Best practices and benefits of social media for companies
Social media plays a vital role in businesses by enhancing communications and connections. Networking can enhance partnership and improve relationships among customers and businesses. The purpose of building relationships is to enhance the brand value and website traffic of the company. Social media can reach the target audiences and create potential customers.
Description of best practices in social media analytics
Social media analytics mainly involves analysis and gathering of data using Facebook, Twitter, or any such social networks. Businesses and marketers usually use this tool to track conversations and engage customers. Conversations are mainly concerned with the experiences of a particular product. One of the best practices in customer engagement. Here, the term “analytics” has been used to refer to the practice of monitoring, measuring, and, most importantly, interpreting the interactions that occur digitally (Turban, Sharda & Delen, 2014). Analytics can help companies to gain better and improved insights regarding the customers and their behavioral patterns. It leads to the generation of better ideas, relationships, and content.
Analytics on social media platforms can predict the likes and dislikes of potential customers. Based on this interpretation, companies can decide their future actions and areas of improvement regarding a particular service or product. YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn have offered companies the chance to engage with millions of customers directly, and it is gaining importance as a marketing and communication tool (Fan & Gordon, 2014). Companies can easily promote their products and are able to integrate the tool in future marketing activities. The sites have billions of followers, and they can directly connect with companies to gain information about products and services.
Social network analytics and the importance of segmenting customers
The network analysis of social media sites allows companies to categorize and classify items based on a common trend. They refer to it as clusters. Companies can use the technique to classify and differentiate one set of customers from another. Cluster analysis is beneficial as it enhances the strength of the business, and it can quickly sort out people based on their preferences. In modern CRM, customers are segmented based on the markets. Every set of customers belong to a particular class. The methodology can help companies to target customers who are most likely to purchase the product. It is completely different and accurate than the statistical techniques used traditionally. Commonalities are the basis of network analytics in social media.
It is also known as SNA, and it can measure or map the connected entities such as people, organizations, and URLs. Companies can differentiate between people and groups because nodes represent people within the network, while links represent the connection and relationship among nodes. SNA can be beneficial for companies as it helps the entities to gain a competitive advantage over other firms (Bayer & Servan-Schreiber, 2011). For example, in the case of the telecommunications industry, SNA can help companies gain insights about existing relationships with customers. This, in turn, would help in customer retention. SNA has true potential in this competitive age.