Real-time marketing as a new marketing approach in the digital age: a study on the brands' social media sharings in Turkey

It can be said that the brands that shape marketing communications efforts due to developments in information communication technologies and changes in consumer structure have entered into a digital evolution process. In particular, the rapid spread of Web 2.0-based technologies among individuals, allowing users to create their own content and share it with the people they wish to have brought with it a number of differentiations in the structural features of communication. In order to respond to consumer expectations of brands in an intense flow of information and interactive process, adding digital content applications to marketing communication activities, unlike traditional efforts, seems to be an important move at this point. In order to manage changing consumer responses and create a positive perception of the brand, real-time marketing is an alternative digital marketing practice involving an interactive process that brands use. Real-time marketing, enabling the brand to differentiate itself from many similar brands in an increasingly competitive environment and enabling effective marketing communication at a low cost, is an online marketing communication effort that benefits brands both in establishing a functional relationship with the consumer and in strengthening brand-consumer relationships. The aim of the work is to demonstrate how the brands interact with Twitter in their real-time marketing efforts, content features, and message appeal that have enabled high-user interaction. Within the scope of this study, Twitter shares of Turkey's 100 brands were examined in 2016, which was determined by Brand Finance Brand Appraisal Agency. Of these brands, 26 were found to have real-time marketing sharing with at least one high-user interaction and a total of 185 Twitter shares were evaluated within the scope of the study. As a result of the studies, it has been determined that the brands are making efforts to establish the brand image in the consumer mind as a result of sharing. Besides, it has been determined that both the informational and emotional appeals are used intensively in order to create brand awareness on consumers.