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Many social media platforms exist today, but the thing all of them have in common is that they are used by real people. Algorithms and analytics are typically what marketers focus on when utilizing social media; however, they should instead be striving to meaningfully connect the company to the people who will help them grow. Taking a people-first approach, this book discusses how to better use social media for marketing purposes and communicate with others using social media platforms. Reaching a certain audience is not the only goal; listening to them is also vital for marketers to take full advantage of social media. This approach will never change even though the various social networks always are. By making sure that people are the focus of all social media strategies, marketers can offer more value to companies and the people they serve. Chapter 4 explores the importance of listening on social media. Companies can practice active listening by participating in ongoing, meaningful conversations and responding to those who reach out to them. Timely customer service is important whether the conversation opener is positive or negative. Listening for interceptions involves setting up keyword monitoring to know whenever people are talking about a company online or to know what's being said about the competition. Surveys can also be useful, and social media can be used for focus group recruitment. Passive listening is a broader approach to observing behavior, and companies use it to determine sentiment and inform future content, strategies, and events. Data analysis can be used not only to target and deliver ads but also to truly understand people. Data analysts can help with combing through the overwhelming amount of data. Listening to influencers should be included in social media strategies. Listening to competitors is vital if a company is going to differentiate itself.

Many social media platforms exist today, but the thing all of them have in common is that they are used by real people. Algorithms and analytics are typically what marketers focus on when utilizing social media; however, they should instead be striving to meaningfully connect the company to the people who will help them grow. Taking a people-first approach, this book discusses how to better use social media for marketing purposes and communicate with others using social media platforms. Reaching a certain audience is not the only goal; listening to them is also vital for marketers to take full advantage of social media. This approach will never change even though the various social networks always are. By making sure that people are the focus of all social media strategies, marketers can offer more value to companies and the people they serve. Chapter 5 discusses the common mistake of talking at people. Talking with people allows there to be a back-and-forth where both parties get to respond; it means having space for feedback, differing opinions, and questions. Powerful asks show that a company knows their community and what matters to them. Companies need to show interest in people's experiences rather than solely their own products. Examples are provided. To move social media teams from talking at people to talking with people, a culture of talking with people needs to be created within the company as a whole. Social media practitioners should meet with other departments and stakeholders to collaborate on how business success can grow through social media use. Tone is a key indicator of whether a company is talking at or with people; consistent tone builds trust. An exercise is given to identify a company's voice and tone.

Many social media platforms exist today, but the thing all of them have in common is that they are used by real people. Algorithms and analytics are typically what marketers focus on when utilizing social media; however, they should instead be striving to meaningfully connect the company to the people who will help them grow. Taking a people-first approach, this book discusses how to better use social media for marketing purposes and communicate with others using social media platforms. Reaching a certain audience is not the only goal; listening to them is also vital for marketers to take full advantage of social media. This approach will never change even though the various social networks always are. By making sure that people are the focus of all social media strategies, marketers can offer more value to companies and the people they serve. Chapter 6 looks at the role influencers can play in a company's social media strategy. Benefits of influencer marketing include hard sales and increased awareness of a brand, which can be effective in starting conversations with particular audiences. Macroinfluencers are those with over 250,000 followers on one channel. Partnering with them can be expensive, and they don't necessarily produce a higher return on investment than influencers with smaller followings. Microinfluencers are more accessible to brands and their audiences. Partnering with nano-influencers can even be beneficial. Companies should partner with influencers who are already speaking to their audience. Guidelines are offered on how to vet potential influencer partners. When collaborating with an influencer, make sure to set expectations around content rights, voice and tone, workflow, and reporting, but leave room for creative freedom as well. Monitor activity once the campaign begins, and pay attention to quantitative and qualitative data when measuring impact.

Many social media platforms exist today, but the thing all of them have in common is that they are used by real people. Algorithms and analytics are typically what marketers focus on when utilizing social media; however, they should instead be striving to meaningfully connect the company to the people who will help them grow. Taking a people-first approach, this book discusses how to better use social media for marketing purposes and communicate with others using social media platforms. Reaching a certain audience is not the only goal; listening to them is also vital for marketers to take full advantage of social media. This approach will never change even though the various social networks always are. By making sure that people are the focus of all social media strategies, marketers can offer more value to companies and the people they serve. Chapter 7 explores crises and how to deal with unhappy people. Crises can be internal, affiliate, or external. The type of crisis determines how much control a company has over it. When responding to crises, companies must always consider three audiences: employees, partners, and the public. When communicating with employees about a crisis, clarity is vital. Update employees and allow them to ask questions. Partners will want information and answers in order to continue supporting and collaborating with a company. Communicating with the public can be tricky. Sometimes it's best to communicate; sometimes it's best to be silent. Recommendations are offered for when and when not to communicate externally. When a crisis is of the company's own making, validate concerns and show action. There will always be external people who are upset; the key is to know when to walk away.

Many social media platforms exist today, but the thing all of them have in common is that they are used by real people. Algorithms and analytics are typically what marketers focus on when utilizing social media; however, they should instead be striving to meaningfully connect the company to the people who will help them grow. Taking a people-first approach, this book discusses how to better use social media for marketing purposes and communicate with others using social media platforms. Reaching a certain audience is not the only goal; listening to them is also vital for marketers to take full advantage of social media. This approach will never change even though the various social networks always are. By making sure that people are the focus of all social media strategies, marketers can offer more value to companies and the people they serve. Chapter 8 discusses the importance of finding the right people for a social media team. The social media team is responsible for interacting with people on the company's behalf more than anyone else, so they need to truly understand who the company is. Communicators may be better to hire for a social media team than marketers. Training should support career trajectories; four typical career paths people take are strategy, management, operations, and business development. Training of each social media practitioner should be tailored to their desired career path. Examples are provided. Resiliency is an essential characteristic for any social media practitioner; social media is a high-pressure job, and burnout is frequent. Recommendations for how to build resiliency in social media practitioners are offered.

Many social media platforms exist today, but the thing all of them have in common is that they are used by real people. Algorithms and analytics are typically what marketers focus on when utilizing social media; however, they should instead be striving to meaningfully connect the company to the people who will help them grow. Taking a people-first approach, this book discusses how to better use social media for marketing purposes and communicate with others using social media platforms. Reaching a certain audience is not the only goal; listening to them is also vital for marketers to take full advantage of social media. This approach will never change even though the various social networks always are. By making sure that people are the focus of all social media strategies, marketers can offer more value to companies and the people they serve. Chapter 9 offers a brief summary on measuring improvement. Social media practitioners tend to focus on data-driven analysis-brand impressions, reach, and frequency. However, they should also be informing the company about people. Each social media channel a company utilizes should be reviewed monthly to see how well it did in getting the company closer to people. Social media impact on people is the most important thing to measure and understand. Understanding how many people a company has reached and how many actual interactions they've shared will tell the company a lot about what social media means for them.

Affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated lockdowns, the management team at digital-first, Indian cosmetics brand SUGAR is deliberating over ways to respond to the new development in its influencer strategy. SUGAR grew into an INR 100-crore brand digitally by delivering content that was relevant to its young, urban customers in India through its Instagram page. Micro- and nano-influencers played a significant role in building its follower base of 1 million people. SUGAR was hungry for more. With the aim of becoming an INR 1,000-crore brand, the cosmetics firm began to expand its physical presence and grow in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. As the team planned this expansion, the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and the associated lockdown, a measure to slow down the spread of the disease, relegated everyone indoors. Unexpectedly, SUGAR's beauty advisers transformed into employee influencers, attracting customers from Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities in India, while bringing in revenue through digital sales even when physical stores were shut. The company recognised using employee influencers as an opportunity to get new customers. However, the management team pondered over several questions. Did SUGAR have the resources to develop its employees as influencers? How would retailers respond if their sales employees focussed on online sales while manning physical counters? Would development of employee influencers dilute their existing influencer plan? The company had to also decide whether it would grow by focussing on traditional media and channels or by expanding its digital influencer plan.

Case Supplement for Case A00401

Chris-Tia Donaldson was the CEO and founder of Thank God It's Natural (tgin), a specialty hair care line for women with naturally curly, kinky, or wavy hair types. By early 2019, Donaldson had built tgin into a national brand in the United States, with its products widely available at large retailers such as Walmart and Target, as well as in specialty beauty retail stores like Sally Beauty. One important beauty retailer still did not carry the brand, however: Ulta Beauty, a US chain of 1,196 brick-and-mortar beauty stores located predominantly in high-traffic shopping centers around the country. Ulta also had a robust online storefront in ulta.com and had cultivated a vibrant social media presence. On Donaldson's desk was an offer from Ulta Beauty to stock tgin for the first time. Should she commit to this deal, knowing she was setting aside other opportunities, such as e commerce, direct-to-consumer (DTC), and the pursuit of additional distribution channels? All things considered: Was this distribution agreement with Ulta really the best path forward for tgin?

Chris Pew, an expert backcountry skier, was a founder and the CEO of 12-year-old TREW Gear, a premium niche brand for technical backcountry ski apparel. TREW Gear's products--snow bibs, jackets, pants, and accessories--were selling well through independent and specialty retailers and direct to consumers on trewgear.com. Heavy on Pew's mind, however, was how to continue growing the business, particularly the question of whether he should start selling TREW products on Amazon.com. Would TREW's presence on the behemoth US-based e-commerce platform help the company grow, long-term? Shorter-term, would selling on Amazon deliver the 20% increase in revenues his investors wanted to see by the end of the year? And if Amazon wasn't the best choice, what distribution strategy should he embrace?

Maya Fonseca, the marketing analyst for video streaming service FilmCast, and her colleague Rupert Cruz had to interpret the results of a conjoint analysis conducted by their company. FilmCast was a large company, competing against Videosource and Webflickstream. The marketing analysts were debating whether it made sense to lower the price of their services and if the conjoint analysis results supported this idea.

Maya Fonseca, the marketing analyst for video streaming service FilmCast, and her colleague Rupert Cruz had to interpret the results of a conjoint analysis conducted by their company. FilmCast was a large company, competing against Videosource and Webflickstream. The marketing analysts were debating whether it made sense to lower the price of their services and if the conjoint analysis results supported this idea.

This case presents the Walt Disney Company's (Disney's) involvement in Florida House Bill 1557, the Parental Rights in Education Act, known by opponents as the "Don't Say Gay" bill. It can be used to help students consider activism from a multi-stakeholder perspective and the potential consequences of engagement to a company's brand image (i.e., reputation) and business. The case presents a chronology of the events and company statements as the firm responded to consumer and organizational actions, enabling students to explore the challenges associated with: (1) aligning activism with brand purpose, (2) engaging in activism in a way that strengthens the consumer-brand relationship, (3) managing activism that may create conflict between two or more stakeholders (e.g., employees and consumers), and (4) aligning activism efforts with business growth. Consequently, the case offers opportunities to dive deeply into brand activism, corporate responses to activism, and marketing's role in advocating for consumers and protecting the brand.

For thirty-five years, Dollar Tree, a discount retail chain selling general merchandise, had held it fixed price point steady, pricing all of its household items, food, stationery, books, seasonal items, gifts, toys, and clothing that made up its diverse and ever-changing assortment at $1.00. While all other dollar store chains had raised prices over the years to keep up with inflation, Dollar Tree had never budged on its price. However, in late 2021 the company announced that Dollar Tree was "breaking the buck" and raising prices on all goods to $1.25. Would the demise of the $1.00 price point bring about the downfall of Dollar Tree or could the retail chain weather its price change without alienating its price sensitive shoppers through smart marketing, pricing, and branding strategies?

Agricola Himalaya was a family-owned Colombian company, the national leader in the tea industry, and the owner of the only tea plantation in the country, located in the middle of a mist forest. In Colombia, owing to the labour costs involved in tea production, importing tea was less expensive than producing it locally, but if Agricola Himalaya decided to import the tea, what would be the environmental and social impact of closing the plant and plantation? Agricola Himalaya attempted to resolve this dilemma by entering the specialty tea market, launching a new product that was sustainable and organic, with a range of innovative blends and a premium price. However, after eight years, its Bitaco specialty tea line had not reached break even, and in March 2021 the chief executive officer faced a new dilemma: whether or not to continue with the specialty tea initiative.

By October 2021, the US social media giant Facebook Inc. had been dominating the social media market globally with the highest number of active users. It owned four of the biggest social media platforms-Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram. However, the company's history was marked by controversies ranging from ethical matters to social issues. The various crises it had faced to date included thousands of internal documents leaked by whistle-blower Frances Haugen, public criticism by former director Tim Kandell, and data breaches by Cambridge Analytica. These crises were symbolic of the anguish that various stakeholders were feeling. In the aftermath of these events, Facebook Inc. had to contemplate various key questions. Were the controversies destructive to the company, or were they adding value to its growth? Had the company taken the right actions to address its issues, or could it do more to make amends? How could the company prevent the recurrence of such situations in the future?

On February 16, 2021, Slave Free Chocolate removed Tony's Chocolonely (Tony's), a chocolate company based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, from its "Ethical Chocolate Companies" list due to Tony's association with Barry Callebaut, a cocoa processor associated with child slavery in West Africa. Tony's, a B Corp-certified company whose founding mission was to eradicate child slavery from the cocoa supply chain, had to address its public removal from the list immediately to maintain the company's credibility. How should the chief executive officer of Tony's respond to the removal?

In 2019, an entrepreneur and Ivey Business School graduate was facing a critical decision regarding how best to maximize the growth of his new product, The Chosen One card game. The entrepreneur had recently created and launched his Jewish-themed satirical card game in Los Angeles, California, after playing the adult-themed and highly popular Cards Against Humanity. Buoyed by initial small-batch sales, he secured deals to sell his product through various online and traditional retailers, but he had to decide how to grow sales and revenue. He had a limited marketing budget and was facing uncertainty regarding production quantities. There were various potential digital and physical distribution options for his product to maximize growth and long-term profitability. Each option had both benefits and drawbacks in terms of profitability, required marketing support, alignment with the target segment, access to consumer data, and production demands. The entrepreneur had to evaluate all options and choose the most suitable channels to distribute The Chosen One card game.

In January 2022, a partner in Homeland Foods was identifying Canadian distribution channels through which to launch dried fruit products from his company based in Armenia. He needed to identify the most appropriate initial target market, select the most effective distribution channel(s), and develop an effective marketing strategy. Distribution channels under consideration included general grocery stores, ethnic food stores, natural food stores, gourmet food stores, and online distribution. Promotions concerns included finding a plan that would reach an appropriate customer segment on a limited budget. He was also concerned about how well the Armenian branding would transfer to a Canadian audience.

In 2019, an entrepreneur and Ivey Business School graduate was facing a critical decision regarding how best to maximize the growth of his new product, The Chosen One card game. The entrepreneur had recently created and launched his Jewish-themed satirical card game in Los Angeles, California, after playing the adult-themed and highly popular Cards Against Humanity. Buoyed by initial small-batch sales, he secured deals to sell his product through various online and traditional retailers, but he had to decide how to grow sales and revenue. He had a limited marketing budget and was facing uncertainty regarding production quantities. There were various potential digital and physical distribution options for his product to maximize growth and long-term profitability. Each option had both benefits and drawbacks in terms of profitability, required marketing support, alignment with the target segment, access to consumer data, and production demands. The entrepreneur had to evaluate all options and choose the most suitable channels to distribute The Chosen One card game.