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The attention paid by companies to social networks has only increased in recent years, after all, the numbers revealed in statistics, surveys and studies always involve many digits.
That’s why it’s always good to be aware of how this segment of the Internet is evolving, when it comes to investing in social networks. Or will it be on social media?
But what’s the difference? By the way, is there a difference?
Thinking about it, we produce this content and also deal with some important aspects, which go beyond the possible difference between social networks and social media, among other information that may be relevant in your Digital Marketing strategy.
What is the difference between social network and social media?
It is common when we have contact with content about it, that social networks and social media are treated as synonyms, but strictly they are not!
Social networks, in sociological terms, are the study of the behavior and relationships of people in society, particularly in the various groups of which individuals are part, such as in the family, at work, in the neighborhood, at school or college, in the sports club, in the church, or wherever else you can remember.
In other words, the people you relate to, how this relationship takes place and the behavior of each individual in your college class, constitutes a social network. The same reasoning applies to the other social circles you frequent and which we mentioned just above.
Therefore, based on this principle and contrary to what many people assume, social networks predate the emergence and expansion of the Internet. The difference is that with it and particularly with Orkut, the first social network of great global reach, the term became popular and came to be seen by the majority as a phenomenon arising from that service that emerged on the world wide web.
What Orkut did, and soon the other social networks that came to follow, too, was to implement the resources and facilities that the Internet offers, to networks in the digital sphere.
Ok, but what is social media?
The word media also predates the Internet and among the many possible definitions, it is the means or support for storing and disseminating information.
In practical terms, a CD or DVD is a medium, just like floppy disks and, well after them, pendrives. But a printed magazine, a printed newspaper, television programming, or a billboard are also examples of media, among many others that could be listed here.
Social media, in its most current conceptualization, is any form of storing and disseminating information, or if you prefer, content, to certain social circles. And just like social media, it doesn’t depend on the Internet either.
So much so that a (printed) magazine specialized in cycling is a medium aimed at the sports public and more specifically at cycling enthusiasts, that is, a social circle in particular.
Naturally, the Internet lent both concepts new characteristics. The expansion of interaction, the variety of possible forms and the speed with which it happens, gained other dimensions.
If before measuring the return of content produced for analogue media depended on research and on any contacts and assistance provided, or on increased sales in the case of advertising, with the Web, all of this – and even other indicators – began to be achieved In real time.
But for the average user, who has an account on a social network or a social media, it doesn’t really matter what name you give it. He just doesn’t care about ratings like that.
When he is on the social network, he seeks to strengthen ties with people based on the common interests they demonstrate by being part of the same network. And here it is important to make the distinction of being part of the same service. It implies that there are connections, such as one following the other.
When he participates in social media, there may even be interaction, when he likes or comments on a comment made by another user who is subscribed to a channel, but the only social interaction happened at that moment and eventually because both are interested in the same topic .
When he downloads the app on his smartphone, signs up and uses it, it doesn’t matter if it’s classified as a media or social network.
But for those who intend to use networks and social media with commercial intentions, certain subtleties related to each one are important.
The confusion in the minds of the majority is justified, since TikTok is usually included, which is a typical case of social media, compared to social networks, such as Facebook.
Last but not least, remember that ratings are not exclusive or exclusive, which means that any platform is not just social networking or just social media.
Also, as new features emerge, the character of a service can go more to one side, or more to the other and thus, it is both social media and social network, as is the case of YouTube, even if the character of media.
Why does it matter if it’s media or social networking?
Why do you go to a restaurant?
Well, it depends… It depends on the moment and the person to whom the question is asked!
So, the answer might be:
- Celebrate my birthday with family;
- Know the place that is getting so many positive reviews on Google;
- Have a special date with the person I’m starting a new relationship with;
- Celebrate 20 years of our marriage;
- Have a quick snack on your lunch break before going to a meeting with a client;
- Take the opportunity to have a more “relaxed” business meeting with a customer at the restaurant.
That is, there are countless possible reasons and the list above illustrates this diversity, while it can reveal other implicit information, as in the case of the celebration of 20 years of marriage, which certainly involves people belonging to older generations.
Aspects of service provision for each case also vary.
In the same way, people are not on networks or social media, all for the same reasons and they are not all the same.
This assertion is confirmed by the profiles that make up the public of each one, which generates engagement, the type and format of the contents that are chosen, the groups in which they participate, in which channels they subscribe and the range of existing networks and resources. they offer, among others.
Analogously to the restaurant, the content needs to fulfill one – or even several – functions. If it’s educational, if it’s a hobby, if it’s to relax, if it’s to produce engagement, or if it’s to establish or expand the relationship. All of that at the same time, or none of that.
That is, it may be like the penultimate justification for going to the restaurant, a quick meal and which we transport to our discussion, a YouTube short, an Insta reel or a classic TikTok. Do you understand?
But if, in addition, you know who this persona is, the chances of you satisfying him with the “plate” you are going to deliver, increase significantly.
How to use the difference between networks and social media?
Now that the differences are clear, most of you must be wondering how to use this in your company’s Digital Marketing strategy, right?
As with our question about going to a restaurant, there is no single answer.
It starts with the same relativity, that is, it depends… It depends on the company’s intentions.
Most will answer, that they want more customers, more visitors, more engagement and whatever is possible.
Yes, a little bit of all of this is possible, but the point is to focus, to also give an appropriate direction and with the respective returns.
If one of the goals is to improve communication with your customers and expand your relationships, the answer that intuitively most have in mind is to invest more in social networks, depending on the explanation we gave about the differences.
The types of content and tools on Facebook, for example, are more suited to this proposal, even if the Meta service is no longer in the lead and was loose in other times, or because there have been questions about the future of the metaverse and even because of this , there has been talk of the end of social networks.
But this type of data is not enough, after all, we cannot forget the persona, this typical customer with a well-defined and well-known profile.
Where is he most present? What are your favorite networks? What content (subjects, types and formats) is he most likely to consume? What issues does he want the company to address?
Many companies simply don’t ask these types of questions and/or don’t know the answers. They simply try to make content for the most popular social networks, because they think that being present is enough.
They forget – or are unaware – that there is an algorithm whose only role is to indicate content to users and hold their attention for as long as possible and that if your content does not serve that purpose, it will be ignored.
Basically, the algorithm is a combination of rules that aim to maintain the user’s interest in the presented content, using artificial intelligence for that.
Following this last principle, good content can bring many others along.
A short seen in its entirety, or one that received a like, makes the algorithm “understand” that soon it should present another similar one and in the event that the behavior is repeated, the trend will be maintained, until the user slides his finger and starts to discard the displayed “suggestions”.
This is also the case on “classic” social networks, where less and less relationship content is displayed, to the detriment of content from strangers, advertising and producers.
Conclusion
Understanding the difference between social networking and social media is essential to creating and putting into practice Digital Marketing strategies that work.
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