Likes, Links and Tweets: A Business Guide to Navigating the Social Media Maze

Social media has changed how businesses communicate and market themselves and while many recognise the necessity to have an active presence in social media, they do not really understand what social media is about or how to leverage it for their business (Hanna, Rohm and Crittenden 2011, Kietzmann, Hermkens, McCarthy and Silvestre 2011, Durkin and McGowan 2013). Social media has developed at such a pace, intensity and popularity that a company's adoption of social media is often motivated by anxiety and achieving quick gains rather than a well thought out strategic plan (Annabi and McGann 2013, Durkin and McGowan 2013). It is proposed that, before attempting to adopt an active social media presence, firms must firstly understand what changes have occurred in the marketing landscape and how these changes impact the traditional business processes and models (Hennig-Thurau, Hofacker and Bloching 2013, Tiago and Verissimo 2014). This article will identify the main marketing assets modified by social media; namely communications, consumer empowerment, branding, consumer behaviour and the consumer purchasing process (Hennig-Thurau, Hofacker et al. 2013, Labrecque, vor dem Esche, Mathwick, Novak and Hofacker 2013). Each element is discussed in terms of how social media has facilitated a change and what the impact of that change is for businesses (Malthouse, Haenlein, Skiera, Wege and Zhang 2013, Singh and Sonnenburg 2012, Yadav, de Valck, Hennig-Thurau, Hoffman and Spann 2013). The article can be used as a starting guide for marketing professionals and business owners to navigate the social media maze prior to establishing a presence and becoming active in social media. It provides a framework to help clarify the impact of social media on specific marketing processes as well as outlining the opportunities and challenges of social media. The purpose of the article is also to help justify the use of Social Media Marketing (SMM) for business and portray it as an opportunity, not a threat.