Social Listening Blog Post 2

For this social listening assignment, I thought I would choose Apple to study. Apple is a company which is world renowned for its marketing and advertising genius, so I thought it would be perfect to study in marketing class.

Apple is very interesting, especially with their own value proposition. Apple focuses on quality, security, and experience. One of the reasons people purchase an Apple device rather than the competitor's is because Apple is very effective at convincing consumers their product are better than any rival.

I decided to browse Apple's Instagram to get a taste of how people were responding to their social media posts. I found out that Apple doesn't seem to really respond to anyone's suggestions. If anyone has a question, it usually is answered by another person (either realistically or facetiously). Usually, on other companies' social media, consumer questions about logistics are often answered by the company themselves. However in Apple's case, questions like these are usually answered by another person unaffiliated with Apple.

It can only be assumed though that the real answers are from people who support Apple, but there are many answers which are sarcastic--maybe they were posted by people who don't support or buy Apple products? Why would they be reading through Apple's comments?

Here are some interesting screenshots of comments from one of Apple's posts:

I think one of the more interesting aspects coming from Apple right now is their impressive use of the Five Step Consumer Decision-Making Process. Right now, Apple is targeting need recognition and product evaluation. 

The interesting thing is, Apple is actually making a genius move when it comes to marketing right now. The challenge which is currently facing Apple right now is: why should people spend money on their company during an epidemic in which most people aren't making any money? Virtually nobody has any solid income right now, and Apple is notorious for being an expensive luxury. Due to the laws of economics, elastic luxuries are the first to be affected by a wide-scale drop in income.

Apply is combating this by impressive use of the Five Step Consumer Decision-Making Process. Apple is targeting the need recognition and product evaluation of most consumers.

Apple is releasing a mobile device in which people who are stuck at home can access the internet and browse social media -- which is arguably what a large percentage of the population is doing right now. Apple releases a phone, but people might say, "wait a minute, I can't afford it." However, the new iPhone SE is actually a high quality phone at a mid-range cost. It has all the bells and whistles of a luxury phone but at a lower cost than any flagship, it's almost impossible for any other phone manufacturer to compete with it at the price range--therefore beating product evaluation.

However there is still the part where "I'm not making any money, I can't buy a phone." To further hammer the nail in the coffin for Apple's product evaluation, they're releasing a cheap phone right during the time where many governments, the United States government to name one, is releasing a nation wide stimulus deposit (around $1200). A lot of people need every penny of the $1200, but many more people might view the iPhone SE as a wise choice to buy for it's value, and we know consumers are all about perceived value.

I find it interesting that Apple doesn't respond to any comments on any of their social media posts. One could say it generates a mystery in which it urges possible consumers to research more information at "Apple.com," one of the main storefronts for Apple products. Once people are at your website and looking deeper into the product, a lot of them will pull the trigger on buying it. Staying silent is a very smart thing to do in Apple's case. In fact, as shown by the screenshots above, people will gladly answer questions regarding any Apple product, reinforcing the idea that "hey, a lot of people like these products! They're highly rated!"

If I was an Apple social media manager, I would be taking additional steps to really reinforce the idea that the iPhone SE is a mid-range priced phone that has all the features of most competitors flagships. Right now, the value proposition for Apple is that they provide a better experience and quality for their consumers, but the hidden proposition is that it comes at a price. Right now, you can get all the experience and quality of an iPhone for less than half the price.

The best part about this assignment is the opportunity to learn how successful companies in the real world actually utilize marketing techniques taught in class.