2. 考研
  3. There is much hype about social networks and their potential impact on marketing; so many companies are diligently establishing

There is much hype about social networks and their potential impact on marketing; so many companies are diligently establishing

admin2014-06-25  50
问题     There is much hype about social networks and their potential impact on marketing; so many companies are diligently establishing presences on Facebook. Yet the true value of social networks remains unclear, and while common wisdom suggests that they should be tremendous enablers and amplifiers of word of mouth, few consumer companies have unlocked this potential.
    More recently, we have adopted a new mind-set: we think of word of mouth generated on social networks as a distinct form of media. This idea is more than a semantic detail. When you think of word of mouth as media, it becomes a form of content, and businesses can apply tried-and-true content-management practices and metrics to it. In addition, word of mouth generated by social networks is a form of marketing that must be earned—unlike traditional advertising, which can be purchased. Therefore, companies could succeed only by being genuinely useful to the individuals who initiate or sustain virtual world-of-mouth conversations.
    An effective way for a brand to be useful in the context of social networks is to make people who o-riginate a word-of-mouth conversation seem important within their own social environment. Recognition by peers is a powerful motivator, and brands that allow users to gain it deliver real perceived value. When users publicize that recognition, it translates into word of mouth.
    Never underestimate the value consumers place on opportunities to boast online about their achievements. For example, when members boast of reaching their target weight with help from Bodybuilding. com workouts, we receive authentic and credible word-of-mouth approval at almost no cost. In fact, if recent behavioral research is accurate, these experiences can create "contagions" in which the behavior of users is mirrored by their networks of friends, amplifying the word-of-mouth effect and reflecting well on the underlying brands.
    It’s our strong intuition that virtual items play an important role in facilitating virtual word of mouth. People’s obsessive acquirement for virtual items reinforces our notion that users seek online importance; they purchase virtual goods primarily for self-expression and for recognition. Virtual gifting is becoming an important consumer activity among Facebook members. Today, much of this activity is free, but Facebook is introducing a virtual-currency "credit" system that will allow sellers to get real dollars for their gifts. In the context of a social network, it is not a stretch to conceive of virtual gifts as important objects, especially as their availability can be strictly limited. Just think about the fervor consumers accord collectibles of all kinds, from baseball cards to coins. If virtual items prove similarly desirable, they are likely to be a big deal for consumers and marketers, as well as a great tool to create useful word-of-mouth media.
    Word-of-mouth marketing through social networks could emerge as an important tool in the marketer’s arsenal. That will depend on whether marketers can tame the fundamentally unpredictable and accidental nature of word of mouth without losing what makes it so valuable in the first place—its authenticity.
Virtual items may produce powerful word of mouth when______.
选项 A、they can be traded for real dollars
B、they are not viewed as important objects
C、they can confer social importance on its users
D、they are readily available
答案C
解析 根据题干直接定位到第五段。该段第二句解释了人们对于获取虚拟商品欲罢不能的原因所在：使用者寻求网络重要性——他们购买虚拟商品主要是为了自我表达与获取认可。据此可推理出，虚拟商品若使得消费者在其网络社交环境里显得重要，则可生出强有力的口碑，[C]选项正确。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/UUK4777K
0

考研英语一

相关试题推荐
随机试题
最新回复(0)