Social Media and Mobile: Where’s the Connection?
Three things I’m super passionate about in the tech space are website development, social media and mobile. More specifically for mobile, is how they interact with other people while on the go through social networking. Mobile social networking can be done in a number of different ways either through location awareness apps, photo sharing, or just general updates. We are now in an age where products are built upon the idea of experiences, and social media is one of those experiences that people want with them wherever they go.
There are a couple of mobile only social networks such as Path, Instagram, and in a loose sense Foursquare. Google+ has one of the better mobile strategies for the general user and has a very well designed application for iPhone, iPad, Android phones, and tablets. Twitter has probably the most consistent user experience eliminating confusion while switching platforms as every website/app uses the same icons, colors, animations, etc. Facebook definitely has less of a showing in the quality app category, something they are currently fixing, but now around 40 percent of users access Facebook from their mobile devices, prompting them to rethink their profit model. Pinterest recently completed their portfolio by adding an Android application.
Social Networks & Social Apps? What the Devil??
So, social networks create apps for phones. Big deal!?! Well yeah, it is. Interesting things usually happen to you while you’re out and about, and what better way to create a conversation about what you’ve seen then by sharing it with your friends while it’s still relevant. These types of instant updates usually work well on Twitter or photo sharing services such as Instagram, and checking in via Foursquare. The beautiful part about all of this is having them all synced across most of your networks so you would see a collective photo, check in, and status update all in one, showing up on your Facebook wall.
Most companies now have some sort of social strategy, and many even have a mobile strategy in which they’re trying to appeal to those who are on the go. One of the things that can really help to improve a company’s presence is by tapping into these mobile social opportunities. I think one of the biggest ones for companies that are service based and on location like restaurants or retail stores, check in based apps, such as Foursquare are neat ways to engage with your customers by offering deals on stuff whenever they check in. When they check in they also get points and you get reviews, and interactions(likes) on how you did.
Mobile is meant to be an extension of what you do socially and taking what you offer and encouraging customers around you to interact in this way will be most beneficial to both you and your customers.