Home » Fact Sheets » Internet Marketing, Social Media & the Prosumer
An empowered consumer, the prosumer is one who "is highly knowledgeable about products and services and can play a key role in improving these products and services" (Diffley et al., 2011). And, in the digital information age, social media is the perfect platform in which to develop and engage these highly educated consumers.
All of us are familiar with social media such as Facebook and Twitter; however, it is the unique characteristics of these technologies that have, in part, developed the sophisticated prosumers of today. As Diffley et al. (2011) state, prosumers are not a new breed. Nonetheless, with social media, consumers can access, interact and share like never before. This means that knowledge, ideas, opinions and attitudes about products, services, brands, employees and businesses are also transmitted like never before.
There are two main implications of the online prosumer for business. The first is that when marketing online, the business must cater to the characteristics of the prosumer. Marketing, especially via social media sites, must be adapted toward the all-important prosumer. If not, time, effort and marketing investment dollars are essentially being wasted. Secondly, business must not see the empowered prosumer as a monster. Instead, they are a resource. Their feedback, comments and online chatter can be used to improve and strengthen products, services and brands.
The social media prosumer can be one of business' greatest assets.
References
Phone 1800 288 944 Email contact@zanity.com.au Address Offices Australia Wide