Social Media Influencers and Business Marketing Strategies
This paper examines the evolution of social media as a business marketing tool, tracing the shift from broad, platform-based advertising on early sites like Myspace and Facebook to highly targeted influencer marketing on Instagram and YouTube. The paper reviews how companies previously relied on banner ads and general promotions, then explores how the rise of smartphones and social media influencers transformed brand strategy. Case studies of companies such as Morphe and Fit Tea illustrate how influencer partnerships generate significant sales and customer loyalty. The paper also discusses Facebook's continued relevance through preference-based targeted advertising, concluding that social media and business have developed a mutually beneficial relationship.
- Introduction: Social media's growth as a business marketing channel
- Previous Approaches to Social Media Marketing: Early advertising on Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube
- New Findings: Influencer Marketing and Targeted Advertising: Influencer partnerships, brand case studies, targeted ads
- Conclusion: Symbiotic relationship between business and social media
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What makes this paper effective
- Uses concrete, real-world brand examples (Morphe, Fit Tea, American Airlines) to illustrate abstract marketing concepts, making arguments tangible and persuasive.
- Provides a clear chronological structure — moving from past to present strategies — that gives the reader an intuitive sense of how social media marketing has evolved.
- Integrates direct quotations from industry sources to support claims about influencer fees and platform performance, lending empirical credibility to the analysis.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper effectively uses comparative analysis to contrast older, broadcast-style advertising methods with modern influencer-driven and preference-targeted marketing. By showing what companies used to do versus what they do now, the author demonstrates analytical depth without requiring extensive theoretical framing — a useful technique for applied business writing.
Structure breakdown
The paper follows a clear four-part structure: an executive summary and introduction establish the topic and scope; a "Previous Approaches" section surveys early social media advertising tactics; a "New Findings" section presents current influencer marketing trends with supporting examples and quotations; and a conclusion synthesizes key takeaways about the evolving relationship between social media and business. Each section builds logically on the last, reinforcing the overarching narrative of marketing evolution.
Introduction
Social media in the last ten years has exploded and expanded to include a host of websites and apps. What seemed like a niche market with very little advertising consideration has grown to become a primary way for businesses to market themselves and increase customer brand awareness. Some of this growth had to do with the smartphone and the ease with which customers could interact with companies and with each other to spread company advertisements or inspire trends. An example of this is Instagram, where social media influencers feature a beauty product and create a trend among users, increasing sales for the company that produces it.
It does not simply happen on Instagram. Social media has also come to include YouTube, where influencers can be sponsored by companies to promote a product in one of their videos. Because these influencers have millions of dedicated fans viewing their content and buying recommended products, companies end up gaining sales and better profits compared to not engaging with influencers at all. Because social media has grown into what it is today, it is a key means by which businesses market to consumers in the hopes of growing their customer base — often at a lower cost than traditional methods like television commercials. This essay discusses past and current methods businesses use to leverage social media.
References
Bousquet, K. (2016, April 5). 5 brands that can credit their fame to social media. Retrieved from
Chae, B. (2015). Insights from hashtag #supplychain and Twitter analytics: Considering Twitter and Twitter data for supply chain practice and research. International Journal of Production Economics, 165, 247–259. doi:10.1016/j.ijpe.2014.12.037
Chaffey, D. (2017, April 27). Global social media statistics summary 2017. Retrieved from http://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-strategy/new-global-social-media-research/
Faircloth, K. (2016, April 28). Inside the big Instagram business of shilling 'detox' teas. Retrieved from https://jezebel.com/inside-the-big-instagram-business-of-shilling-detox-tea-[redacted]
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