In just a few years social media has grown from simply a medium for socializing into one of the most powerful digital marketing tools available for businesses. Many businesses are becoming increasingly aware of the capacity of social media marketing for the promotion of their business and they are working hard towards increasing their social media marketing budget.
The promises of
social media marketing are so alluring that many businesses jump into it without thorough and proper research. It is important to know that social media marketing, just like every other thing in this life, has two sides. On the one side are promises of prosperity and success, if proper rules are followed, while on the other are results which are detrimental to your brand.
Before opting for social media marketing it is important to carry out proper due diligence and to know the pros and cons. You must keep your expectation moderate and not assume that this form of marketing is the magic bullet that will turn everything around for your business.
Below is a definitive guide, highlighting 8 pros and cons of social media marketing as it relates to Android app development;
Pros
1. Low cost:
This is the first number pro of social media marketing in
android app development, one that has made it so appealing to businesses and brands. The major social media platforms do not charge for registering; it is practically free to join and also equally free to interact with other people and businesses on the platform. You can sign up on any of these platforms and begin to promote your content (text, images, videos) relating to your business with your circle. If you have a large circle that truly believes in what you are doing, they will go ahead to share it with their friends.
Perhaps you have just developed a new Android game, you can simply share it with your friends, who will go ahead to share it with their friends and so on. The multiplier effect of that campaign cannot be quantified, yet it all cost nothing.
However, if you want to go even further with your campaign, you can invest some funds in your social media marketing effort for Android app development. In most cases, such investment is minimal and does not compare with the gains of such publicity. Running paid advertising on any
social media channel will expose your brand to thousand more audience and potential customers.
2.Large audience:
This is another major pro of social media marketing in Android app development. Compared to the traditional form of marketing that only caters to a defined set of audience, perhaps radio listeners, or TV viewers, or magazine readers, social media marketing caters to an audience that breaks all scope, demographics, and barrier. Each day millions of people go online to communicate with friends, get information or make purchases. Social media marketing gives you the opportunity to tap into this large market.
3. Fast:
We are in a fast-paced era where there is so much to do and yet so little time to do it. People want to get information as quickly as possible so they can move on to the next thing on their agenda. If you are a business owner, or into Android app development or marketer, and you are in search of avenue to reach your followers or audience with the latest news or fresh information concerning your development, then you can rely on social media marketing. Social media marketing is one of the fastest means of reaching an audience. Information released on these platforms reaches the audience instantly. You can even go ahead to synchronize your blog with your social media channels, such that as fresh updates are released on your blog they are, at the same time, released on your channels.
4. Interaction:
Trust is the foundation upon which profitable business relationship is built, and trust comes from constant positive interaction. One of the cons of the traditional form of marketing is that it acts as a one-way traffic; it disseminates information without collecting feedback from the receiver. The marketers, therefore, do not know what reservations or suggestions the audience has regarding the campaign.
Social media marketing, on the other hand, is built on socialization. Therefore, it allows interaction between developers and audience. The audience can give relevant suggestions, or ask questions, or share their concerns, all in real time. This helps to foster a better relationship between businesses and customers, and also allows businesses to grow better since they can use these suggestions to deliver the better experience.
Cons
1. Time-consuming:
This is the number one criticism leveled against social media marketing in android app development by app developers. In order to be successful in social media marketing, you must invest a tremendous amount of time in your campaign. You can look at it this way, the money saved is reinvested by way of time. You will need to regularly be online, to add new relevant content and to research for current trends. You will need to moderate and reply to comment made on your platforms. And since it is built on social media, it is almost easy to get carried away and get lost in socialization.
2. Generates negative users:
The minute you sign up and embark on social media marketing, then you must brace up for negative users. The internet is packed filled with trolls and unscrupulous elements, whose major interest is to bad mouth your business and see it fail. Not that alone, you will also have customers who are not satisfied with your product or service, or you may have disgruntled past employees. All these people can be sources of negative information which can badly damage your online reputation.
3. Hard to control:
This point goes in tandem with the one above. The same way social media can turn you into an overnight sensation it can equally turn you into a worldwide pariah. And in either case without your power to control. Negative information released by your haters, disgruntled employees or unsatisfied client or customer can spin out and go viral. It would take a tremendous amount of time and work to clean up such negative publicity.
4. User confidence:
In order to generate a more effective social media campaign, information from social media users are gleaned in order to offer them ads that are more relevant. A lot of people have expressed reservations about their information been taken by
social media platforms for the sake of marketing. This has repeatedly stirred a wave of confidentiality controversy.