Women are the main target audience for Procter and Gamble – the manufacturer of household consumer products like the soap, detergent, toothpaste etc. Recently the marketing chief of the company, Marc Pritchard announced that the company would concentrate its efforts and put more money in social media promotion than ever before.
Lifestyles of women everywhere have undergone a lot of change over the last few decades. The number of working women has increased many folds and this has resulted in a change of tastes and habits among women. For example, the soap operas, which were hugely popular among majority of women, are losing their popularity to reality and talk shows. Women have a very busy schedule these days and many of them prefer to devote their free time to social networking sites and online media rather than watching television.
Till date Procter and Gamble has sponsored production of 20 soap operas for both TV and radio, but is now shifting its focus to social media. Although the exact amount is not known, the company has decided to considerably reduce its spending on buying commercials on daytime soap operas and concentrate on social media. The company has started promoting diapers on Facebook and issued a menstrual cycle tracking application on iPhone from Always feminine products.
The importance of social media marketing is increasing rapidly in today’s world. Social media has changed the way people consume news and communicate. Television provides only one-way communication and is very expensive. Social media and networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube provide a more personal and customized medium to communicate with the target audiences at a much lower cost.