Social Media Strategy for an Online Platform

Abstract

Everyone uses the Internet – especially social media – to communicate, participate, and interact with each other. Communication via social media has long since become the norm (White, 2016). Instead of exchanging ideas in small groups as before the Web 2.0 revolution, it is now possible to reach thousands of people around the world with just a few mouse clicks. Anyone who can use an Internet browser, can also set up a blog, write articles and express their opinion to the world – regardless of the accuracy or appropriateness of the content (Mangold & Faulds, 2009). It has meanwhile become clear to most companies that communication via social media is indispensable (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2011). Social media has evolved into a recognized marketing discipline in recent years and is used throughout the marketing mix (Grabs, Bannour, & Vogl, 2017). The goal that every company strives for using social media is to be found online. The more vivid and interactive the presence on social networks is designed, the more customer feedback is generated (Eng, 2017). However, this situation not only opens new opportunities but also risks for companies. The importance of customer satisfaction increases enormously through social media – a dissatisfied customer can represent a serious threat to a brand today (Aula, 2010). Due to the relative novelty of social media and the lack of know-how in many companies it is of enormous importance for companies to be aware of the goals, procedures and risks of their social media strategy in advance. Like any other marketing activity, a successful social media strategy is based on a sophisticated and well thought-out strategy, because only a consistent strategy can help to reach goals more securely and quickly. Furthermore, a consistent strategy also supports companies in avoiding risks and generally being more successful on the social web in the long run (Grabs, Bannour, & Vogl, 2017).