Week 17 - Wrapping Up
I earned my undergraduate and masters degrees in business in the early 90's. My marketing classes focused on archaic tools such as direct mail, catalogs, and comment cards. The goal was to market "to" people. This class has completely changed my view of social media has impacted business' ability to reach markets and the resulting shift to an interactive environment with two way communication.
This class gave me not only the technical knowledge to be able to create a variety of social media accounts, but also the insight to get the greatest value from each platform. For example, with Facebook, I learned about the different analytical tools and data that Facebook provides. I also learned about helpful hints such as "business likes."
On the surface, social media appears to be an "easy" marketing tool. However, I learned in this class that effective social media marketing requires the manpower to make consistent posts with consistent messages, and the manpower to timely respond to both positive and negative comments. Timing and scheduling are critical with posts and responses. Social media for business clearly requires a social media strategy.
This class reinforced that business owners and managers must anticipate the next big social media trends. While Facebook may lead in number of users, businesses should anticipate more possible restrictions on advertising through algorithm modifications or other changes. Understanding key demographics such as target market age is critical in identifying which social media platforms will be most valuable.
If I were to create my own small business, I would start with Facebook and Instagram was initial social media platforms. I would pay close attention to the effectiveness of imagery. I would make use of Facebook analytics to monitor the effective of my posts and to determine if I were reaching my target market. If I were to go back into business or financial analysis, I would use tools such as Google Analytics to gather and analyze data.
I look forward to applying my new social media skills to new endeavors.
This class gave me not only the technical knowledge to be able to create a variety of social media accounts, but also the insight to get the greatest value from each platform. For example, with Facebook, I learned about the different analytical tools and data that Facebook provides. I also learned about helpful hints such as "business likes."
On the surface, social media appears to be an "easy" marketing tool. However, I learned in this class that effective social media marketing requires the manpower to make consistent posts with consistent messages, and the manpower to timely respond to both positive and negative comments. Timing and scheduling are critical with posts and responses. Social media for business clearly requires a social media strategy.
This class reinforced that business owners and managers must anticipate the next big social media trends. While Facebook may lead in number of users, businesses should anticipate more possible restrictions on advertising through algorithm modifications or other changes. Understanding key demographics such as target market age is critical in identifying which social media platforms will be most valuable.
If I were to create my own small business, I would start with Facebook and Instagram was initial social media platforms. I would pay close attention to the effectiveness of imagery. I would make use of Facebook analytics to monitor the effective of my posts and to determine if I were reaching my target market. If I were to go back into business or financial analysis, I would use tools such as Google Analytics to gather and analyze data.
I look forward to applying my new social media skills to new endeavors.
Although my background in business is not as strong as yours I have been apart of entrepreneurship, lots of experience in building business' and formal education and can relate to the hesitation of social media and being more comfortable with older tools. I can also relate in how much my attitude has changed.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, social media has potential to be very effective and useful but it is not necessarily a means of "easy" marketing. Good content and timing still matter, as you said.