Free Essay On Social Media As A Marketing Tool

Social media is one of the best marketing tools, which enables businesses to drive sales, build relationships and satisfy the consumers. The ‘social’ component of social media is a part of human interactions. Since people are social creatures, advances in technology have made it possible to integrate people with media in the form of social media, which refers to web-based social interactions among people. The increasing popularity of social media in the recent years has encouraged businesses to make the best use of social media for their organizational benefits. Various elements of social media, which include Twitter, Facebook, blogging websites, search engine optimization and email marketing are the powerful ways of developing leads for most of the businesses . Although social media is famous among teenagers and college students, the older populations of the world have been successful in adopting various social networks.
The diversity of social media enables businesses to target consumers of distinct ages and backgrounds on the social websites. Businesses have been receiving great amount of return through the social media, not only on monetary terms, but also in terms of brand reputation and awareness, customer loyalty, lead generation, savings in customer service and many others. Both independent retailers as well as multinational companies have been witnessing success by utilizing social media as a marketing tool. Social media offers various opportunities in terms of marketing as a large part of the world population is active on at least one social networking website. It has a power ability of driving word-of-mouth or suggestions from friends and family. Over 57 percent of Facebook users state that they buy products based on the positive recommendation from a friend .
It is important to understand that using social media as a marketing tool is not a new concept. It is just that technology and media are changing the role of marketing principles, such as social, economic and behavioral concepts. The newest aspect of social media is the technology, which enables to perform open and transparent conversations online. There are various companies that are reluctant to use social media as a marketing tool as they are afraid of the negative feedback given by the consumers . However, the fact is that consumers are already on the social media sites talking about the company and its products, whether or not the company acknowledges it. One of the biggest concerns of businesses while using social media is the amount of time and resources consumed by it. It is essential to understand that the time and resources depend on the size of the firm. The time and resources dedicated to social media by the firms also depends on the specific strategies employed by the businesses.
The three important practices that might limit the time investment in social media marketing are allotting the underutilized employees for tasks related to social media, employing leverage tools, which help to manage social media in an easier way and using mobile devices to boost the efficiency of marketing through social media. Social media is an efficient way of marketing because it emphasizes on the contribution of the audience in discussions that compare the company with its competitors . It helps to control the conversation unlike traditional marketing. Unlike a specific advertising campaign, marketing through social media does not have an end date. Hence, it is important for the marketers to build trust with their audience since the firms cannot control the content created by the users. A marketing plan plays a crucial role in enhancing the chances of a company’s success in social media.
When entering into social media marketing, it is important to anticipate the areas that the company will require to address. Setting up certain social media marketing goals and working towards achieving them likely increase the search engine ranking, site traffic and sales conversations. For example, the famous online printing company, Vista Prints is able to offer customer support through the social media networking website, Twitter. The company has not only benefited in terms of cost savings, but also through reduced phone time spent on customer support. Social media is one the effective ways of improving sales, thereby improving brand perception. Every marketing practice of a business on the social media either accelerates or destroys the online relationships with the customers . Social media is one of the efficient tools of increasing customer satisfaction as it enables the businesses to resolve conflicts that defile a customer’s view of the brand. Engaging with potential customers through social media helps the businesses to discover new ideas for new products or new features for existing products on the recommendation of the consumers.
Focusing on a firm’s social media marketing efforts and resources on websites with potentially large number of users helps to achieve a higher return on investment. Blogs are the hubs of social media strategy, which enable the growth of the online presence of a company with changing trends of social media. One of the advantages of social media is that it helps the businesses to target the individuals through great deals, offers, coupons and promotions about the products, which not only enables to promote the product, but also makes it more affordable to the customers . Demographic information obtained through the social media, such as age, gender and location allows the firms to focus their efforts on the customers, which might be more profitable to the firm. Businesses should be aware of the keys to marketing through social media, which include truth, integrity and empathy. The important elements of social media marketing are connection, contribution and community.
Social media is a tool that makes the strategies, actions and innovation of the businesses highly visible, due to which there is a possibility to attract emulators. The beauty of social media as a marketing tool is that it creates an opportunity for two-way interaction rather than a one-sided conversation. However, there are various challenges when using social media as a marketing tool. It is difficult to quantify the results from the marketing efforts of the firm as the primary goals of marketing in this context include creating buzz about the firm and brand building . It involves costs as a social media manager is necessary to manage the online contacts of the company. Social media marketing is still an unproven marketing strategy as it is new and does not have measurable parameters of success. Furthermore, without a smart marketing strategy, social media marketing is worthless. It is essential to integrate the social media marketing efforts into the traditional efforts in order to achieve optimum results. Instead of using one social media website, it is necessary that the businesses use multiple websites in order to reach more number of people.
Social media participation of a business boosts its conversion rate. It aids the businesses in addressing the challenges faced by the company. Businesses should implement collaboration platforms as a measure to increase the productivity and familiarize their employees with the new technologies in order to determine the boundaries of social media. With an increase in the percentage of companies using social media as a marketing tool, there is a high competition among the businesses, which alarms that the businesses should never neglect their customers . As social media has become an important driving factor for customers willing to buy a product or service, any minor mistake from the company’s end would badly damage its reputation. Hence, businesses should be resourceful in providing the audience with the required information. Sharing feedback and suggestions with the customers from time to time improves the chances of a company’s success on social media.
A company should maintain credibility while using social media as a marketing tool as it by showcasing original ideas and thoughts related to a product or service. Having strong credibility enhances the image of the business as a trustful company. Authenticity of the businesses is a vital component in the success of a business in social media marketing. Since social media has the capability to spread information faster than any other means of human communication, businesses should be authentic and converse without any false demeanors or attitudes . Providing sincere and honest responses to the customers helps to maintain the goodwill of the company. Businesses should be open to conversations as customers expect the companies on social media to respond to their comments or posts. Thus, social media is one of the best marketing tools, which has the potential to aid businesses in driving sales, building relationships and satisfying the consumers.

References

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