), and Men (41%)

Followers and Non-Followers (Based on Reach)

Followers (622)

Non-Followers (4.112)

Followers (1.267)

Non-Followers (2.405)

Content Reach

Reels

4.198

2.640

Stories

549

1.038

Post

420

1.493

Videos

23

38

Profile Activities

Profile Visit

237

750

Website Taps

27

69

Business Address Taps

5

0

Call Button Taps

3

0

Account Engaged

62

140

Content Interactions

119

298

Audience

Followers (29)

Non-Followers (33)

Followers (82)

Non-Followers (58)

Total Followers

2,054

2,161 (Dec 2022)

 

SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis, according to (Rangkuti, 2014), is a strategic planning technique used to assess a project's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The SWOT matrix provides a clear description of how PT. XYZ’s external opportunities and threats can be tailored to their strengths and limitations.

Table 4 SWOT Analysis

SWOT

Detail

Strength

·    Lower marketing costs

·    Very broad and unlimited marketing reach

·    Social Media helps PT. XYZ disseminate information regarding the offered products and services (including promotions and other news)

Weakness

·    Highly dependent on the quality of the content created by the social media and marketing team.

·    If you don't use additional features such as paid ads, the effectiveness will decrease, the reach will also be limited to followers only

Opportunities

·    Many choices of platforms to be used according to the needs of the company.

·    Nearly everyone has an account and is active on social media.

·    Social media used can be utilized not only as a marketing tool but also to engage with customers

Threat

·    Many sports clubs and communities have contributed to the development of technology in many ways to promote their businesses, and they can follow the social media marketing strategy implemented by PT. XYZ.

·    Be prepared to deal with any consumer complaints that may easily be shared on social media and harm the reputation of the business.

·    The increased cyber warfare that makes it simple to access and steal company information and use it for personal benefit.

 

Customer Engagement

According to (Jaakkola & Alexander, 2014), Customer engagement is a behavior that enables consumers to make voluntary contributions to a company's brand, where the contribution is not only limited to the transaction (purchasing) process.  PT. XYZ, which was founded in 2020, uses a social media marketing strategy through Instagram account platform.

The implementation of social media marketing strategy used by PT. XYZ to increase engagement followers on their Instagram account has not had a good and effective plan, it can be discovered from the analysis data collected.

The data shows that there is greater engagement activity from non-account followers, which are 2,405, compared to account followers, 1,267, out of the total number of follower accounts, which is 2,161.

 

Table 5 Interview Result with External Informant

Objective

Interview Result

Interactivity

 

·      PT. XYZ is sufficiently active on social media to post updates. Although the posting schedule is uncertain, it frequently offers advice on excellent swimming exercises skills that are not widely known by the common people.

·      All respondents confirmed that they had direct social media interactions with Rising Tigers, usually in the context of information regarding the club's training schedule and program.

·      PT. XYZ engages frequently with its audience, but sometimes the response time can be once a week.

Informativeness

·      In terms of content, it is considered quite informative and easy to understand, PT. XYZ social media provides complete knowledge and information about the programs or classes.

·      All informants agreed that PT. XYZ delivered useful content so that it added insight about sports, especially swimming.

Personalization

·      The information in PT. XYZ  post about training schedules and required activities gives better understanding of the benefits in participating in the program, that will drives parents to get their children involved in.

·      Parents feel happy and proud to be able to always be connected to the PT. XYZ social media

Trendiness

The social media content of PT. XYZ is timely updated with the most recent trends, however since postings are infrequent, it should be improved and updated with the most recent developments, current issues, or popular conversations.

Word-of mouth

It is a good thing to suggest friends, acquaintances, and family to explore PT. XYZ social media because it is very informative especially to those who are interested in learning to swim, and the social media content is highly informative.

 

Social media allows people to interact freely with customers and offers many ways for marketers to reach and engage with consumers thereby increasing customer engagement and providing opportunities to increase company profits regardless of their location (Yadav & Rahman, 2018).

On this Instagram social media account, PT. XYZ makes various efforts to encourage interaction with customers. Based on audience reach, 57% live in Jakarta, 5.3% Bekasi, 4.1% Depok, 2.2% Tangerang and other cities <1%. Visitor aged 18-24 years 16%, 25-34 years 36.2%, 35-44 years 36.2%, while age >45 years 4.8%. Based on gender, there were more women than men, that are 58.9% and 41%.

 

Implication for Business (PT. XYZ)

PT. XYZ now have better understanding on how to engage with customer. By implementing the right social media marketing allows business owners to communicate quickly and easily with customers. The goals are to build a relationship with the customers as well as targeted market that can leads to sales and customer engagement in the future. Despite all the benefits of using social media marketing, there are some concerns which, if neglected, might be fatal to a business. These risks include content theft, identity theft, and others.

 

Theoretical Implications

This study investigates two approaches by analyzing and putting into action an effective social media marketing strategy that can increase customer engagement while also having an impact on sales. Things that must be considered in some existing content marketing theories, especially in this study, researchers must make the content marketing strategy as a goal to increase customers engagement and helping customers to connect with PT. XYZ through social media platform.

This study shows that rather than a company promoting their products, content must focus on the needs of the customer and be able to address their concerns.  

 

Conclusions

The following conclusions can be gathered from the study that has been done: 1. According to research data, the social media marketing strategy used by PT. XYZ on their Instagram account to increase customer engagement is still not effective. 2. Social Media Marketing influences customer engagement. This indicates that social media marketing provides a significant number of opportunities to build relationships between customers and companies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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