Strategic Social Media Marketing
Theoretical Framework
Social Media Marketing Conceptualization
Before explaining the concept of 'social media marketing' (SMM), it is important to consider and understand the term 'social media'. As proposed by Kaplan and Haenlein, social media is based applications that are available on the Internet and allow developing, consuming and sharing User Generated Content. These applications have created many opportunities for anyone to create personal content, share it and exchange ideas in interactive frameworks, that take different forms, from blogs, wikis, microblogging, and general social networking website. Also, from a general perspective, Filo et al. explained the concept of 'social media' by focusing on its interactivity and co-creation of user-generated content in the relationships established between organizations and individuals.
With increased popularity in academia and practice, social media marketing (SMM) has gained multiple points of view of different authors. Some researchers define this concept as a facilitator of connectivity and interactions with existing and prospective customers, whereas other authors establish the root of SMM in meeting business goals, as they relate to consumer equity, loyalty, satisfaction and purchase intention.
From a marketing perspective, Dwivedi et al. provided a conceptualization of social media marketing by focusing on the dialogue (provided by the interactivity) that is created around a marketing offering. This dialogue helps other social media users to come in contact with promotional information or learn from other people's experiences with a certain marketing offering. Felix et al. proposed a new definition of social media marketing, based on their comprehensive study aimed at providing a holistic framework for this online marketing concept. Thus, Felix et al. defined a holistic approach of social media marketing and also explained the strategic level of social media marketing which 'covers an organization's decisions about social media marketing scope (ranging from defenders to explorers), culture (ranging from conservatism to modernism), structure (ranging from hierarchies to networks), and governance (ranging from autocracy to anarchy).'
As it can be observed in Table 1, there are various conceptualizations that focus on different perspectives. Social media marketing (SMM) has provided opportunities for consumers and organizations to participate in discussions about products or services, contribute and collaborate on creating them, as well as empowering customers to become advocates and influencers of particular marketing offerings for a wide audience. Based on SMM's ability to create value on these online platforms, as well as communicate it and deliver it to main targeted audiences, this concept can be traced to both relationship marketing and digital (or online) marketing.
Table 1. Definitions of Social Media and Social Media Marketing
| Authors | Concept | Definition | Key aspects |
| Kaplan and Haenlein (2010, p.61) | Social media | "group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of User Generated Content" | - Internet applications - creation and exchange - User-Generated Content |
| Filo et al. (2015) | Social media | "new media technologies facilitating interactivity and co-creation that allow for the development and sharing of user-generated content among and between organizations (e.g. teams, government agencies and media groups) and individuals (e.g. customers, athletes and journalists)" | - interaction - co-creation - User-Generated Content |
| Pham and Gammoh (2015, p. 325) | Social media marketing | "Company's process of creating and promoting online marketing-related activities on social media platforms that offer values to its stakeholders" | - interaction - business objectives |
| Dwivedi et al. (2015, p.291) | Social media marketing | "a dialogue often triggered by consumers/audiences, or a business/product/services that circulate amongst the stated parties to set in motion a revealing communication on some promotional information so that it allows learning from one another's use and experiences, eventually benefitting all of the involved parties" | - interaction - eWOM |
| Choi et al. (2016) | Social media marketing | "Engaging with customers through SNSs is commonly known as social media marketing and brings several benefits to companies, such as creating word-of mouth, positively affecting customer equity, enhancing customer loyalty to the company, and increasing purchase intention of the company's products or services" | - eWOM - business objectives |
| Tuten and Solomon (2016, p.21) | Social media marketing | "Is the utilization of social media technologies, channels, and software to create, communicate, deliver, and exchange offerings that have value for an organization's stakeholders" | - interaction - co-creation - business objectives |
| Felix et al. (2017) | Social media marketing | "Is an interdisciplinary and cross-functional concept that uses social media (often in combination with other communications channels) to achieve organizational goals by creating value for stakeholders" | - interaction - eWOM - business objectives |
| Yadav and Rahman (2017) | Social media marketing | "a process by which companies create, communicate, and deliver online marketing offerings via social media platforms to build and maintain stakeholder relationships that enhance stakeholders' value by facilitating interaction, information sharing, offering personalized purchase recommendations, and word of mouth creation among stakeholders about existing and trending products and services. " | - interaction - eWOM - business objectives |
Social Media Marketing Objectives for Organizations with Online Presence
Multiple studies have explored specific social media marketing objectives as part of their proactive business strategy, such as sales stimulation, brand awareness, brand image improvement, traffic generation to different platforms, redirecting traditional marketing costs to online settings, viral content. In contrast, marketing objectives that are part of a reactive business strategy involve instigating, monitoring, and analyzing consumer conversations about brands, products, and services, on social media platforms. Consequently, an organization will be more aware of its product's trajectory and appeal to its main targets, and act according to these new gathered insights. Nonetheless, whether an organization is pursuing a proactive or reactive strategy, the social media objectives are influenced by its industry, size, and the social networks it uses for its digital marketing strategy.