Introduction
Today, using social media is an everyday activity in which millions of people across the globe are involved. According to Li et al. (2022), the Internet is a unique space that might bring people together and further apart because of the distinct generation characteristics. Social media’s impact on marketing activities cannot be ignored for advertisement and content management (Jamil et al., 2022).
Some companies use social media platforms to engage Millennials and Gen Z customers and improve marketing, while successful organizations such as Apple find Facebook and Twitter ineffective investment vehicles. Apple is a well-known technology company that produces smartphones, computers, tablets, accessories, and other software products, reaching quarterly revenue of more than $94 billion (“Apple reports second-quarter results,” 2023). This paper will examine the relationships between Apple and online platforms to identify the benefits and risks of using social media for business success. The scope includes evaluating the social media landscape and beneficial strategies for Apple. Evaluating business opportunities and challenges, several recommendations for Apple to consider regarding social media marketing will be developed.
The Landscape of Social Media Platforms
Features
In the age of technological advancement and social media, the representatives of different generations have become rather dependent on online services and information. There are many famous websites where social networks are developed for communication, identification, data sharing, business, interpersonal relationships, and reputation (Shahbaznezhad et al., 2021). In this paper, attention will be paid to social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, focusing on their common and distinctive features.
For example, both public platforms support instant and private messaging, regular updating, link sharing, and photo downloading to increase users’ engagement and pastime online. When talking about their differences, Facebook has more unique features like Friends, Games, and Gifts compared to Twitter’s limited following and trending options. On Facebook, advertising is possible in the form of ads, while Twitter developers promote tweets.
Demographics
The analysis of the demographics of Twitter and Facebook users reveals several critical aspects for marketers and advertisers. Both platforms are regularly visited by Millennials and Generation Z for different purposes, while older users need social media for communication only (Li et al., 2022). Millennials are individuals born from 1981 to 1996, and Gen Z representatives are born from 1997 to 2012 (Hecht, 2022).
The United States is the home to the largest Twitter and Facebook users aged between 25 and 34, which prevails over other age groups. However, younger (18-24 years) and older (35-44 years) people are also interested in the information the chosen social media platforms offer (Dixon, 2023a; Iqbal, 2023). The gender factor shows controversial outcomes, proving the impact of social platforms on particular gender groups. According to recent findings, more female users choose Facebook, while more male users like Twitter (Dixon, 2023b; Iqbal, 2023). More than two billion people use social media daily to read recent news, exchange personal experiences, and complete business tasks online.
Trends
During the last several years, the competition between different online platforms has increased, proving the importance of developing new trends and ideas to engage customers and strengthen client loyalty. Millennials and Gen Z want to ensure their information remains private and secure if they share it on a particular platform. However, the growth of e-commerce and virtual reality services makes it impossible to maintain privacy in all directions. People are ready to add their personal information and neglect the potential threats to meet their current purposes. Thus, Facebook and Twitter pay much attention to privacy issues, try to underline all factors, and inform their users promptly.
Social behaviors, sports, healthy lifestyles, and music are becoming emerging trends in social media. For example, Dobre et al. (2021) identify the promotion of luxury brands via social media to appeal to human emotions, product exclusivity, and sensory experiences. Facebook and Twitter creators allow their customers to introduce their unique approaches, visions, and ideas to promote equality, fairness, and openness for international communication and cooperation.
Opportunities and Benefits for Business
Marketing and Advertising
Marketing and advertising remain the most evident opportunities for a local business. During the last several years, Apple has not shown high activity on Facebook and Twitter, and its executives deleted their Twitter and Facebook accounts, leaving hundreds of thousands of followers without updates (Leswing, 2022). However, the analysis of the online ad budgets shows that the share of Facebook wallet has recently increased by 28%, and the overall advertiser adoption rate has increased by 94% (Vanian, 2022). It would benefit Apple significantly by returning its brand to social media platforms and strengthening its marketing campaigns among Millennials and Gen Z.
Customer Support and Feedback
Today, Apple and Facebook/Twitter users cannot obtain mutual support because of the tensions between the organizations. Individually contacting the required company and asking for help is recommended, which negatively affects customer engagement and feedback. People admire social media because it allows them to connect to various sources in a short period, taking a minimum of steps to achieve the desired goal (Li et al., 2022). Gen Z and Millennials need social media to improve self-expression, share selfies, watch the news, and obtain beneficial information (Hu et al., 2022). Apple would get several additional opportunities with social media to gather feedback, engage new customers, and ensure current users are loyal to the services it offers.
Talent Acquisition and Employee Engagement
Many modern organizations adopt new strategies and initiatives to engage employees and find experts in the required field. Nayak et al. (2020) prove the benefit of social media for employee engagement and social recognition to reveal passion, commitment, and loyalty. Current Apple employees have to follow certain legal requirements and organizational principles to prevent social networks from affecting job performance and business interests. However, social isolation affects people and reduces their talents and communication skills (Nayak et al., 2020). Apple would enlarge its employee database and increase its chances of finding and hiring Millennials and Gen Z with unique abilities via Facebook and Twitter.
Market Research and Competitive Analysis
Finally, Facebook and Twitter contribute significantly to market research and the analysis of competitors’ activities. Apple has techniques for investigating the market, but social media is still a good resource for free and unbiased information. Social recognition is an opportunity to endanger competitors regarding customer loyalty and headhunting (Nayak et al., 2020). Despite the progress made and the approval of the brand, Apple faces new substitutes based on low prices, various forms of contact, and presence on social media platforms. Apple needs to reconsider its policy and use Facebook or Twitter regardless of its concerns and demands.
Challenges and Risks Associated with Social Media
Negative Feedback and Reputation Management
Like many organizations, Apple might be challenged by negative feedback shared on Facebook or Twitter, which challenges its image and reputation. Apple and Facebook are two large technology companies that have never competed. They just do not like each other because of the chosen approaches: Apple believes that Facebook uses people as products, while Facebook criticizes Apple’s too-high price policy (Clayton, 2020). Thus, reputation management and the growth of negative opinions on social media can become a serious risk for Apple’s business.
Privacy and Security Concerns
Apple explains its high prices because of special attention to privacy and security issues. For example, in 2021, Apple offered the major iOS privacy update, App Tracking Transparency, which made it hard for Facebook to track online users (Massey, 2022; Vanian, 2022). As a result, such platforms as Facebook and Twitter have lost their revenues and ability to gather personal data on users. These controversies may challenge the application of social media in Apple’s business, but the company likes the idea of protecting all people online.
Resource Management and Return on Investment
Modern organizations want to ensure that their return on investment and resource management do not cause additional problems for their growth. The differences between what a company invests and gets in return prove the effectiveness or reveal the ineffectiveness of the chosen steps. In this case, social media generates investments and resources, which have underlying monetary value. If Apple decides to invest in Facebook or Twitter, its values could increase, but the reputation and worth of previously taken steps to improve clients’ privacy and security would be damaged.
Strategies for Success for Apple
Objectives
If Apple considers social media as another source of investment, several strategies should be developed. The goal is to attract the attention of the target audience, which includes Millennials and Gen Z, toward Apple services and employment opportunities. Objectives are to advertise Apple and its recent updates, increase the number of customers using Facebook or Twitter to gather information, and initiate market research. Social media is very popular among young people, and Apple should investigate its interests to make people buy its products and software.
Platform and Tools
Apple needs to create new official accounts on such platforms as Facebook and Twitter. Facebook is a good media tool for sharing photos, adding descriptions, and communicating with customers. Twitter is a solid tool for distributing organizational information, identifying sales and discounts, and ensuring that many people across the globe get the same updates. Apple has never distinguished customers based on their gender, age, or racial differences, but has promoted fair and equal treatment and opportunities. People do not stop using Facebook or other social media services because they must be informed, and Apple gets a good chance to market its products and services.
Content
The creation of engaging and shareable content is a key element of any marketing strategy. In Apple’s case, the company should combine visual and informative material to ensure clients have enough background facts to make their purchase decisions. The essence of a new marketing strategy is to expand the target audience and improve communication between young and old users (Li et al., 2022).
Brief video ads, interesting GIFs and memes, and text-based posts will be effective for Apple in introducing its services on Facebook and Twitter. Online users do not think about what they want to find but watch and read what is offered (Hu et al., 2022). Thus, Apple should concentrate on the benefits clients can get from the company.
Social Media Integration
Apple has a strong online platform and official websites that discuss current news, updates, and services. The integration of social media with other marketing and communication channels that Apple has already chosen is not characterized by conflicts or misunderstandings. However, regarding the history of the relationships between Facebook, Twitter, and Apple, it is necessary to spend a lot of time explaining why their controversies are no longer an issue for discussion. The unity of such technology giants benefits each: privacy alternatives for Facebook, Millennials/Gen Z for Apple, and new informative streams for Twitter.
Monitoring Processes
For Apple, monitoring and measuring social media activities do not create additional problems because this organization knows a lot about online practices and standards. In addition, Facebook and Twitter offer specific algorithms to check the number of visitors, follow-ups, and user preferences. Measuring customer engagement and the database of talented employees will effectively reveal the benefits of social media marketing at Apple. Optimization services will be a matter of time because developers and marketers should understand whether the chosen strategy works well. If the outcome is positive, new content like live videos and user-generated services will be offered to help people make the right choices with Apple.
Case Studies
Examples
Social media campaigns are not new, and many organizations like to use this channel to distribute the required information. Today, even globally known companies use Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms to market their services and products. For example, Nike has about 9.3 million Twitter followers, promoting frequent sales and interesting illustrative material (Fomby, 2022).
GoPro is an American technology organization that manufactures action cameras and develops video software. It is not as large as Apple, but its presence on social media (more than two million followers on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) unites people across the globe (Fomby, 2022). These campaigns contain long and short videos, live shows, and colorful images to demonstrate to customers what they can buy.
Lessons
The best lessons and practices extracted from the cases of GoPro and Nike include expanding the target audience and promoting a lot of information with little effort. In addition, both companies continue sharing their user-generated content and appreciate their customers by leaving feedback and offering interesting propositions (Fomby, 2022). When the required customer database is achieved, the chosen organizations show how to add links to their web shops without being considered spammers or other ineffective advertisers (Fomby, 2022).
Most Millennials and Gen Z users know how to distinguish between helpful and harmful information. Good marketing should not be intrusive but exciting, and Nike or GoPro never breaks the line between these two qualities. People should wait for new products and services with excitement and interest, and this lesson is a core issue in the current marketing discussion.
Conclusion and Future Outlook
Apple’s cooperation with social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter may provoke additional questions because of the company’s already negative history and privacy concerns. However, there is always some space for improvement, and the chosen organizations might achieve additional benefits with online marketing. Gen Z and Millennials like social media to gather information and exchange experiences.
Apple’s presence on Facebook or Twitter is recommended for sharing interesting visual material (video and images), collecting customer feedback, and engaging more people from different parts of the world. In the future, it is possible to develop new tools and techniques to combine Apple’s fair privacy policy with social media databases. Attention can be paid to the opinions of online users about Apple and its accuracy on social media in terms of information, engagement, and employment.
References
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