WK 2 DQ 2

MELISSA

The purpose of this assignment is to explore the use of social media in the world of marketing and what companies need to do to embrace the movement. One will also consider how impactful the mobile campaign is for the business industry. It is not surprising with 50% of the population being under the age of 30, the ROI for businesses investing in mobile is priceless (equalman, 2016).

Developed as a tool used to connect people, social media has evolved to become a movement in itself with the results being hugely profitable for companies who leverage it correctly. It is crazy to think, but the birth of social media is relatively new. Beginning with the birth of “Myspace in 2003, Facebook in 2004, Twitter in 2006, Instagram in 2010, Pinterest and Snapchat in 2011, and Periscope in 2015” social media is only around 15 years old (Mashable, Inc., 2005-2017). Most adults would look back on their 15-year-old self and say “what was I thinking?”. This is the prime age for mistakes to be made and lessons to be learned.

Each user of social media must use it responsibly with the best of intentions and businesses are no different. According to Eric Qualman, in our privacy-free world businesses need to embrace social media and mobile by using the platform to be vocal and bring about change through the online conversation (Harnish, 2016). Companies can influence the social media stage by acknowledging when mistakes, missteps, or misspoken words are made public by following the three steps below:

1.    Through being honest and authentic, one should be vocal about the flaw or mistake that was made

2.    Fix it – publicly acknowledge the plan to fix the error

3.    Follow up – After fixing it, it behooves businesses to discusses the steps to prevent the issue from occurring again which will instill confidence from consumers and can make you more profitable                                                                                           (Harnish, 2016).

Another thing companies can do to be at the forefront of this pivotal podium is by designing websites with mobile in mind (Harnish, 2016). Mobile technology is the future and when businesses are implementing the 80/20 rule, 20% of what you do drives 80% of your business, this step cannot be expressed enough (Harnish, 2016).

With one out of three marriages beginning on social media and more people owning a mobile device than a toothbrush, the power and influence of social media are undeniable (equalman, 2016). If businesses don’t embrace this new era, it will be only a matter of time before the current era will move past the company marking its failure for the future.

References

Equalman. (2016, Oct 25). Socialnomics 2017. Retrieved by https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWa8-43kE-Q

Harnish, V. (2016 June 13). Erik Qualman, author of Socialnomics, talks with Verne Harnish. Retrieved by https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg46O7c0z9M

Mashable, Inc. (2005-2017). 5 powerful ways social media has forever altered the way we do business. Retrieved by http://mashable.com/2016/09/14/5-ways-social-media-changed-business/#HgYqFLfROaqp