Digital Marketing Strategy Assessment Answer

In the twenty-first century, the social media has enabled people to share their opinions all around the world. Until now, there were sections of society with uncommon interests who were isolated from each other. But through blogging, the people are able to connect with each other and share their common and uncommon interests. The impact that blogging has put on the people and society is huge!
Nowadays, the traditional commercials are losing reach. The companies are cutting spending on magazine print advertisements and commercials and putting it in digital marketing. The people, especially kids, used to get impressed by the celebrities and heroes who endorsed any brand and followed them but today, the kids want to be a famous blogger or a famous you-tuber. People have started blogging, and they follow ‘Instagram', and they buy whatever the influencers tell them to buy. Blogging and digital marketing have gained enormous marketing power through influencers. The influencers’ uses social media like Instagram, blogs, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest to influence people and consumers ("Blogging is More Important Today than Ever Before", 2013). The companies in beauty sector, airline, etc. uses blogs and influencers for gaining the confidence of customer these days. The main reason due to which people follow them is that they feel like ‘they are catching up with a friend.' In a report of Affilinet Trust Index, the consumers were asked that whose opinion they trust the most, and it was found that consumers trust family's opinion the most, then of friends, bloggers on number three and on the fourth number they trust the social media contacts. The celebrities were on a much lower rank when the trust was considered. Also, the top five followers on Instagram are not for brands, but for influencers. Influencers these days have become very powerful, and they are the ones who are setting new trends ("Blogging Impact on Society | Persuade Me!", 2012). A manager is appointed to manage the influencers who takes care of what they wear, how they look, what they talk etc. Through blogging and influencers, the companies are generating more customers from less budget. They are continuously keeping a track of who is reading their content when they are reading, how frequently their link is getting clicked etc. Blogging helps in driving traffic to the websites of companies, and it also helps in establishing authority by answering the questions that customers have. 
The influencers and blogging are not similar to advertisements. Ads talk at the customer, but blogs help in talking with the customer. In ads, the people cannot share their opinions with the company but by way of blogs or through influencers, the customer can easily share their opinions about the product. Ads are considered as commercials, but influencers give a more personal experience to the customers.
KFC published an ad in the print media in 2016 which was regarded as one of the best ads in Australia ("Finger Lickin’ Good Cutlery, 1", 2016):

This ad was based on a simple insight that the products of KFC are best eaten with hands. Hands become cutlery when people eat KFC. By seeing this ad; the people viewed KFC as food that is eaten to get relaxed and it helps a person to be themselves, no matter who he is or from where he belongs. The hands in the picture showed different types of cutlery which depicted that people can have their personality that may be distinct from others. People could get associated with this ad as it gave them a personal experience rather than a commercial and they could get associated with it.