1. a) State one example of the way in which technology can be used to access social media. (1 mark) Through apps
1. b) Identify two ways in which social media is used by business and/or media producers. (2 marks) It is used to find people who will commission a business and it is used to increase exposure for the business.
2. In terms of promoting products to foreign markets, what might social media managers need to be aware of? (3 marks) They need to be aware of language barriers between different companies, they need to be aware of shipping regulations as their product may not be able to be shipped to the country they are advertising in, they also need to be aware of the existing market in that country.
3. Compare how two social media channels can be used as marketing tools. Use examples to support your answer. (10 marks) Instagram can be used as an effective marketing tool because many businesses already have successful Instagram accounts that people follow for the pictures they post. For example, Kylie Jenner uses her Instagram account to promote her Kylie Cosmetics company, and millions of people follow her to see these posts. This is because she shows new products to her Instagram followers to create excitement for when it is released. Kylie has star power, so people support her even if the official release of a new product is a short video of her swatching the makeup products, rather than an official marketing campaign for the makeup. Instagram can be used very effectively by companies if they use hashtags, tag other accounts and interact with their audience through features like Instagram Live and Instagram Stories.
Alternatively, Twitter can also be used as a marketing tool by business because they can pay to have promoted tweets. This means that adverts for their business will appear between posts in user's feeds, and the more they pay the more often their ad will appear. This can be a very good way for big businesses to show people new products they are releasing, but isn't as effective for smaller companies. Companies on Twitter can also make use of hashtags to help people find their products by topic, or they can use key words in their tweets to improve their SEO. For example, if people search for 'Royal Wedding' they will find tweets containing those words, sorted by popularity or in chronological order.
Compared to Twitter, I think Instagram has a more effective method of using promoted (paid) posts, as ads are tailored to users based on posts they like, accounts they follow, etc. I think Instagram is a more effective tool for businesses as there are lots of ways users can come across ads that interest them and are relevant.