Internet usage around the globe has increased over the years and this has led to more digital awareness among individuals. According to a report, 62.5% of the total world population had access to the internet in January 2022, which makes 4.95 billion people (DataReportal, 2022). These stats indicate the increased usage of the internet and how more than half of the worlds’ population is connected through the internet. As the internet provides them with a wide variety of options and services to enjoy. Thus opening the scope of opportunities for the individuals, and simultaneously it has also broadened the scope for the marketers and now they are more efficiently able to reach the consumers.
The large communication barriers between the marketer and the consumer are now minimized, as now they can also develop direct contact with the help of the internet. As compared to the traditional model of communication between consumers and marketers where they could not interact directly. The internet has largely impacted the ways in which consumers and marketers act and it has modified their relationship (Virginia Tech, 2015).
Netnography is yet a new concept that has been developed with the rapid involvement of the internet in the lives of people. Netnography can be termed as the newly developed branch associated with ethnography, as ethnography is the study of people, their culture and how they behave. Similarly, Netnography is termed as the behaviour of individuals on online platforms and their internet usage. The online buying behaviour and the surfing behaviour through the internet can be termed Netnography. However, this behaviour is free which is being analyzed and acts as a tool for assisting the marketing by collecting the data of the consumers. The online research techniques are used in order to provide insights about the consumer by analyzing their behaviour on the online platforms associated with internet usage (Karr, 2020).
The ethnography has the steps involved which are overlapping with the ethnography which includes the development of research plan, establishment of entrée, collection of data, interpretation of data, ethical standards maintenance and the representation of the research (Kozinets, 2010).
Netnography studies the behaviour and attitudes of the people which can be used in marketing to depict the behaviour of the consumers. This behaviour helps to analyze the purchasing patterns and even though these patterns of people on the internet the target audience for the product can also be defined and targeted based upon the marketing tools. This is the way in which the data is automatically generated for the companies based upon the online behaviour of people. This instantaneous availability of the data serves to be advantageous for the corporations and the businesses in gauging the customers based upon their choices (Karr, 2020).
Netnography provides information regarding the choice of the consumers, their income levels, pain points, influences and the things that they are interested in based upon their search patterns. This data from the Netnography can be helped to analyze the needs of the customers, as people act freely on the social media platforms and express themselves in most cases. Social media has a great influence and contribution to the Netnography as most individuals are seen using social media accounts to look for things, and like, comment or save the products that they like or are interested in (Pacific Lutheran University, 2017).
Yes, that is the reason why most of the time we get suggestions for the products that we have been looking for. The products that are searched recently also tend to appear as advertisements on social media accounts. This is due to the netnography by seeing the interest of individuals that marketers target the consumer based upon their choices and searches that are tracked.
Influencer marketing has raised around the globe with the rapid development and usage of social media over the past few years. The influencers are likely to impact the choice of consumers thus changing consumer buying behaviour. Most businesses are likely to hire influencers for the campaigns or to promote their product so that they reach their target audience. People make choices based upon the suggestion provided by the influencers thus increasing the sales of the business. The interactions with the brand based upon influencer marketing help to track the way in which people behave. This also helps to understand the ways in which the consumers react to the promotion of the products done by the influencers (Doering, 2018).
Influencer marketing helps the brands to achieve their goals associated with sales and overall awareness of the business. The consumers are likely to interact with the stories and posts of the influencers leaving their remarks regarding the product or the service that is being promoted. These comments and the interactions of people on the post of the influencer acts as the source of data collection for the netnography. The netnography also helps to choose the influencer that would be suitable for the brand based upon the type of audience that interacts with the influencer (Ijtsma & Meister, 2018).
The participation of the consumer is natural on the internet as they tend to search for their interest and hobbies and select the products based upon their choice. The netnography is the pure form of research that allows studying of the behaviour of the individual in the natural environment without any interference. With the help of netnography, the brand can recognize the features of the brand that are common with the group of individuals and target them saving upon the marketing costs (eCmetrics, n.d.). The feedback upon the product can also be gained using netnography as a tool as it provides an insight into the things that are liked by the consumers and the things that are being avoided.
Netnography along with influencer marketing can be used as an essential tool to find the target audience and provide them with the products based upon their choice. The usage and effectiveness of netnography have increased with the usage of the internet.
Selda Eski
#netnography #influencermarketing #ethnography #socialmedia
References
DataReportal, 2022. Digital Around the World. [Online]
Available at: https://datareportal.com/global-digital-overview#:~:text=4.95%20billion%20people%20around%20the,of%20the%20world's%20total%20population.
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Doering, K., 2018. Social Media Research in Netnography & Influencer Marketing. [Online]
Available at: https://smra-global.org/page-18090/6109810
[Accessed 28 February 2022].
eCmetrics, n.d. Netnography as a Strategic Tool. [Online]
[Accessed 2022 February 2022].
Ijtsma, N. & Meister, L., 2018. Social Media Influencers. [Online]
Available at: https://issuu.com/nienke_ijtsma/docs/nienke_laurens_projecty
[Accessed 28 February 2022].
Karr, D., 2020. What is Netnography?. [Online]
Available at: https://martech.zone/what-is-netnography/
[Accessed 28 February 2022].
Kozinets, R. V., 2010. Netnography: The Marketer’s Secret Weapon, s.l.: Netbase.
Pacific Lutheran University, 2017. Netnography: Obtaining Social Media Insight. [Online]
Available at: https://www.plu.edu/msma/blog/netnography-obtaining-social-media-insight/
[Accessed 28 February 2022].
Virginia Tech, 2015. Internet has profoundly changed consumers and marketers, say Pamplin marketing scholars. [Online]
Available at: https://vtx.vt.edu/articles/2015/06/061615-pamplin-whatwebuy.html
[Accessed 28 February 2022].
Thanks to your blog post, I learned about how the global rate of internet usage has increased over time. This figure is woefully inadequate. In the year 2022, 62.5 percent of the world's population is extremely small. More people require internet access. I had never heard of netnography before reading your blog, and I'm glad I did. It's fascinating to see how this concept aids in the analysis of purchasing patterns. In addition, according to search patterns, Netnography provides information about consumers' preferences, income levels, pain points, effects, and interests, positively affecting human life. In a nutshell, I appreciate your efforts and your blog.
ReplyDeleteNetnography is a type of social listening that investigates users' discussions in their natural environment in order to figure out what makes them tick. Drilling down into consumer discussions of this nature goes far beyond demographics to gain a thorough understanding of various groups' goals, interests, lingo, and culture. This is vital for brand marketing since you can create a relationship once you speak their language. Brands can employ netnography in influencer marketing initiatives, according to the blog. The author has done an excellent job of explaining how Netnography, in conjunction with influencer marketing, may be utilized to locate the target demographic. This is a fantastically interesting and well-written blog.
ReplyDeleteNetnography is a new concept for me, first of all thank you for posting about Netnography. I never heard it before but after reading this I understand about Netnography. The author had described it very well and it is easy to understand for the people who don't know about the Netnography. Netnography is a type of research method that enables for the examination of an individual's behavior in their natural surroundings without any interference. The blog has focused on social media marketing with influence marketing, The influencer's netnography also enables in the selection of the right influencer for the brand based on the type of audience that engages with the influencer. Thank you for posting this blog.
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