ANALYZING AN ORGANIZATION'S SOCIAL WEB PRESENCE

The rapid proliferation of the World Wide Web (Web) has seen the emergence of a multitude of Web sites and the use of Social Media. While there is no certainty of who will survive in the competitive Social Media Web environment, one thing is for certain: the Web has changed the way business is conducted. The intent of this term paper is to heighten the awareness and understanding of an organization's Social Media Web strategy by critically evaluating their Social Media presence.

INSTRUCTIONS

Select a Social Media Web site to evaluate the key elements supporting an organization's Web Strategy.

Critically evaluate an organization's Social Media Web presence.

Identify the key elements of an organization's Social Media Web presence.

Evaluate an organization's Social Media Web site from the Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) perspective.

CONTENTS REQUIRED

OVERVIEW OF THE WEB SITE

Identify the nature of site (product/service) provider. Develop a brief industry profile.

What is the value source from the customer vantage point?

Identify their revenue model (i.e., how do they generate revenue?). Is their path-to-profitability clearly identified?

Source of volume: Which non-web-driven activity is being replaced (substituted) by the Web site?

Target market: Develop a detailed profile of consumers attracted to Web site and why. (What share of the existing business volume do they represent?)

If this is a Social Media Web site for a traditional business, what is the value addition for the current or new customer base?

Traffic/growth: What are the primary methods used to drive traffic to the Web site? What is the implication of this strategy on profitability?

COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

Who are the main non-Web competitors? What are their main competitive strengths?

Who are the Web competitors? What are their Web strategies? What are their unique strengths? Are their sources of volume and target market shares different from ours?

How does this Web site rate or rank relative to the respective competitors' strengths?

Is this Web site crossing traditional competitive boundaries and forming a new basis of competition?

What is the main competitive threat to this Web business?

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE-IS IT SUSTAINABLE?

The Web brand: provide a brand positioning statement (the value proposition).

How is the end user's (and intermediary user's) value proposition redefined? Compare the old benefits structure with the new Web site-driven benefits structure.

How is the delivery system redefined?

What is the economic benefit (to the customer and to the business)?

What benefits provided by the Web site (individually or in combination as a bundle) are truly unique and provide the potential for sustainable competitive advantage?

What is the likely competitor response to this Web benefit structure?

CONSUMER PERSPECTIVE

Does this Web site provide a personalized and convenient shopping experience? Does it build a customer profile? Is this profile automatically deployed on subsequent visits?

Is the Web site easy to use? Is it involving? Can it generate loyalty? Will it be in business five years from now (why)?

Evaluate customer service or contact options provided.

Is the Web site actively involved in conducting marketing research?

What is the adopted privacy policy of the organization?

What are some suggested improvements or modifications? How will they make for a more competitive or profitable and sustainable business?

WEB PRESENCE FROM THE INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS (IMC) PERSPECTIVE

Discuss how this Web presence parallels the organization's overall marketing strategy.

Identify and match common elements of the creative strategy along with the media utilized in the promotional process.

Evaluate the clarity and consistency of message components

Evaluate the tonality of the promotional campaign.

Your report should be a maximum of 8 double spaced pages, plus a title page and a reference page. Please follow MLA guidelines in your formatting. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

Use facts from the text book, the online library and the Internet to support your analysis.