While there are many influencers that I am aware of and that I enjoy viewing on occasion, I do not regularly follow any of them. Part of this is because as on online student I try to limit my intake of electronic media as much as possible. My personal presence on social media is limited to my friends and family so that I can keep up with the people who are important to me when I do spend time online. In an attempt to be frugal and to live within my means I make it a point to to avoid pressure to purchase things that I otherwise would not think to want. In action this means that I avoid Youtube videos of “shopping hauls” and unnecessary product reviews. These types of videos and pages have a tendency to make me want things that I do not need. 

I notice that this type of marketing through the ‘influencer’ persona, is especially effective if you regularly follow the person because then when they recommend a brand or product, it feels like the recommendation is coming from a trusted friend. They are able to employ strategies involving a stable foundation of trust and reliability which further encourages consumers to feel that they are making good purchasing decisions. Another strategy involved with influencer marketing is the focus on communication as opposed to promotion. We as consumers like to know that we are being communicated with about the best types of products, not promoted at. 

Influencers play many roles in marketing including advertising and public relations. By actively combining these two roles they are able to effectively reach more people by cutting out the middle man of disruptive ads. If you are both the ad and the content, consumers feel less disrupted.

The use of push vs. pull marketing perspectives impacts the relationship between the company and consumer on a level of trust. When a company tries to push new products into the market by force, consumers may feel like the company may not have their best interests in mind. The pull marketing perspective is one that is often used by influencers and is based on the idea that it is more effective to attract customers to you by listening to what they are asking for, and providing more of that. This encourages a more personal and trust based dialogue that keeps followers coming back for more. 

Whirlpool successfully met the wants and needs of their target audience by addressing the previously absent emotional dimensions that are related to housekeeping, cooking, and generally taking care of the family. Without these emotional dimensions, an appliance loses everything important that it actually does for a family. By acknowledging these emotional dimensions, Whirlpool was able to effectively engage with their target audience on a whole new  level. 

This successfully addresses the consumer experience by including the positive aspects of the experience on social media rather than just the negative aspects. Previously the only exposure on social media that they had was related to trouble shooting, but now they also have a space to focus on the family oriented positives.

Digital media followers on their main Facebook page are handled with as many individual responses as possible. When a customer has an issue with the product, they are responded to with help or directions. When someone is leaving a happy review they are thanked and encouraged. 

In order to make the social media experience more efficient it would be useful if they had a separate page or person to message for trouble shooting where they could redirect all of the negative or troublesome comments away from their positive advertising. This way people’s issues would not distract from the message that Whirlpool is trying to convey.

The sites and applications that I visit most frequently are Facebook, YouTube, Spotify, &

Google maps. Facebook is a social media and networking site that helps me to stay connected with people who I do not see that often. It also helps me to keep track of events in my area or groups that I am a part of. YouTube has been a great source of entertainment as well as a tool for learning about new skills and topics. I use Spotify to listen to music and podcasts and to create playlists to share with others. I also use it as a tool to keep my music organized and easy to access. Google maps has helped me to figure out how to get where I need to go at a moments notice and it has also helped me to learn my way around better so that I need to use it less.

I have positive reactions when the digital media that I use is functional and when it makes my life easier and more efficient. I tend to react positively to Spotify because it allows me to quickly and efficiently create playlists and share them with people. Spotify also has an intuitive layout and is easy to navigate. With as much as people complain about google maps, it has been one of the most helpful programs for me on my smartphone because it has saved me so much time figuring out where I am going and how to get there. One common theme between my positive reactions to these types of digital media is that they are purely functional. They do not try to sell me things and they are minimalistic in that I am getting exactly what I bargained for. 

I have mixed reactions to Facebook and Youtube because their advertisements feel invasive at times and because I feel that these applications are less utilitarian and more frivolous. For example, I waste a lot of time on Facebook and Youtube which can harm my personal relationships. 

I find that my needs are satisfied using digital media where I control the information that is fed to me rather than having a program guess what I want to see. For example, Facebook largely decides which of my friends I will see content from and they usually get my priorities wrong. I end up feeling that my needs are better satisfied when using the messenger app because then I can directly check in with the people who are important to me. 

The emails that I receive from companies mostly consist of advertisements from brands that I have purchased from in the past. None of these catch my attention because I have already tried the product and I know that it is not really as great as their ads are saying which makes me feel like they are trying to trick me. Honesty and authenticity in a brand draws me in, and this is rarely seen in automated emails from companies. Occasionally if I do have a subscription that is important to me I may look for emails from that company in order to make sure that I am still on the plan that works best for me. For example, my phone plan is necessary and I would want to know if anything changes with my phone company.

It seems like some companies are trying to use digital media to market their products in less gimmicky ways. In the past advertisements have been very cheesy or emotionally manipulative which can make the consumer feel belittled. The use of digital media in marketing today seems to be trying to appear more human by taking on deeper traits. One way that I see this happening  is through brands latching on to popular political opinions; for example: Dove and Gillette have used feminism in their ads. This tactic can also have the negative effect of making people feel like they are being pandered to, but by acknowledging the political dialogue that is happening heavily over social media, brands are able to appear more relevant.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton