Social Media Strategy Book

SANDRO GRAF & TERESA VALERIE MANDL 13 content creation and reusing, communication and learning |MICHELIS, 2012, ZHOU, HONG & LIU, 2013, LI & BERNOFF, 2011|. The companies again employ well- establish tools in addition to their existing technology infrastructure as well as customised solutions. In a transactional interaction model, the participants in a social network exchange services for money or another material advantage. Loy- alty programs, for instance, operate by exchanging customer information or data for loyalty points or coupons the customer can use towards buying the products, and thus to save money (e. g., Nespresso Club or the Tesco Clubcard). Often, companies collect Facebook ‘likes’ and reward the clicks they get with an opportunity to take part in a contest or to receive some similar benefit |cf. http://bysb.eu/c1r1 or http://bysb.eu/c1r2|. In cooperative interaction models, on the other hand, the material transaction is effectively replaced (or supplemented) by an immaterial ben- efit that makes a transaction superfluous. Thus, the companies and their stakeholders cooperate; or rather, they invest reciprocally in the relation- ship because they believe that they will eventually receive something in return. Relationships based on cooperation are thus less stable than trans- actional relationships, where the agreed trade-off is always something of tangible value for both sides |O’DONNEL, O’REGAN, COATES, KENNEDY, KEARY & BERKERY, 2003|. This type of immaterial interaction can work only if both parties are able to profit, i. e. if they receive an added value from their collaboration. At the same time, they must both be prepared to collaborate and be perceived as trustworthy. In return, both consumers and employees must put their trust in the company. In a social network, such trust must be gained – and it must be justified. Without it, immaterial exchange cannot take place in the long run |CHASERANT, 2003|. Compared to transactional models, cooperative models have two major advantages. There is an inherent culture of trust between the send- er (the customer or employee) and the receiver (the company) of informa- tion, and more data (particularly personal data), is typically exchanged between sender and receiver | JOHANN, 2011 |. Furthermore, the return on investment on the part of the company is higher when no material trans- action is necessary to achieve the interaction and the customer relation- ship the company wishes to have. Yet, how can companies sift through the multitude of possible social media initiatives and identify those that will produce sustainable benefits in the context of their own business and market environment? How could these opportunities be aligned with the overarching corporate goals or function- al strategic goals? Currently no proven management tools are available for

Social Media Strategy Book

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