Executive Summary

The impact of social media platforms has revolutionized the way we are able to communicate with each other, do business, and obtain various kinds of information. As social media platforms proliferate, users frequently become overwhelmed trying to manage many accounts, navigate disparate interfaces, and stay up to date with content across multiple networks. With social media becoming ever so interconnected with our personal lives these issues are bound to become more prevalent as well as more problematic. So, there needs to be the creation of an innovative app that allows users to access all their social media apps in one set place. This all-in-one social media will be called Social Sphere. Social Sphere will present users with the ability to access multiple social media platforms all through the use of one app. Management of accounts, navigation of interfaces, staying up to date with content will all be things of the past with the creation of Social Sphere. These challenges presented by previous social media platforms will be addressed by Social Sphere due to its ability to act as a centralized point for all users to access their social media accounts and interactions. On top of acting as a centralized hub, Social Sphere will offer many unique abilities like interfaces that are very user friendly. This app will also offer a more advanced customization when it comes to user accounts.    While these are just two aspects that will be a part of this app, Social Sphere looks to transform the social media experience for each specific user. This may seem like a daunting task but with implementation of partnerships and the creation of strategic marketing tactics, Social Sphere will not only be a success within the market but also a success for society.

Description of Social Sphere

As mentioned in the previous paragraph, Social Sphere offers a centralized place, in this case an app where users can access their social media accounts. With the current social media environment being run by multiple apps as well as multiple companies, Social Sphere looks revolutionize this ever-growing environment. Since the social media environment is vast and ever changing, there is need for simplicity amongst these platforms. Social Sphere offers this simplicity amongst these social media platforms by offering a space where users can share, connect, and engage in one centralized location. By integrating and implementing the social media platforms into one location, it grants the users an efficient and convenient way to access the functions of each specific platform. Since the overall goal of Social Sphere is to create a unified place for all social media platforms there are many aspects that are necessary for this app to be successful.

First off, with Social Sphere being a platform that has multiple social media platforms it will have the ability to integrate each specific network that is attached to these social media platforms. By having the ability to integrate the networks of each specific social media platform it grants users the ability to access and interact within these networks from a single interface. Since users will be in constant contact with each of the social media platforms that have accounts there will be messages and notifications that will follow suit. Just like the integration of social networks, Social Sphere will have the likes of a unified inbox. This unified inbox will allow users to view notifications, messages, and updates concerning the various social media platforms. By having a unified inbox, the user can forget about having to go to separate inboxes for each specific social media platform. When it comes to messages and notifications there are many things that the current social media platforms lack, but Social Sphere looks to build upon this. Communication is what drives social media as well as social media interactions so there needs to be the ability to communicate between multiple social media platforms. Social Sphere will possess an all-one-messaging interface that allows users to send direct messages, chat with friends, or create groups no matter what social media platform the other person may be on. On top of messages, notifications are also important within a social media environment. When it comes to Social Sphere notifications will be suited in a way that is more user friendly. Meaning that the user will have full personalization and customization when it comes to notifications. By having a more user-friendly notification interface it allows the user to customize things like the news, feeds, and preferences to their liking. Since Social Sphere is an app that possesses multiple social media platforms there needs to be a strong influence when comes to data, platform, and user security. Social Sphere provides a more user-friendly platform, it will allow users to set their boundaries when it comes to their social media accounts. Users will have control over who can see and share their content. Users will also have the option to approve or reject requests from those who can see their personal information and send them messages. Social Sphere will have a robust security system that will allow for the recovery of personal data if it is lost, stolen, or destroyed, even though it will also offer a more user-friendly security solution.  

Social Sphere’s Targeted Market

The Social Sphere app plans to target individuals who are in close contact with technology, specifically involved in social media activities. This could include individuals ranging from the ages of lower 20s to mid-30s. By seeking younger individuals with proximity to social media activities it will increase brand recognition as well as recognition within the market. On top of seeking these individuals, Social Sphere will seek entrepreneurs and influencers who are aiming for a streamlined management of their social media presence. Targeting these individuals will allow the Social Sphere app to highlight its unique strengths and its competitive advantage within the market. The Social Sphere app presents many strengths that allow it to completely transform the social media environment. The app’s strengths stem from the likes of convivence and efficiency on both casual and professional scales. The convenience and efficiency are derived from the fact that the Social Sphere app is an all-in-one platform, grants user-friendly operation within content and privacy, and backs a strong user-friendly interface. The targeting of a specific market and individuals allows for the Social Sphere app to display its strengths. With both the market and strengths this allows for the Social Sphere app to have a value proposition.

The value that the Social Sphere app offers is a simplified platform in which social interaction is enhanced to better the experience of the user when traversing various social media platforms. Compiling these social media platforms in one app grants users the ability to manage their presence within a social media environment as well as management in privacy and content received. With Social Sphere prioritizing the need for a more simplified user-friendly interface, this allows it to gain a competitive advantage over its competitors. This makes the Social Sphere app a necessity especially within ever changing social media environment.

Organization of Social Sphere

When it comes to the organization of the Social Sphere app the best structure to use would be the likes of a partnership. Even though there are other structures like sole proprietorship and corporation, a partnership would be best suited since the app will already be working with multiple social media platforms. A partnership allows for the Social Sphere app and the companies that own the social media platforms to work together to create solutions to problems. One of the key benefits of this partnership would be the arrival of more ideas and experiences to better the all-in-one social media platform. The arrival of innovative ideas and experiences will allow a better understanding of how to persuade new customers to download the app. The newly persuaded customers will create for the arrival of new markets. The arrival of new markets could lead to other businesses or companies that may seek new partnerships. While a partnership brings about opportunities to gain more success whether it is in customers or markets, this structure also allows for a shared workload. A shared workload between multiple parties allows for the responsibilities to be distributed evenly amongst the parties involved. This grants the ability to split costs when upgrades or fixes are needed for the platform. It also means that both the Social Sphere app and the social media platform within it can pursue more brand recognition.

With the structure of a partnership implemented there is still a need for how the Social Sphere app will be managed. Many positions are necessary for the creation of an all-in-one social media app. There first needs to be a CEO, who will instill the vision and strategic direction of the app. With technology present, there needs to be a CTO, who will be in charge of technical development. CMOs are needed due to their ability to drive the branding and growth of the app. Next, would be the influence of a day-to-day operations manager who manages the processes that occur on a day-to-day basis. On top of the operations manager, there would be the need for a product manager. A product manager would allow for analysis of current features, users’ experiences, and a roadmap of future ideas. With innovative ideas comes new interfaces, so the influence of a head of design is necessary. The head of design will ensure that the interfaces are perfectly suited and appealing before being implemented. Since the Social Sphere app will always be in constant contact with social media a data analyst will be needed. A data analyst will take notes of current trends and the behaviors of users within the platform. Mistakes and challenges are bound to happen, so the presence of a customer support manager is vital. A customer support manager will allow current users and new customers to voice their concerns and issues while trying to find solutions. The Social Sphere app will also need the presence of a sales developer. The presence of sales developers will allow for the exploration of partnerships and monetization. The final position that will be needed is the use of a compliance officer, which ensures that the regulations are being followed. Both a partnership and these ten positions are necessary for the proper management of the Social Sphere app.

Key Services

While the course description section gave insight into some of the features offered by the Social Sphere app, there are still many more services that it provides. With a combined linkage of multiple social media platforms, the implementation of a scheduling tool interface is vital. This scheduling interface allows the users to collect and schedule their data among each social media network. It will also allow the users to automate their posts across the various social media platforms. Since the essence of social media is to display images, videos, and content there needs to be the presence of an analytic interface. This analytic interface will allow users to view the analytic data on their specific posts. Meaning that they can view the performance of the posts and how much the posts reach other members within the social media platforms. Staying true to the purpose of this app, the implementation of third-party platforms will allow for even more user-friendly control. The purpose of implementing third-party platforms is to allow users to view, post, and share data on other platforms that are not social media. By allowing a third-party platform interface this allows the user to post videos or images to another platform that is not a part of the social media environment. 

When it comes to the likes of trademarks and patents, they are vital steps in protecting the Social Sphere app and the users that choose to use this app. Trademarks allow for the Social Sphere app to be recognized as a business and prevent the chance of another business or company stealing personal information attached to the business. These trademarks allow for potential partnerships to identify the app’s name and its logo. The use of patents is also necessary especially when considering the protection of the Social Sphere app. The prevalence of technology within the Social Sphere app is vital that patents are present. These patents not only protect the creation of the app itself but also protect against any legal issues that may arise within a social media environment.

A Market Strategy and Analysis

When analyzing the social media market, it has drastically changed within the last decade, becoming a viable asset in which many companies have been successful. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat have impacted the environment as well as social media interactions. Even with their profound impact and capabilities, these four great platforms have brought about many challenges amongst their users. These challenges range from platform fatigue to privacy concerns. Even with these challenges, there has not been much of a drop in social media engagement, in which there are upwards of 4.5 to 5 billion users across multiple social media platforms. With over half of the world engaging in social media activities, there are many opportunities for the Social Sphere app to be successful. For the Social Sphere app to be successful there first needs to be the creation of a market strategy. This marketing strategy will not only show how it will become successful within this environment but also show the tactics used to obtain potential customers. Since Social Sphere will be an app that a user can download, the influence of social media platforms will be the starting point. While it will take some time to get social media platforms transferred into one centralized app, the use of digital advertising can assist in making users download the Social Sphere app. With this digital advertising, it can display the benefits and features that are available within this app. For some social media is a job and many influencers use these platforms to become successful. Influencers on the Social Sphere app can help their followers become more aware of the app’s brand. App optimization is another necessity to improve the Social Sphere app’s visibility and persuade consumers to download it. This app must be listed in the two largest mobile app marketplaces, the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. A tactic that users may use following their download of the Social Sphere app is a referral. A referral program is one tactic that can be employed, where users can earn incentives or benefits for introducing friends or family to the Social Sphere app. 

Social Sphere’s Goals

With the Social Sphere app there are many goals that are needed to obtain in which it can properly be called a successful app. For starters, the main goal of this innovative app is to provide a centralized location in which a multitude of social media platforms can be accessed. The centralization of these social media platforms will grant the user a simplified way to create content, access information, and monitor information. The Social Sphere app must also uphold the ideas of efficiency. It must uphold efficiency since it will possess various tools like scheduling, calendars, analytics, and collaboration. The possession of these various tools grants users the ability to manage their social media presence in a quick and timely manner. Since social media is all about engagement and communication, this app must possess strong engagement. Using tools like comment management, audience data, and automated responses to help you engage with your followers more effectively. Increasing interaction can help users’ material get more exposure and reach within the Social Sphere app. When it comes to social media, users want to control their personal data without it being stolen or tampered with, so there needs to be more user interaction. To guarantee a satisfying user experience, there needs to be an offering an easy-to-use interface, simple navigation, and prompt customer service. Regular platform usage is encouraged by a smooth and delightful user experience. The final goal that should be achieved by the Social Sphere app is the constant pursuit of innovation and adaptability. Keeping up with the most recent advancements and trends in technology and social media marketing. To accommodate evolving social media platforms and features, as well as shifting user demands and preferences, the platform should be continuously innovated. When looking at these goals each of these them can be considered long-term goals that need to be consistently checked to allow for a proper implementation of the Social Sphere app. With an analysis of the market and strategy put into place, the next thing that needs to be prevalent is the distribution plan. A distribution plan will allow for the Social Sphere app to be distributed amongst the various aspects of the market. Sticking with technology, the creation of websites could help users access their social media platforms or manage their subscriptions directly through the Social Sphere website. Partnerships are another key distribution tactic that will allow the Social Sphere app to be successful within the social media market. Partnerships with other digital agencies or companies could implement and distribute the app within bundled offerings to its customers. This not only strengthens the ties between the partnership but also shows digital companies’ customers that their own company is backing the Social Sphere app. Just like social media platforms another prominent figure is the influence of online marketplaces. With the help of online marketplaces, the Social Sphere app can be displayed within popular markets like Amazon and Shopify. As mentioned earlier influencers play a key role in social media so this is another vital distribution opportunity. Many of these influencers have their social media channels that have mass followers of other users. With that in mind, influencers can receive benefits if they choose to advertise the downloading of the Social Sphere app within their channels. With these market strategies and distribution tactics, the Social Sphere app will be able to reach a greater audience as well as reach higher growth in the market. 

Funding Request

When looking into the funds needed to produce an all-in-one social media app is sectioned off into four sections labeled product development, marketing/user acquisition, operations and infrastructure, and a contingency fund.

Product Development

• Need to hire developers, designers, and QA testers. ($ 200,000)
• Buy software tools and acquire licenses. ($ 50,000)
• Total of Product Development comes to ($ 250,000)

Marketing/User Acquisition

• Create digital advertising on social platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat). ($ 100,000)
• Form relations with social media influencers and generate sponsorships. ($ 50,000)
• Creating content about the Social Sphere app could include videos or blog posts. ($ 30,000)
• Obtained public relations and further outreach. ($ 20,000)
• Total of Marketing/User Acquistion comes to ($ 200,000)

Operations and Infrastructure

• Server maintenance and cloud management. ($ 50,000)
• Customer support/managers. ($ 50,000)
• Legal expenses. ($ 20,000)

Contingency Fund ($ 57,000)

The total funding needed to create the Social Sphere App is ($ 627,000)

Financial Projections

With the knowledge that the startup of the Social Sphere app will in total cost around 627,000 dollars, the first year will be the least amount of growth financially due to it just beginning as a new app. The following year will bounce back year in which we see a decent amount of growth financially. The third year will be the best of the three in which we see the most financial growth for the Social Sphere app. 

Year 1 (2025)

• Revenue Gained ($ 500,000)
• Expenses ($ 627,000)
• Profit ($ – 127,000)

Year 2 (2026)

• Revenue Gained ($ 1,500,000)
• Expenses ($ 830,000)
• Profit ($ 670,000)

Year 3 (2026)

• Revenue Gained ($ 3,000,000)
• Expenses ($ 1,250,000)
• Profit ($ 1,750,000)

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