Central Washington University Marketing Discussion

Introduction

Developing an effective marketing strategy for Padgette-Beale is a crucial measure to increase business opportunities and make efficient use of budgeted funding. Many organizations have moved towards social media advertising as an essential piece of that marketing strategy. Utilizing social media advertising provides an avenue to help target specific user demographics with relevant content on some of the most widely used technology-based platforms (Jolly, n.d., para. 2). For instance, 75% of LinkedIn users earning $50,000 or more per year (Jolly, n.d., LinkedIn sec.). This is exactly the demographic a hospitality-based business should target. However, the use of social media platforms by employees and for marketing operations also presents privacy issues that must be properly addressed.

LinkedIn Advertising Services

LinkedIn’s digital advertising will provide a platform to reach out to high quality leads, particularly within the business community with Padgette-Beale’s social media marketing operations. LinkedIn enables targeted advertising to a business-oriented user community of over 227 million people which often have a larger percentage of disposable than the average user on other platforms (Jolly, n.d. LinkedIn sec.). Advertising services provided by LinkedIn would enable Padgette-Beale to conduct a social media campaign focused on the amenities we offer and promoting business and vacation travel to those properties. The most affective means of accomplishing this would be to present dynamic “spotlight” ads and sponsored content in the form of video ads.

Privacy Concerns

LinkedIn has a very comprehensive privacy policy describing data/usage collection and use while utilizing their services. The collection includes data provided directly to LinkedIn while opening accounts, data collected from posts or third parties, usage data, location data, employer provided services, and data collected through the use of cookies, plugins or other similar technologies (LinkedIn, n.d., Data We Collect sec.). The aggregation of such data can be very concerning as it provides the company a wholistic view of your activities and contacts. This may expose aspects of business strategies or research being performed by Padgette-Beale employees. However, you also have the ability to opt-out of several collect techniques, including data collected from third parties or from cookies and similar technologies. The privacy policy also details how LinkedIn uses the data it collects and how that data is shared.

It important to note that that LinkedIn provides users options. These options include the ability to delete personal data, change or correct incorrect data, to ask to limit the use of your data, and to obtain copies of the data which they have collected on you (LinkedIn, n.d., Section 4.2). This would provide some level of control over the information the social media platforms collects on the business accounts that are created for Padgette-Beale marketing operations.

Employee Use of Social Media

While the use of social media by employees presents many challenges to a business, the use of the platform should be allowed by employees. However, rules governing its usage must first be documented and communicated to employees. There are several factors that advocates for this position. Primarily, restrictive policies banning the use of such services are hard to enforce, especially true in the age of smart phone where everyone has access to the internet in the palm of their hands. Instead, Padgette-Beale should be proactive and develop standards on its proper usage in the workplace (Monster, n.d., Section 1). In addition, involving employees would help create buy-in and could result in employee ideas to help further the campaign (Monster, n.d., Section 3). Finally, while there is a level of risk that is involved, enabling its use by employees helps develop online advocate for the business (Monster, n.d., Section 6). By developing guidelines upfront and setting clear expectations the level of risk can be somewhat mitigated.

Conclusion

Incorporating the use of social media advertising, such as the services provided by LinkedIn, into Padgette-Beale’s marketing operations is a great way to receive a return on investment and to create new business quickly (Jolly, n.d., What are the Benefits sec.). The use of LinkedIn’s advertising services will enable Padgette-Beale to effectively reach their targeted demographics and grow their business-oriented customer base. However, the privacy policy for such services must be reviewed painstakingly to ensure protections are in place for personal data collected and shared by the company. In addition, personal use of social media services by Padgette-Beale employees must not be discouraged but moderated with clearly communicated standards of use. Padgette-Beale would then be able to utilize these services and develop a concrete marketing campaign to attract new business and business partners for the organization.

References

Jolly, W. (n.d.). The 6 most effective types of social media advertising in 2020. Retrieved from

https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/social-media-advertising/#6-snapchat-advertising

LinkedIn (2020, January 6). Privacy policy. Retrieved from

https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy

Monster (n.d.). Social media in the workplace: setting standards. Retrieved from

https://hiring.monster.com/employer-resources/recruiting-strategies/social-media-recruiting/employee-social-media-policy/