In the contemporary world, it is almost impossible to ignore the potential of social media on any business operation. Social media has resulted in many people conducting most of their social engagements online (Lafayette). Social media use has made it possible for people in various parts of the world to communicate almost in real time without minimal charges. According to research, most of the young people spend more time on social media than they interact with traditional media such as television programs and newspapers (Lafayette). Regardless of the many benefits of these platforms, there are many issues which have been associated with social media use. For instance, companies behind these platforms have been accused of using personal data provided by the users illegally by selling it to third parties for financial benefits (Bansal et al.). Due to the fading popularity of the traditional media, businesses have found themselves engaging with their customers in online platforms to increase their presence. Even though social media use has its associated shortcomings, it provides a significant marketing opportunity for many businesses.
Why Social Media Marketing is Good for Business
Social Media Improves Brand Awareness
According to research, social media marketing is one of the most profitable digital marketing platforms that can improve the visibility of business significantly with minimal fees (Stephen 18). The number of social media users has been on the rise in the past few years. According to a 2018 survey by Statistica, the current number of social media users is approximately 2.62 billion (Statistica). The number of users will increase to 3.02 billion by 2021 due to the rise of smartphones penetration in different parts of the world. While the number of social media users keeps rising, the number of people who watch tv has plateaued (Statistica). The plateauing of tv viewers means that advertising business on traditional media is less likely to reach as many people as utilizing digital platforms.
Social media users are mainly composed of the millennials. According to research, millennials are people born between 1981 and 1996 (Lafayette). Millennials mostly rely on digital platforms to conduct their activities and consume content. A report by Nielsen shows that digital news reaches over 88% of millennials compared to less than 80% of the adults over 38 years (Lafayette). Thus, when businesses opt to use social media to market their products, they are more likely to capture young clients as compared to traditional media. Features such as trending topics and news are more likely to be witnessed on online platforms. Therefore, when social media marketing is appropriately utilized, it may result in the organization’s products trending for days or weeks. This process leads to more brand awareness and increased clients.
Social Media is Cost-Effective
One of the primary drawbacks of traditional media advertising is its high cost, especially on peak hours (Ashley, and Tuten 21). Businesses are forced to pay a high price to advertise their products with less proof of their target customers viewing them. Research shows that in most cases, advertisement breaks on traditional media results in viewers changing the channels or undertaking other household chores (Ashley, and Tuten 21). This issue results in fewer engagements and subsequently less brand awareness. For small businesses, paying for traditional media advertisement is costly, especially when on a tight budget. However, signing up on most of the social media platforms is free.
For small businesses, they can use the “share” and “retweet” feature of the platforms to advertise their business at no costs. This process requires the business owners to ask their customers and family friends to share the links of the business on their accounts. When businesses have an official page on these platforms, they can view the engagement of the links shared (Tiago, and Veríssimo 704). Business can also advertise their products on social media by paying a small fee to the platforms. Through this process, the organization can specify the demographics of the users they would like to target (Tiago, and Veríssimo 706). By using demographics to target potential clients, businesses are more likely to get value for their money than advertising on traditional media.
Social media Improves Brand Loyalty
According to Stephen (19), one of the main reasons businesses succeed is due to brand loyalty. Brand loyalty ensures that an enterprise can maintain its clients in addition to attracting more as a result of word of mouth from the existing customers. However, brand loyalty necessitates addressing most of the issues faced by the customers as quickly as possible (Stephen 19). In the contemporary world, many people using social media platforms are likely to communicate with the brand online whenever they face issues. Using social media ensures that businesses can connect with these types of clients better and hence increasing customer satisfaction.
According to research, most people will invest their time or money on businesses they can trust (Tiago, and Veríssimo 707). Business should use the power of social media to create an emotional connection with their clients. For instance, sharing company photos on platforms such as Instagram may generate a personal feel to the audience. This process results in the firm becoming more attractive and trustworthy to the customers.
Opposing Viewpoints
Social Media Requires Daily Monitoring
According to Alalwan et al. (1182), the use of social media requires daily monitoring to ensure that any issues or complaints aired by a customer are dealt with appropriately. Failure to ensure constant monitoring of the platforms may result in disgruntled clients who may share the issue with others leading to bad press.
Even though social media requires daily monitoring, it should not deter businesses from utilizing the many opportunities it provides. According to research, one should prepare policy and procedures carefully before engaging in social use as a marketing tool (Tiago, and Veríssimo 704). This process assists in dealing with customer issues such as deceptive and misleading information. Additionally, when venturing into social media marketing, an organization should prepare a team that is dedicated to monitor the activity and give feedback on the progress. For a small business, the owner should tailor a strategy for each platform to avoid overcommitment.
Focus on the Wrong Metrics
According to research, social media marketers focus on the metrics that have less impact on their business (Grégoire et al. 176). These metrics include counting followers and fans on various platforms as customers. Focusing on these metrics results in the business return on investment remaining low. For instance, a particular impression may not result in increased sales.
According to Ashley, and Tuten (26), most businesses join social media expecting an instant return on their advertising campaigns. However, expecting quick returns may lead to disappointment and other issues. Use of social media by companies should be a long-term strategy that focuses on attracting potential customers for future sales. Research suggests that a single post is less likely to result in a sale (Ashley, and Tuten 26). However, potential clients are more likely to remember the advertisement later and recommend the product to a family member or friend.
Time is not Free
According to Alalwan et al. (1184), social use should not be considered free since commitments take a significant amount of time. Using social media to market products overloads marketing departments and results in the task being passed off to untrained members such as interns. Consequently, these interns may not be able to deal with customer issues appropriately and this may hurt the reputation of the brand.
However, Stephen (21) shows that marketing through social media should not be considered as a non-essential. The organization should have a dedicated team that deals with the posting of the adverts and attending to customer queries to prevent the marketing department from becoming overwhelmed by the task. For small businesses with fewer teams, they should ensure that at least one member is dedicated to digital marketing to improve efficiency.
Conclusion
Regardless of the drawbacks of social media, it provides substantial marketing opportunities that can be utilized to improve sales and market share of the businesses. The rise of social media has led to a significant decline in traditional media consumption. Therefore, it is critical that businesses adopt new ways of marketing products to avoid missing out on the opportunities of a fully digitized marketplace. The benefits provided by social media include being a cost-effective alternative to traditional media and improving brand awareness and loyalty. Some of the issues that may be faced by the business using social media include time constraints, lack of a proper way to track metrics, and the commitment required. However, these issues can be solved by planning a strategy of operation, having dedicated teams or individual, and using the platforms as a long-term strategy of marketing. With the increase in the number of connected devices, business should be aware of new opportunities provided by the technology and use them to their advantage.
Works Cited
Alalwan, Ali Abdallah et al. "Social Media in Marketing: A Review and Analysis of the Existing Literature." Telematics and Informatics, vol. 34, no. 7, 2017, pp. 1177-1190. Elsevier BV, doi:10.1016/j.tele.2017.05.008. Accessed 30 Nov 2018.
Ashley, Christy, and Tracy Tuten. "Creative Strategies in Social Media Marketing: An Exploratory Study of Branded Social Content and Consumer Engagement." Psychology " Marketing, vol. 32, no. 1, 2014, pp. 15-27. Wiley, doi:10.1002/mar.20761. Accessed 30 Nov 2018.
Bansal, Shilpi et al. "Analysis and Impact of Social Media and It's Privacy on Big Data." 2018 International Conference on Advances in Computing and Communication Engineering (ICACCE), 2018. IEEE, doi:10.1109/icacce.2018.8458066. Accessed 30 Nov 2018.
Grégoire, Yany et al. "Managing Social Media Crises with Your Customers: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly." Business Horizons, vol. 58, no. 2, 2015, pp. 173-182. Elsevier BV, doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2014.11.001. Accessed 30 Nov 2018.
Lafayette, Jon. "Nielsen: Big Events Drive Millennials to TV News." Broadcasting " Cable, 2018, www.broadcastingcable.com/news/nielsen-big-events-drive-millennials-to-tv-news. Accessed 30 Nov 2018.
Statistica. "Number of TV Households in The U.S. 2019". Statista, 2018, www.statista.com/statistics/243789/number-of-tv-households-in-the-us/. Accessed 30 Nov 2018.
Statistica. "Number of Social Media Users Worldwide 2010-2021". Statista, 2018, www.statista.com/statistics/278414/number-of-worldwide-social-network-users/. Accessed 30 Nov 2018.
Stephen, Andrew T. "The Role of Digital and Social Media Marketing in Consumer Behavior." Current Opinion in Psychology, vol. 10, 2016, pp. 17-21. Elsevier BV, doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.10.016. Accessed 30 Nov 2018.
Tiago, Maria Teresa Pinheiro Melo Borges, and José Manuel Cristóvão Veríssimo. "Digital Marketing and Social Media: Why Bother?". Business Horizons, vol. 57, no. 6, 2014, pp. 703-708. Elsevier BV, doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2014.07.002. Accessed 30 Nov 2018.
