What is a Social Media Strategy for Mobile?
Many local businesses have misconceived notions about the purpose of a social media strategy. Often they don’t understand what goals should be set when implementing a social media strategy. One ofthe most common misunderstandings about social media is that it is primarily a tool for businesses to increase sales and promotethemselves.
Social media is often mistaken for a new method of advertising.
Businesses can advertise on social media, but that is not a social media strategy. It is advertising. Advertising on social media sites should be part of an advertising campaign, just like advertising on television,radio, billboards, in print media, etc. Advertising is important, and social media is not a substitute for advertising. Local businesses should have both advertising and social media strategies in place. The two should compliment each other in order to effectively increase the business’ customer base while maintaining its current customer base.
There is one key difference between advertising and social media. Advertising is one‐way, and social media is two‐way. Advertising is about sending a message from one entity to another, and there is no expectation for a verbal or textual response. Social media is about creating a dialogue. It is a two‐way conversation between multiple parties, where each participant can respond directly to messages.Social media helps businesses better understand customer needs. It also strengthens the relationship between the customer and the business. Customers are more likely to do repeat business when they feel like their relationship with a business extends beyond financial transactions.
The greatest value that social media has for local businesses is the ability to better manage customer relationships.
That is something that many organizations do not understand, and as a result they forfeit quality customer insights. The inability to see how social media directly impacts overall revenues is the primary reason why most companies overlook the importance of social media. This is a huge mistake, and it can have strong negative implications. Many business owners view social media as a tool, and not a strategy. They think that the purpose of social media is to create an additional income stream for their business. Unfortunately, very few industries have been able to directly monetize social media. As a result, too many business owners are simply writing off social media altogether.