Social Media: Harnessing The Power Of The Global Community.

Social Media and Business

With more than half of the population using social media, the relevance of social media in this digital era is unparallel. It is inevitable for businesses to create brand awareness without social media. In addition to brand awareness and visibility, social media acts as a valuable medium to gather all sorts of valuable customer insights, crucial point being that it helps to reach a vast audience at relatively low cost. While leveraging the powers of social media, it is crucial for brands to grasp and familiarize with some theories and try to inculcate them while navigating through social media.

1. Value creation

Consumers seek value from brands. Value creation involves engaging with the audience which goes beyond just promotion of goods and services. It helps the customer in achieving satisfaction with the content they perceive on social media. It gives brands more chance to be perceived by the customers from the media clutter. It is the value that the brand creates for the customer that acts as the bridge that connects the brand to the target audience, fostering trust and loyalty. It gives a boost to stand out from the crowd and combat the competition. One thing to keep in mind is that loyal customers are the key to success. Customer retention is only possible when they receive value for their time and money.

2. Exceptional content

With the increasing media clutter in social media spaces, it is vital to create such type of content that is engaging and captivating. Exceptional content rises above the noise, captivating users with its uniqueness, creativity, and relevance. A brand that truly stands out in the social media era is the one which creates exceptional content with the help of data-driven analysis. Brands nowadays focuses on inculcating entertainment in their content through use of memes. It has now become a trend that even famous and most popular brands use them to stay on top of their game. Unleash your potential in content creating, make use of trends and stunning visuals, invest in quality content and watch your brand soar and flourish.

3. Collaborating with other brands and influencers

Collaborations are another key to engage and increase customer base. Collaborating with other brands has now become essential part of growing brands. A brand wanting to reach and tap a new target market in this era should make use of collaborations to expand their network and customer base. Collaboration fosters positive relationships with other brands within your industry, opening doors for future partnerships. It is beneficial for both the parties as it allows sharing of resources which will ultimately help in better awareness and visibility of the brands. Strategic partnerships with brands that share your brand values is the key to unlock full potential of this theory. 

4. Data-Driven Decisions

Social media engagement is the key to brand growth. It becomes essential thus to ascertain the results of your marketing efforts and use that information in future. Data empowers brands to precisely target their ideal audience, understanding their demographics, interests, and behaviours. It helps in understanding the market better thus leading to better tailoring to customer requirements and increase in customer satisfaction. Also, by analysing emerging trends and customer behaviour shifts, brands can anticipate future needs and innovate accordingly. It can act as an efficient tool to mitigate risks by predicting market fluctuations and competitor strategy. 

 Track metrics, analyse results, and adapt your strategy based on insights. It's about diving deeper into meaningful metrics that reveal what's actually working and what isn't. Optimize content, target specific segments and shift resources based on what works. 

5. Market segmentation

Market segmentation involves dividing or segmenting the market into small groups. Instead of trying to catch everyone, try a more targeted approach which can yield better results.

Markets can be segmented on the basis of

• Demographic

Demographic segmentation involves dividing the market on the basis of demographic factors such as gender, age, income, occupation and so on.

• Geographic

It involves dividing the market on the basis of location such as country, region, city and so on. It aids to tailor marketing efforts to local preferences, customs, and regulations. 

• Psychographic

Goes beyond demographics to delve into customers' values, interests, lifestyles, and personalities.

• Behavioural 

Focuses on customers' past purchase behaviour, browsing habits, and engagement patterns. It focuses on past consumer behaviour and facilitates predicting future consumer behaviour.

As a brand navigating through the vast ocean of social media, it is essential to emphasize on certain markets as catering to the whole market can lead to wastage of efforts and might not yield result as expected. By continuously understanding and catering to its segmented audience, brands can navigate the ever-changing market with confidence and unlock sustainable growth.

6. Target Market

The markets which are segmented provides the basis for choosing the target market. It entails choosing to enter certain market segments and creating a curated marketing mix. Focusing on the right demographics, interests, and pain points allows you to craft content that resonates deeply leading to soaring engagement, smarter resource allocation and increasing conversions. It is vital to note that choosing a target market should a data driven decision based on research analysis. it's a continuous loop of research, analysis, and refinement.

7. Positioning

How does the customer view the brand?

What is the brand’s position in the minds of the customer?

This is where market positioning plays a predominant role. It is the answer to what position the brand holds in the minds of customers. Each brand is unique in its features and it is crucial to curate a personality for the brand. It's the strategic process of defining how your brand wants to be perceived by your target audience and differentiating itself from the competition.

By wielding the power of positioning, you can transform your social media presence from a scattered effort into a targeted, impactful force, attracting the right audience and leaving a lasting impression. Positioning a brand should be a very well researched decision as most of the times it can be an irreversible decision. However, we have seen instances where brands have repositioned themselves better when the former plan did not go as planned.

8. Consistency

Consistency is the key. Creating content incessant, tailored to your target group will create everlasting impact in the minds of customer about the brand. One thing to be kept in mind while creating content with consistency is to not compromise on the quality. Quality should be upheld with the quantity of the content. It aids in maintaining organic reach as algorithms and consistency go hand in hand. Besides Regular engagement fosters trust, knowing you're always there to answer questions and deliver value. Consistency is not about mindless repetition. It's about strategically maintaining core brand elements while creating refreshing content.

9. Porter’s five forces

Porter's Five Forces is a framework developed by Michael Porter to analyse the competitive landscape of an industry and assess its profitability potential.  It is crucial for brands to analyse the competitive landscape on social media, considering threats and competitions from alternative platforms, new entrants, and bargaining power of influencers and consumers. It encompasses of the following five forces:

• Threat of new entrants

      This refers to the ease with which new companies can enter the         industry and compete with existing firms

• Bargaining power of the suppliers

This refers to the ability of suppliers to raise their prices or reduce the quality of their goods or services.

• Bargaining power of buyers

This refers to the ability of buyers to negotiate lower prices or better terms from firms in the industry.

• Threat of substitutes

This refers to the availability of alternative products or services that can meet the same needs of customers as the products or services offered by firms in the industry

• Competitive rivalry

 This refers to the intensity of competition between existing firms in the industry

By studying these five forces, businesses can have better understanding of the environment around them and make wise informed decisions.

10. Golden ratio rule (30/60/10)

Golden ratio tule acts a guideline in social media marketing in terms of content that a brand creates and share to build engagement and image.

It suggests how resources and efforts should be allocated for each kind of content, i.e., it talks about content allocation. It proposes 30% owned, 60% curated, and 10% promotional content allocation.

• 30% owned: This is original content you create yourself, such as blog posts, infographics, videos, and photos showcasing your brand personality and expertise. 

• 60% curated: This involves sharing relevant and valuable content from other sources that aligns with your brand and interests your audience.

• 10% promotional: This is where you directly promote your products, services, or offers. Product launches, discounts and offers comes under this.

11. Embrace New Technologies

Technology is growing at a rampant rate, thus catching up with it becomes is essential for a brand to survive. Brands who embrace innovation and started incorporating new technologies are the ones who sustain in the long run. In this digital era which has grown into the world of artificial intelligence and VR experiences. New technologies offer fresh, engaging experiences that capture customer attention and keep them coming back for more.  Adopting innovation positions, you as a leader in the industry, attracting attention and establishing brand authority. It can aid in providing first-mover advantage.  It is inevitable for a brand to embrace them to sustain in this competitive world. Clinging into old traditions can lead brands to become obsolete and loss its market share to innovative competitors. Thus, it is crucial to invest in technologies that truly enhance your social media presence.

12. User-Generated Content (UGC) 

In the present time where authenticity and organic reach reign supreme, the vitality of user generated content stands unparallel. It is the driving force behind organic reach. It's about forging deeper connections, boosting engagement, and fostering brand loyalty. UGC showcases real people, real experiences, and real passion for your brand creating better trust and increases credibility. Potential customers are more likely to trust recommendations from real people than traditional marketing claims. Customer advocacy and cost effectiveness are what that makes user generated content even more attractive. It helps in building a sense of community that fosters sustainable growth for the brand. 

There are multiple ways to create UGC, online challenges, competitions, building strong social community are some of it. Let customers be your voice, grow your brand with authenticity and organic reach and stay relevant in times of this social media era.

13. Accessibility & Inclusivity

The time which we live in values accessibility and inclusivity, in consequence it is inevitable for brands to avoid it. A brand that values people and its social responsibility is the one which benefits long term commitment of customers. Demonstrating an inclusive approach through accessible social media showcases your commitment to diversity and social responsibility. Studies show that consumers increasingly gravitate towards brands that embrace inclusivity. Some of the ways to do so includes:

• Use of alt text for images

• Offer captions for videos: To help those who are deaf 

• Use inclusive content: Incorporate diversity, entail and embrace diverse cultures on your content and messages.

Consequently, it is necessary for brands to be accessible and inclusive not just as a mere obligation but as a strategic tool to build reputation and goodwill for your brand.

Social media is as vast as an ocean. Curating your space in it requires tons of research and informed decisions based on it. While these theories provide you the guidelines to create such space. In the end, it is at your end to choose what to implement based on what aligns with your brand’s values and objectives.