Marketing analysis of current and future strategies of Facebook

Aim

The purpose of this assignment is to again provide you with an opportunity to apply knowledge, theory, frameworks and tools from the early part of the unit to an analysis of the strategy and strategic practices of a real organization. In this assignment, you will work to analyze the strategies pursued by Facebook since its creation. You will evaluate marketing-related strategies and their effectiveness and relate those real-life experiences to relevant research and theory. The aim is to provide experience of marketing analysis and practice and to determine your ability to relate real marketing strategy to theory and research.

The Overall Task

Facebook Inc is a global online social network that has about one billion member accounts. However the organization is less than 10 years old. Despite the intense media excitement when Facebook listed as a public company in May 2012, the share price has bobbed around quite a bit since. Many business analysts are beginning to question the company's long-term viability because it is difficult to discern a coherent business strategy.

Your task in this case analysis is to answer two questions by critically analyzing Facebook's history, resources and market situation. Please do not just describe events, although you should read Facebook's history to understand the background to your analysis. You should use the principles and concepts that you have learned throughout the unit to answer the following three questions:

1. What marketing strategy or strategies has Facebook adopted since it was created? Answer this question by applying one or more of the theoretical approaches discussed in the course.

2. What marketing options can you describe for Facebook if it wishes to remain a successful organization throughout the next decade? Answer this question based on the circumstances that exist in 2014 and your best forecasts of relevant future industry factors.

These are wide-ranging questions and you should undertake extensive independent research into Facebook and its industry. You should explore different aspects of these issues and incorporate them into your report. This is a practical assessment of a real company, but you need to show an understanding of theory and research in your evaluation and suggestions.

The Paper begins with an introduction into the topic for investigation, after postulating it; the paper provides a background of Facebook as a company and as a business.

This paper undertakes an in-depth analysis of the Marketing strategies adopted by Facebook over the years, and to understand it, the researcher conducted an STP (segmenting, targeting, and positioning) analysis. The paper also goes on to briefly explain the marketing mix (4 p's) to get an understanding of Face book's marketing strategy.

Finally, the paper ends with 5 marketing suggestions for Facebook that would help the company thrive and survive like it is doing currently in the long term. The paper concludes with the finding that, though there are certain hiccups and problems here and there, there is no reason to believe that Facebook is here to stay for a very long time to come, if it takes a few steps to mitigate the current challenges and future threats that it can face.