Social Media

Customer engagement in social media |

How can organizations benefit from social network sites? |

Contents

Social Media 3

Social Media Population 4

The Social Media Investment Theory 5

The Customer Engagement Cycle 6

How do we know customers are engaged? 7

Social Media Marketing in practice 7

The Peaks and Troughs 8

The Wrap Up 10

References 11

Social Media

“All one needs is a computer, a network connection, and a bright spark of initiative and creativity to join the economy.”

– Don Tapscott, Chairman of Tapscott Group

The fast evolution of technology and the dominance of social media in our day-to-day lives have led to an increased importance of networking and collaboration. The breadth of the Social Media Landscape, as seen in Figure 1, provides businesses with various tools and techniques to impact the minds of its customers.

Figure [ 1 ]: Social Media Landscape. Source: fredcavazza.net

Attention is the new currency and the magnitude of the social media landscape leads to severe fragmentation of the customer‘s attention (Pete Cashmore, 2009). ‘Consumers expect customisation (make it mine), communities (let me be part of it), multiple channels (let me call, click or visit), competitive value (give me more for my money) and choice (give me search and decision tools)’ (Wind, 2008). To ensure customer engagement, organisations must make their presence felt through various relevant platforms. Social Media has the ability to amplify word-of-mouth effects. Moreover, as mobile technology advances and smartphones increase their market penetration, individuals have access to social media anywhere (as long as there is a WiFi/3G coverage!). This feature of live posting gives social media incredible power, which organisations can harness by having a mobile friendly social media presence. Studies suggest that smartphones are the future of social networking, with Facebook users spending over 7 hours on the site via mobile browser...