Your task for this assessment is to demonstrate your understanding of the power of the web to connect communities. The development of the internet from the mid 1990s (much like the development of TV in the 1950s) has completely changed the way consumers interact with companies and products. Your task for this assessment is to develop greater depth to your understanding of the opportunities that the web now provides. Choose one of the following corporate websites for which you will write a case study (for ideas on what a ‘case study’ should contain, look through the opening cases for each chapter of the text):
• Qantas – https://www.facebook.com/Qantas
• RacingthePlanet – https://www.facebook.com/RacingThePlanet
• Asian Heart Institute – https://www.facebook.com/Asian.Heart.Hospital
The principal question to answer is: How do social media and consumer-generated content change the way marketers operate?
In your report, you should address the following issues:
1. Provide a brief overview of the company, its products, history, etc.
2. Investigate how many friends the company has and what facilities, resources and activities, they provide on their Facebook page? Does the company actually ‘sell’ through Facebook or is the site only about connections? What is the significance of consumer-generated content for this company and its products?
3. Why would Facebook customers want to befriend this company? Consider issues of consumer trust, market and media fragmentation and the type of E-Business Model that the company uses. How does the Facebook page build and maintain customer relationships?
4. If you were to advise a small business that is thinking of setting up their own Facebook page, based on your analysis of the company page and your learning about consumer-generated content, provide and justify 3 key points that the small business should consider.
Submission guidelines
• Your report should include at least 10 references, of which 6 are journal articles.
• The report should include standard report styling (numbered headings, clear introduction and conclusion, an executive summary, table of contents and table of figures and tables as appropriate, and a reference list). Proper academic referencing is required using the Harvard style