Brief Overview
The whole world has witnessed dramatic changes because of the COVID-19 industry, and the café industry is not an exception. Before the crisis, such organizations were places that allowed various people to come to eat and spend time with pleasure. Today, the situation is different because the coronavirus has made its adjustments. Appropriate prevention measures, including social distancing, vaccination, and wearing masks, denote that individuals and businesses have particular barriers when it comes to witnessing cafes. No evidence demonstrates that the situation is going to change or improve in the near future, meaning that catering organizations should learn how to operate within the new environment.
Consequently, it seems that a company offering food, study, and fun opportunities for the youth can be considered requested, especially if the organization tests its visitors for COIVD-19 to create a safe environment. Against the background of anti-coronavirus measures, Café StudyFun seems an attractive place for potential clients.
The information above demonstrates that the organization has an evident competitive advantage. On the one hand, the café attracts visitors by offering food and entertainment opportunities. On the other hand, it addresses the current challenge and tests the visitors for COVID-19, denoting that the clients will be free from any coronavirus-induced limitations. However, it is necessary to explain that the company should rely on social media to ensure that potential visitors are aware of this competitive advantage. According to Jacobson et al. (2020), people use social media to connect and share their experiences with others.
Furthermore, young individuals spend much time on their Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts, which means that these resources can be effective ways for the company to reach its client base (Jacobson et al., 2020). This information denotes that the company should rely on social media marketing to advertise its service.
Since the possible benefits of using social media have been covered, it is reasonable to explain what specific actions are required. Initially, Café StudyFun should have accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Flickr. These accounts should be active, denoting that the company should regularly post new information. The organization’s competitive advantage can be secured if these posts are viewed, liked, commented, and shared (Jacobson et al., 2020).
That is why the café should engage individuals in visiting its social media accounts. For example, offering a specific discount to Facebook followers can be considered an effective incentive. Furthermore, it is reasonable to provide links to all the social media sites in every publication. For instance, including the links to Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr in a LinkedIn post is a helpful strategy to market the competitive advantage more efficiently.
Social Media Presence
When it comes to social media marketing, one should understand how it is possible to measure success in this domain. Sentiment Analysis, Reach, Company Posts, Feedback, and Average Response Time are suitable spheres to consider. Thus, the following paragraphs will comment on each of these phenomena by considering what specific targets Café StudyFun should achieve to state that its social media marketing efforts are successful.
Sentiment Analysis focuses on the number of positive, neutral, or negative mentions of the company. Arora et al. (2019) analyze numerous influencers and determine that this metric can be from -2 to 2. Negative statements should not be considered a total failure because they demonstrate that the company has some opportunity to grow. However, there is no doubt that the organization should aim at obtaining more positive mentions.
The Reach metric considers how many social work users follow the café’s accounts. In fact, the actual number of followers depends on the city or town population. While Arora et al. (2019) indicate that some influencers can have up to one million users, they typically operate on a national scale. Since Café StudyFun provides its services locally and focuses on a limited population, it has a lower reach. A few hundred thousand users on each social media platform can be considered a successful outcome.
The Company Posts domain measures how often the company posts new information. This frequency depends on what social media platform is considered (Arora et al., 2019). For example, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter users will appreciate it if a few new posts appear every day. Simultaneously, LinkedIn and Flickr accounts do not require such frequency, meaning that they can be updated several times a week to attract users.
Feedback is also essential because it demonstrates how many people viewed, liked, and shared the company’s content. The results in this metric depend on how many followers the café’s accounts have. However, it is necessary to motivate users’ activity on social media because this fact will increase the company’s reach. A suitable outcome is when the number of likes is more than half of the followers.
Finally, it is necessary to focus on the Average Response Time. Responding to users’ comments and questions within a few minutes during working hours is the expected outcome in this sphere. This condition will contribute to customer’s increased satisfaction with the café. Consequently, it is reasonable to employ a specific person who will be responsible for maintaining social media profiles and communicating with clients through them.
Competitive Analysis
It is reasonable to perform a SWOT analysis to identify the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The café’s strengths refer to the fact that the company uses social media platforms for advertising its attractive services to potential clients. Simultaneously, the use of diversified content, including videos, sounds, images, and text, allows the business to invite more customers. The use of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms also provides the company with numerous opportunities. A leading one refers to the fact that these resources can help the café contact a large number of visitors without extensive financial costs (Büyüközkan & Ilıcak, 2019). One should not ignore the fact that social media platforms allow for communicating with customers on a real-time basis.
It is impossible to mention that social media marketing only leads to positive results. This process also results in some weaknesses, and the typical lack of employees who deal with maintaining accounts is among them. In addition to that, this type of marketing implies a few threats. On the one hand, the availability of social media platforms can make it challenging to get a competitive advantage because numerous rivals can also invest in this sphere (Büyüközkan & Ilıcak, 2019). On the other hand, this process can be dangerous because a wrong response to a single tweet or comment can worsen the company’s image. That is why experienced individuals should maintain social media accounts.
In conclusion, the information above can be further used to determine the most appropriate strategy for Café StudyFun to grow in the current background. It is possible to suppose that the company will obtain the most significant benefits if it focuses on its strengths and opportunities. In particular, the business should create and post content that will attract even more customers. The best feature of this S-O Strategy is that the café does not require many financial resources to cope with the task. It is necessary to have staff members who will only deal with maintaining social media accounts. Finally, this social media marketing plan will help Café StudyFun get a competitive advantage against the COVID-19 background.
References
Arora, A., Bansal, S., Kandpal, C., Aswani, R., & Dwivedi, Y. (2019). Measuring social media influencer index – Insights from Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 49, 86-101. Web.
Büyüközkan, G., & Ilıcak, Ö. (2019). Integrated SWOT analysis with multiple preference relations: Selection of strategic factors for social media. Kybernetes, 48(3), 451-470. Web.
Jacobson, J., Gruzd, A., & Hernandez-Garcia, A. (2020). Social media marketing: Who is watching the watchers? Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 53, 101774. Web.