Social network marketing strategy
| Social network marketing strategy |
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| See also |
Social network marketing is a new era of marketing, which gives new opportunities in acquiring customers and enables other ways to convey information [1]. It is a type of marketing that allows you to send information that should reach a given person at a given time. It allows you to define customer preferences, what they are interested in and what products can catch their attention. In a social network, company representatives build relationships with new clients and maintain and expand those already gained. In a social network, they share product information, encourage customers to share product reviews and provide new ideas. In a social network, a company can answer consumer doubts. Marketing in social networks can be very beneficial for companies.
Social media strategy
Formulating a personal social media strategy helps:
- define expectations which can be determined as personal, professional or both of them
- indicate the group of recipients the company cares about the most- private or public
- determine resources and the nature of the business
Company strategy in social media can be assigned to one of four separate categories [2]
- Predictive practitioner- the strategy is then limited to a specific area, e.g. customer service. It is suitable for companies that need results thanks to the tools. They allow the company to avoid uncertainty. Suppliers constantly communicate with clients by asking them about their needs and ideas for further development or product change.
- Creative experimenter- in companies that use such strategies, uncertainty about the success of a given experiment or change is allowed. Products are often tested to find new functions. They gain knowledge from portals such as Facebook and Twitter.
- Social media champion- these are large marketing campaigns, very well thought out and developed, which have specific results. There is visible cooperation at many levels and very well organized communication. There are people there who manage project management in social media. They define the principles and guidelines that the company follows in advertising on social media. It is very important for organizations adopting these strategies to talk together and learn from their experiences.
- Social media transformer- this strategy also includes external stakeholders who create social projects. These include business partners and clients. The projects have a wide-scale, cover many departments and aim to improve many functions. Some people define how they should function to be up to date with the expectations of customers.
Opportunities and Risks
The constant increase in the popularity of social media requires companies to expand their participation in this form of advertising. Websites help to attract new customers, acquire new information, define their needs and facilitate communication. There is also a risk associated with this form of marketing.
Opportunities [3]
- way to gain brand loyalty thanks to the independent opinion of the consumer
- help in creating innovation thanks to direct contacts with clients and information obtained from them on preferences and suggestions for development
- help in brand analysis and market research
- social media is a source of information for customers exchanging opinions about products
- way to promote business extensively
Risks [4]
- social networks distribute bad information about the company very quickly and extensively. It can damage the company's image
- consumers who are not satisfied with the service or product can share this information on social media and discourage other customers
- social media is not as censored as the mainstream media, so anyone can say whatever they want.
- The biggest problem is privacy and online security
Differences between traditional media and social media
Stephan Dahl indicates that the main difference that is often overlooked is the private and public nature of traditional and social media [5]. Product ratings and customer reviews are not shared with others. In social media, product opinion is created on a mass scale, people constantly exchange opinions, which is why they are marketing creators. This is public opinion. The evaluation of traditional media takes place in private, not collectively like social media. New media provide many more possibilities. They are easier to convey new information and provide it in a way that traditional media would not be able to do. Social media's main features are fast information [6]. The arrival of social media led to effortless contact and communication of consumers to each other in global marketing [7]. It is worth investing in social media, because their profitability is manifested not only in the return of the number of consumers but also are the easiest way to consumers, their data and shopping trends [8].
References
- Abzari M., Ghassemi RA., Vosta LN (2014)., Analysing the effect of social media on brand attitude and purchase intention: the case of Iran Khodro company Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences
- Albarran A. (2013)., The Social Media Industries. Routlege, New York
- Assaad W., Gómez JM. (2011)., Social Network in marketing (Social Media Marketing) Opportunities and Risks, International Journal of Managing Public Sector Information and Communication Technologies
- Bolotaeva V., Cata T.(2010)., Marketing Opportunities with Social Networks, Journal of Internet Social Networking and Virtual Communities
- Dahl S. (2018)., Social Media Marketing: Theories and Applications, Sage, UK
- Godes D., Mayzlin D. (2004)., Using online conversations to study word-of-mouth communication, Marketing Science
- Ozuem W., Bowen G. (2016).,Competitive Social Media Marketing Strategies, IGI Global, USA
- Saravanakumar M., SuganthaLakshmi T. (2012)., Social Media Marketing, Life Science Journal
- Wilson HJ., Guinan PJ., Parise S., Weinberg BD.,(2011).,What's your social media strategy?, Harvard Business Review
Footnotes
Author: Karolina Kaleta
