Marketing is an integral part of society today as it moves toward the world of online spaces. There has been a dramatic shift in how society functions and how people interact with one another. Social media is a prevalent aspect of people’s lives as they engage with content through platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and Twitter throughout the day. Even if one does not personally use these apps, they are still considered a hot topic of conversation and not something that can be ignored.
Big brands and organizations have realized this increase in social media use over the years and have taken the opportunity to use it as a marketing strategy. Companies have been able to grow their own brands through official social media accounts. Harrigan and Hulbert (2011) explain that “in marketing, technology has driven new approaches and techniques, such as developing customer insight, web analytics, dashboards, search engine optimization, and social media marketing” (254). Marketing is a great way to boost social engagement strategies between the company and its customers (Schulz, Martin, and Meyer 2017: 1296). Companies can accomplish this through a tactic called storytelling. Storytelling is effective due to the way the brain functions. The brain stores episodic memories, so that when something is mentioned or seen that relates to the memory, it causes the brain to remember. Successful marketing tells a story that the customer then internalizes and unconsciously remembers in association with the brand. The story is meant to relate to the brand’s values at its core, which reflects positively on the customer’s perception of the brand (Mucundorfeanu 2018). Marketing can be used in many ways it just depends on the execution of it that makes it successful and effectively accomplishes the company’s goal.