The Social Media Canvas and Its Use in Strategy Formulation

Purpose. The popularity of social media platforms presents a challenging opportunity for contemporary businesses; millions of people use these online services daily. This paper is a qualitative literature survey on the successful use of social media in business. It presents the Social Media Canvas as a tool that determines how social media can be made integral to business strategy and thus aid businesses in achieving their objectives. Design/methodological approach. The approach is theoretical, based on an examination of recent journal articles on the use of social media across various business sectors, from consumer-led implementations to broad corporate-wide strategy-led implementations. Findings. Arising out of the survey is seen the need to clarify how social media may be used in business. This leads to a tool, the Social Media Canvas, which links strategy to the use of social media and provides for its successful implementation and evaluation. The use of this tool will encourage effective change within the organisation. Practical applications. The opportunities presented by social media require the business to become a social enterprise. Central to this are customer needs and wants and the processes underlying consumer decisions. The Canvas links the business strategy directly to the customer’s decision-making process, and shows how social media can attract new customers and maintain relationships with them.