Social Media Advertisement

Marketing

Assignment 1

        Social media are mainframe based tools which allow people to share, create, and exchange information in virtual societies. Social media marketing is defined as the process of gaining website traffic or attention through social media sites. Social media marketing generally focuses on creating content that appeals to readers and also encourages them to share it on social networks. Social media appears to play a vital role in people’s lives around the globe. There have been mixed opinions whether it is crippling communication skills or improving them. It influences every aspect of the business life as well and social media for businesses’ has proved to be beneficial. Social media differs from traditional media as it functions by connecting people.

Advertisers spent over 3.5 billion in 2013 on social media advertising. After observing an escalation in social media networking, businesses’ have used it as platform to advertise their operation. It enables them to reach millions of people who use these sites regularly. Social media sites have become an integrated part of society. Statistics have shown that in 2011 47% of American grownups used social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace. A rise of 27% had been seen from the preceding years. To consider social media as a marketing instrument a retailer must understand all characteristics of it. It is not possible to understand social media without first describing web 2.0, a domicile where data is rapidly altered by all the operators.  

Social media has progressed swiftly providing a platform that allows individuals to keep in touch with their close ones. Now it has also become a site where customers can learn about the products available in the market and their preferred brands. Providing shopping facilities on social networks site can provide business progression for retailers due to the range of customers on these sites. The broad range of customers operating on social networks means that most target markets can be reached. This provides an efficient and effective place for retailers to promote their products for potential clients. People are more willing to shop on social networks if they perceive it to be easy and convenient to operate.

Facebook has been used by various firms to reach the public by generating pages and offering discounts and promotions to get to the customers. Although social media has benefits of publicizing your operation, it can also lead you to face negative publicity as it permits customers to post negative comments. Personal reviews of other customers are something people rely on to judge the condition of an establishment. There will always be new as well as existing customers that will keep commenting on your page. The chief source of revenue for social networking sites is considered to be advertising. One of the positive traits of endorsing a firm through social network sites is that you can reach millions globally. It is also a cheap method to promote a business. With all social media sites being free, it makes businesses want to advertise online. It can also enable consumers to get in touch instantaneously if there are and queries.

Not much skill is required to promote a business through social media, and a normal person on a regular computer should have no trouble doing it. Although, the social media platforms keep changing, and as a marketing professional it is crucial to be able to interpret and predict which social network is expected to be widely used. The biggest decision is selecting the platform for the social media strategy; a marketer needs to know where to reach the target audience. However, an article published in wall street journal in 2014 claimed that, “social media fail to live up to early marketing hype”. They said they should have authentic and real connections, instead of it being a numbers game. This would apply for individuals as well as brands. An additional downfall was that the fan numbers according to researchers are overstated through automated accounts. For retailers it is crucial to be conscious of the elements that influence the attitude of consumers as they are progressively generating content about brands. Formerly this was something that was exclusively controlled by the firms.