END-TERM EXAMINATION

MKT 409: SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

Name: Nilanjana Kuthari

Roll No.: 1910110256
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Solutions

Situation 1:

1. Which social media marketing tactics or promotions should Sarah consider trying
to bring her customers back to the salon upon reopening? Justify your answer. (10
Marks)

In the past year or so, everything in the world has been trying to adjust to the new world,
which is the post-pandemic world. Many businesses just like Sarah’s were closed due to
the pandemic and are now struggling to reopen and reach their original working capacity.
Therefore, they require the help of the powerful tool called social media, which has
expanded exponentially in the duration of the pandemic. People are spending way more
time on social media, since they are at home. In order to help Sarah, gain her customers
back to the salon upon reopening, the following can be done:

 Influencer Marketing: To show that better results can be achieved when a professional
is doing your hair compared to when one is doing his/her hair at home, Sarah can invite
an influencer to her salon and provide her with a trendy hair makeover. Sarah can
establish a partnership with the influencer wherein he/she promotes the hairdo and the
experience in the salon on their social media accounts in exchange for the free haircut
and other services. People idolize influencers and strive to achieve similar results;
therefore, it would encourage them to visit the salon and 71% of consumers are more
likely to make a purchase or book a service based on social media.
 Email Newsletter: Sending customers email newsletters and bringing them up to speed
on the latest hair trends and the potential haircuts they can get if they visit the salon may
also help bring customers back. Adding discounts to newsletters may also encourage
customers to come back.

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  Offer discounts to returning customers: Advertise on your social media that returning
customers will be either treated to a free mini-service (e.g.- a blow-dry) or a discount on
their first haircut back.
 Facebook & Instagram Marketing: Using popular social media sites can be extremely
effective in gaining back old customers as well as attracting new ones. Posting before and
after pictures of customers getting haircuts will make them realize the difference a
professional hair stylist can have in someone’s appearance, and it may encourage them to
return.
 Establish Discussion Forums: Often a sense of virtual community develops around
discussion boards, which have regular members that share common interests. Therefore,
having discussion forums may foster this sense of loyalty towards the salon and may
encourage customers to return. Discussions in such forums allow great feedback from
customers which can inspire change in the salon and can make it inviting for customers to
return as they may feel that their wishes were respected.

2. Which tactics or promotions should she leverage for existing customers? For
potential new customers? Justify your answer. (10 Marks)

In order to retain her existing customers and gain new customers she can employ the
following tactics and promotions:

 Update your Google My Business page: In order to make the salon more visible to new
customers, it is important for Sarah to keep her business listing discoverable on Google.
Most people, when they look for new salons to visit, turn to google to find the same.
Therefore, having an optimized Google MyBusiness page would make it easier for the
salon to rank on the top.
 Create a salon environment which is Insta-worthy: Having an aesthetic infrastructure
or salon would allow for social media worthy posts. Sarah can post beautiful shots of her
aesthetic salon to attract new customers. They would also want to visit in order to
experience the atmosphere and click pictures they can post on their social media, which
would also create a network effect of advertisement for the salon.
 Blogging: Blogging about current hairstyle trends and celebrity hairstyles and other
relevant topics may help attract potential customers and please existing customers. Blogs
help in communicating with potential customers, word-of-mouth marketing and receiving
feedback.
 Posting Videos to YouTube: Posting DIY and content related to hair styling on
YouTube encourages new viewership and newer eyes on the salon. It will allow a wider
audience to gain knowledge of the salon and provide an extra source of entertainment for
existing customers. It widens the array of services offered by the salon.

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  Targeted ads on different social media platforms like Instagram & Facebook:
Having targeted ads will allow people who are genuinely interested in the services
offered by the salon to gain knowledge about it. Reaching your target market directly is
quite efficient and will lead to a higher conversion rate.

Situation 2:

1. Create a social media marketing strategy for Evan to bring his lost customers back
to the gym. Justify your answer. (10 Marks)

As mentioned in the previous question, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a lot of loss of
business for many companies and establishments. Therefore, in order to have Evan’s lost
customers return to his gym, he needs to have a solid social media marketing
strategy, which can be done using the following tips and suggestions:

 Advertisement of New Classes & Workouts: During the pandemic, people were
motivated to focus on their health, they found multiple ways in which they could
maintain their health in the comfort of their homes. However, they also discovered
various workouts and techniques which cannot be done with their equipment at home. It
is advisable for Evan to leverage that fact and promote such classes and workouts on his
social media and encourage the lost customers to return.
 Facebook & Instagram Strategy: Posting a series of posts explaining the benefits of
visiting the gym and the comparison of results when one goes to the gym compared to
when one opts for home workouts. Evan can also post about the diverse equipment in his
gym and their usefulness and benefits. This will help customers realize what they’re
missing out on and encourage them to return to the gym.
 Charity Fundraiser on social media: Going live on social media to raise money for a
good cause may encourage customers to return as they may feel inspired after seeing
Evan giving back to society. He can do gym challenges and use his equipment in the
Livestream in order to raise funds. This also counts for some amount of advertising.
 Email Newsletter: Sending customers email newsletters and bringing them up to speed
on the latest gym workouts and fitness routines like HIIT and strength training can help
bring customers back to the gym. Adding discounts for returning customers to
newsletters may also encourage them to come back.
 Twitter Marketing: Leveraging Twitter in order to engage with lost customers may help
foster a new relationship. Tweeting about industry news, replying to followers and
tweeting out polls will form a strong sense of community urging customers to return.
Evan can also provide discounts for the ones who retweet some of his tweets.

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2. Create a social media marketing strategy for Evan to cater to those not willing to
return to gym. Justify your answer. (10 Marks)

Although Evan may try hard to encourage lost customers to return, but there will be a
considerable number of them who will not be willing to return at all as they might have
found substantial comfort working out from the comfort of their homes. In order to still
engage with and cater to those people, Evan can:

 Have an active YouTube channel: Since the pandemic has started, people have
gravitated towards online platforms to fulfil their fitness needs. Workouts and fitness
being a demonstrative field, it is advisable for Evan to post home workout routines, or
fitness regimes with basic equipment on YouTube. YouTube, being the largest video-
sharing platform, will attract a large viewership which will propel Evan’s name in the
home workout sector as well.
 Instagram Marketing: Posting Reels of different types of exercises and the right
techniques of doing it, sharing nutrition tips and juice recipes can also prove to be
beneficial in order to cater to this group of people.
 Instagram Takeovers by Celebrities and Influencers: We can have influencers with
high credibility and authenticity take over Evan’s IG handle and post their personal home
workout routines. This would attract the fan base of these influential people and propel
Evan’s name in the home workout business even further.
 Posting videos on Facebook: As is known, videos shared on Facebook are shared faster
than any other social media platform and it is also the most used one. Encouraging home-
style fitness methods like yoga and posting videos about it on Facebook may cause them
to go viral and attract a larger home crowd.
 Creating an Online Store: Create an online IG business for their juice mixes and
apparel and post content of instructors and influencers wearing it on their social media to
boost cross platform promotion and generate additional revenue from people who are
home bound.