Week 3: Social Networking

Social media platforms had indeed taken over the world by storm and I am not alarmed to learn that companies are jumping on the bandwagon of social networking on various platforms.

So what is SOCIAL NETWORKING? 

"Social networking is the practice of expanding the number of one's business and/or social contacts by making connections through individuals. While social networking has gone on almost as long as societies themselves have existed, the unparalleled potential of the Internet to promote such connections is only now being fully recognized and exploited, through Web-based groups established for that purpose." source

It is true that if those companies that does not engage in any form of social media as part of their communication tools, it is very likely that they will lose out. Big companies will benefit more from social networking and small companies will have a stable headstart. With the advance of technology and Internet, consumers and clients are able to look at the companies social media accounts and make their respective decision on whether to buy the products and engage in their services.

Check this out, 60 seconds of social media sharing. It is amazing how these statistics speaks about social media.

Since social media networking is so prevalent nowadays, every company is jumping on the bandwagon in the hope of gaining more brand awareness and followings but! not every company is successful in doing so. To be successful, it is important to know the suitability of the target audience and the company products. For instance, it will be a nono if the target audience are senior citizens, brand awareness will not be spread successfully. 

Social networking is all about sharing information and SPREADDDD DA WORD.

Let me introduce one company that uses social networking to be EVEN more successful in building their customer base & loyalty to the brand.

Starbucks itself was already a very successful household name. Although Starbucks has several social media platforms like facebook, twitter, instagram and many more. I would like to focus on their twitter account just to give you a breakdown on how they connect with their followers.

Let's take a look at their twitter account @Starbucks. With over 7 million followers and counting and frequent updates of relevant engaging tweets such as the ones below:

From engaging with their followers by retweeting their tweet to Starbucks and answering questions, it goes to show that Starbucks actually acknowledged and paid attention to tweets directed at them. Be it customers or followers, I am sure they will feel appreciated that their online voices were recognized. Starbucks try to connect to the followers on a personal level. Note: look at the number of retweet and favourites it garnered from every tweet!

use of visuals and wait, what? they even have a Pinterest account? A for effort.

Hungry yet? oooo, & the use of hashtag!

Advertising tweet.

It is not difficult to see why they are still so successful. New or small companies could really learn a thing or two from Starbucks on how they connect with people online and how they manage their platforms.