REPLY

A minimum of 100 words each question and References Response (#1 – 6) KEEP RESPONSE WITH ANSWER

Make sure the Responses includes the Following: (a) an understanding of the weekly content as supported by a scholarly resource, (b) the provision of a probing question. (c) stay on topic

1. The five elements of integrated marketing communication are advertising which is Efficient means for reaching large numbers of people, personal selling which strengths are immediate feedback, very persuasive, can select audience, and can give complex information. “Once the message is created, the same message is sent to all receivers in a market segment. If the pictorial, text, and brand elements of an advertisement are properly pretested, an advertiser can ensure the ad’s ability to capture consumers’ attention and trust that the same message will be decoded by all receivers in the market segment”. Public relations reduces communication with consumers who are not the targeted audience and is often most credible source in the consumer’s mind. Sales promotion stimulate sales and is effective at changing behavior in short run and very flexible, lastly, direct marketing messages can be prepared quickly and it facilitates relationship with customer and match specific target needs.

2.  Integrated Marketing Communication is an necessary tool for small business like owners. It helps the company move their products in an effective way by connecting with websites that allow them to market their product. This way your partners and employess know that you have a marketing strategy in place to keep production and money flowing in. You not only gain their trust but you also can show your customers guaranteed satisfaction of product and more sales will come in by customer satisfaction.

To have effective IMC you need these elements: 1). The Media because advertising is an important way to get the word out and boost sales. You have telemarketing, email, press information to keep you up-to-date on what's new and numbers in stocks. 2). Staying consistent in messaging is another key element. No one wants to buy a product from a company that do not respond to orders or communications between partners and distributors. 3). "Design consistency also is important. Using the same colors, photographs and other visual elements helps to reinforce the important campaign messages and links the various campaign elements together. 4). Reinforcement- Integrated marketing communication ensures that all the elements of a marketing campaign work together to achieve objectives and deliver results. Campainiing, keeping the word going is a way to keep everyone happy and communicating on how to move forward in business and make it better for all involved. Training staff and giving incentives to employess and sending thank you gifts to partners keep a good relationship and provides a positive outcomes. 5). Sales Aligment- helps your sales team to provide the information that decision-makers need at each stage of the purchasing process. This communication helps to ensure proper alignment of purchasers and commitments." (Linton,n.d.). 

3. Integrated marketing communications is used in advertising to send a consistent message about a product across all audiences to promote public relations, direct marketing, personal selling and advertising. The benefits of using IMC is using a consistent message to inform buyers about the benefits of a product, to attempt to try and get them to try it and remind them about how they enjoyed using the product. There are elements to IMC consisting of the advertising process, personal selling, public relations, sales promotion and direct marketing. All elements are forms communications to entice consumers to try, purchase, use and enjoy a product.

4. After reading the textbook, the four major social media networks are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube (Kerin & Hartely, 2016). Facebook is an outlet that can be used for personal or business use. It used to connect friends and family members through messages, pictures and videos (Kerin & Hartley, 2016). It is a great place to expose your business via links or advertisements. Twitter is a website that allows users to write “tweets,” that can be up to 140 characters long as well as receive them. (Kerin & Hartley, 2016). LinkedIn is a professional networking website that brings together business people together by allowing them to upload their business profile and makes connections between employers and potential employees seeking employment (Kerin & Hartley, 2016).YouTube is a website that allows people to upload, view, and comment on videos (Kerin & Hartley, 2016). Now that each has been explained, in my opinion I don't feel that companies should be in all of these outlets. Social media is definitely a place that companies should be utilizing but not every network may be suitable for their type of business. Each company usually has a target market and they should determine what network will have the most exposure to get the attention of that target market. For example, pinterest is primarily a woman based social media outlet, so if you are trying to promote a men's clothing line, this might not be a good place to market. The better option would be Twitter or YouTube because their market for males is over 50%.

5. There are 4 major social media networks:

· “Facebook can increase brand exposure by enabling convenient user posting of links, photos, and videos.

· Twitter makes it easy to place brand messages and gain online customer support.

· While primarily a powerful network in helping users find jobs, LinkedIn has also found a niche in helping small businesses network to reach potential customers, as well as filling its traditional role of connecting job seekers and jobs.

· YouTube’s videos make it especially useful in explaining a complex product. (Kerin & Hartley, 2016)”

There are major benefits for companies to be on each of the 4 major social networks. For some businesses, like professional bakers, there might not be as many reasons for them to use YouTube if they are not interested in teaching others how to bake or decorate. Yet, they would benefit from being on Facebook where they can show all of their beautiful creations, Twitter would allow them to build their brand through showcasing their images, and LinkedIn would allow them to show any credentials, certifications, or mention any publications that they have been featured in.

For a company that makes child car seats, then they would benefit from being on social media networks differently. For example, YouTube can be utilized for them to teach their customers how to install and use their products. LinkedIn would be a place where they can try to recruit new employees and showcase how they are as an employer. Twitter can be an easy place for them to show their new products. Facebook can be a place for them to show their videos, new products, and broadcast if they have any sales.

In the end, not all businesses can utilize all the 4 major social networks to the fullest capacity that they offer, but they generally can be utilized by most organizations.

6. The four major social media networks are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Youtube. Linked in is the one I am most unfamiliar with but I know that it is the only one of the three that does not allow video or photo sharing and that is not used by children. Each social platform exist to attract a certain type of group(s). Advertisements are often shared upon those platforms no matter the likings of the consumer. With that said, I do not believe a company should be exposed on all four major outlets or any others because of the majority of the crowd that is using the platform. For instance, Snapchat is used by millions of people throughout all age groups, though it has a 13 years old requirement, younger kids have access to the social media application (Bouckley, 2015). How appropriate are advertisements regarding alcohol or dating sites for those young users? Not at all. The social media sites should limit their advertising to sites that are used by the appropriate crowd.