People often use the terms “social media” and “social networking” interchangeably because they are closely related. Nevertheless, the two concepts are different, and must be understood distinctly for success in their respective fields.

The key difference is personal interaction. Social media is more about promotion than personal interaction. Thus, posts are meant mainly to capture attention. The goal is to get users invested in you, and directly use them to grow your business and its reach. Programs like Hootsuite and Spredfast facilitate social media campaigns by scheduling the best time to post and then analyzing post reach.

Social networking, on the other hand, is all about personal engagement. It requires not only promoting your business, but also listening to feedback, all while trying to build a network of followers. Social networking does not have a dollar sign as its final end, so much as it has the idea of building a web of personal relations. This takes both time and effort—you cannot cut corners by merely planning posts and scheduling a campaign.

Businesses need to recognize the differences between social media and social networking. Both are imperative when creating a meaningful online presence, and with a proper understanding of what each one entails, they will enable your business to attain a successful online presence and following.

See Social Media Today for the full article.