TERM PAPER

In partial fulfillment of the requirement of Networking for Corporate

Management Systems [EMIS-529]

THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON MARKETING

Submitted By

Md. Saiful Islam ID: 6183831070

Submitted By
Shaik Ahmed ID: 6184033039

Under the Supervision of

Dr. Ashis Talukder

Assistant Professor

Department of Management Information Systems (MIS)

Semester: Spring 2020

Under the 10
Date of Submission: Supervision
th of 2020
September
Md. Fahami Ahsan Mazmum

Assistant Professor
Semester: Fall 2019
Date of Submission:
Department 14thInformation
of Management December 2019
Systems (MIS)

University of Dhaka
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The increasing popularity of social media forces marketers to consider this media together
with traditional marketing functions. Social media is mainly based on Internet or mobile phone-
based applications and tools to share information among people. The number of social media users
exceeds the population of some countries/regions today. The influence of social media on
marketing can be judged by comparing the marketing before social media and the marketing after
the introduction of social media and the types of technologies used in social media. The purpose
of this article is to review effective articles on the relationship between social media and
promotion, and to elaborate the findings in these articles.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary ....................................................................... 1
Table of Contents ........................................................................... 2
The Influence of Social Media on Marketing .............................. 4
Introduction ................................................................................................4
What is Social Media? ...............................................................................5
Social Media History: ............................................................................................... 5
Social Media Landscape ........................................................................................... 6
Marketing before Social Media: .............................................................................. 6
Concurrent Surveys about Social Media Marketing:.............................6
Fig 1: Top Sites for Marketing (source: HubSpot Research, Global Survey, Nov-Dec 2019) .....7
Content Marketing Statistics ................................................................................... 7
Fig 2: Primary forms of media used for content strategy .............................................................8
Blogging Statistics: ..........................................................................................................................8
Video Statistics: ...............................................................................................................................8
Content Strategy: ............................................................................................................................8
Marketing Technology: ............................................................................................ 9
Messaging Apps: .............................................................................................................................9
Mobile: .............................................................................................................................................9
Artificial intelligence (AI): .............................................................................................................9

Social Media Influence: .............................................................................9

Platforms Options and Uses: ...................................................................11
Fig 3: Social media platforms .................................................................................................... 11

Impact of Social Media on Marketing: ..................................................12

Technology Impact: ................................................................................................ 12
Economic Impact: ................................................................................................... 13
Political Impact: ...................................................................................................... 14
Cultural Exchanges Impact: .................................................................................. 14
Some Fail Stories of Business When Using Social Media: .................................. 15
Advantage of Social Media for Business: ...............................................15
Improved customer insights: ................................................................................. 15

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 Expanding contact with customers: ...................................................................... 15
Enhanced customer service:................................................................................... 15
High cost-effectiveness: .......................................................................................... 16
Social media marketing is highly scalable: ........................................................... 16
Keep in touch: ......................................................................................................... 16
Build brand awareness: .......................................................................................... 16
Commercial conversion: ......................................................................................... 16
How to Implement Social Media Strategies to a Business: ..................16
Concerns and Criticism of Social Media: ..............................................16
Conclusion: ...............................................................................................17
References: ................................................................................................17

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 THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON
MARKETING
Introduction
Social media is mainly Internet or cellular phone-based applications and tools used to share
information between people. It speeds up the dialogue and connection between people. It includes
popular social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. As well as bookmarking websites
(such as Digg or Reditt) and using web technologies. Initially, social media may have begun to
participate in social activities, but the commercial value soon became obvious, and it has also
become a new friend of marketers. As the use of social media has become popular and the number
of social media users has grown beyond the population of certain countries/regions, marketers
have had to seriously change their game plans to take into account this shift in the media landscape.
The industry is rewriting its conventional strategy and changing the basic campaign structure.
Social media without any commercial content has had such a significant impact on the marketing
industry.
Facebook can create economic values by creating fan groups for brands and ads and online
surveys. Facebook is also used to promote the tourism industry (Nelson et al., 2014; Nguyen et al.,
2013; Xie & Lee, 2015; Stankov et al., 2010; Goh et al., 2013). On Twitter, there are customer
service, LCCs lowcost carrier tickets promotions, flight cancellations or delays, and post-booking
management in Airlines. Twitter is used for promotion and political marketing (Sobaci & Karkin,
2013; Struik & Baskerville, 2014; Greaves et al., 2014). Social media has facilitated
communication between organizations and customers. Word of mouth marketing and mobile
marketing help to build loyal customers (Mangold & Faulds, 2009; Kozinets et al., 2010; Lee
Ventola, 2014; Schultz & Peltier 2013). Social marketing as a consumer-oriented approach leads
to a change in consumer behavior with the help of social media.
Internet marketing through corporate websites, direct marketing through campaigns on
websites, viral marketing through Web 2.0 leads to a change in consumer behavior (Thackeray et
al., 2008; Thackeray et al., 2012; Thackeray & Neiger 2009; Smailhodzic et al., 2016; Seidenberg
et al., 2012). Also, social media has a great influence on the management of the tourism and
hospitality system and the decision of travelers (De Moya & Jain, 2013; Zeng & Gerritsen, 2014;
Leung et al., 2013; Balatsoukas et al., 2015). YouTube, as the most popular video sharing site in
the world, has a great potential for access and influence in a large audience. Internet sales of
electronic cigarettes are executed on YouTube with promotional videos. Also, blogs and
microblogging or customer review sites are used to introduce and promote product and marketing.
LinkedIn is also used to express people and communicate, advertise, and shape people’s online
identity (van Dijck, 2013; Gerodimos & Justinussen, 2015; Varlamis et al., 2010). Advantages of
using the Internet are including to be cheap, instant access to the international community,
connecting with millions of people and receiving real feedback from them. Social media is also
used to manage customer relationships and create value along the value chain (Papasolomou &

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Melanthiou 2012; Hoffman et al., 2014; Rohm et al., 2013; Sugimoto et al., 2017; Parveen et al.,
2014; Woodcock et al., 2011).

What is Social Media?

Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein describe social media as “a group of Internet-based
applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0 and that allow
the creation and exchange of user-generated content”.
Social media contains two words. The first one is "social", which means interaction,
sharing, etc. Another word is "media", which means that social media is the medium of publication.
Social media contains many tools and applications that allow users to easily express opinions,
publish articles, share videos, etc.

Social Media History:

The history of social media began in 1969, when CompuServe Company used dial-up
technology to provide Internet services to the public in the United States. Then in 1979, Usenet
became the first bulletin board connecting Duke University and the University of North Carolina.
The development process continued to evolve until Tripod introduced an online community for
college students and young people in 1992. In 1997, there were more than 1 million sites on the
Internet, including social media sites such as AOL Instant Messenger.
Frindster became the largest social networking site in 2002, with more than 3 million users.
In 2003, Myspace launched the Frindster clone site, and LinkedIn also launched a corporate social
networking site for professionals. In 2004, Facebook began operations, which provided Harvard
University with opportunities for communication.
YouTube came out in 2005, and its video sharing feature made the world excited. In 2011,
social media can be accessed from anywhere in the world and has become one of the most
important content in our lives. In 2012, thousands of sites provided social media services, all of
which are very flexible and can be accessed through many different devices. Companies are now
forced to use social media to ensure their brand is always in the minds of customers.
Early pioneers of social media were:
• User net (1979)
• Bulletin Board System (1979)
• Online Service (early to mid-1980‟s)
• CompuServe (1980)
• AOL (1983)
• Genie (1985)
• Internet Relay Chat (1988)
• ICQ (mid 1990)

5
 Early Social Networks were
• Dating Sites
• Online Forms

Social Media Landscape

For publishing articles, opinions, news, etc., there are blogs, Wikis and citizen news
portals. Twitter is suitable for Micro publications. There are thousands of websites that allow users
to share videos, pictures, links, music, slideshows and product reviews. YouTube.com, Flickr and
other sites are some of the popular sites.
In order to discuss and share ideas, or even complain to any company, there are forums,
video forums, instant messaging and VoIP. Social media also allows us to watch world live TV
shows anywhere in the world, and even watch rugby matches. There are also platforms for virtual
text, social games and MMOs.
The most popular networks on the Internet are social networks, such as Facebook,
MySpace, LinkedIn, etc., which can connect anyone from anywhere. According to the 2012 Edison
Research Survey (ABC, CNN, CBS, Fox, NBC, AP and the sole export voting information
provider for most newspapers worldwide), more than half of Americans have created a profile on
any social networking site.
Edison Research Survey in 2012 also shows that nearly two thirds of social networkers are
using social sites daily.

Marketing before Social Media:

Social media has developed over time, and its user base has increased even more than the
population of certain countries/regions. In 1930, newsprint and magazines were the media of
choice. Procter & Gamble was the first company to use print media advertising. The 1950s was
known as the television commercial era, which led marketers to favor electronic media advertising.
The concept of corporate social responsibility in the 1960s came into being. In 1970,
computers were born, and the application can be found in logos, credit cards and direct marketing,
media research, payroll, visa cards, and MasterCard. Cable television was introduced in the 1980s
and it changed the landscape of advertising media. With the introduction of the World Wide Web,
the AT&T is the first company to use modern media for marketing.

Concurrent Surveys about Social Media Marketing:

Social media statistics for 2019 show that there are 3.5 billion social media users
worldwide, and this number is still growing. This is equivalent to 45% of the current population
(Emarsys, 2019). According to the HubSpot Research, Global Survey:
• 74% of global marketers continue to invest in social media marketing. [Nov-Dec 2019]
• Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter lead the pack as the most commonly used social media
platforms by marketers. [Nov-Dec 2019]

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 • Facebook remains the top social channel used by marketers with the highest return on
investment. [Nov-Dec 2019]
• 18% of marketers are using Facebook Groups. [Jan-Feb 2020]
• Photo and imagery posts are the most content type used to increase audience engagement.
[Jan-Feb 2020]
Here are the top social media sites for social media marketing:

Fig 1: Top Sites for Marketing (source: HubSpot Research, Global Survey, Nov-Dec 2019)
Content Marketing Statistics
The purpose of content marketing is to create and share relevant written, downloadable and
visual media so that the target audience can understand the company's brand, expertise, and
products or services. Content marketing statistics can guide one's strategy and provide insights into
how other content marketers address the pain points of their target audience and generate potential
customers. In this way, one can determine which technology is best for his business, customers
and potential customers.

7
 Fig 2: Primary forms of media used for content strategy

Blogging Statistics:
• As of 2019, a survey of bloggers found that 32% of respondents always checked the
analytics of their blog posts. (Statista, 2020
• WordPress users produce about 70 million new posts and 77 million new comments each
month. (WordPress, 2020)
• 73% of people admit to skimming blog posts while 27% consume them thoroughly.
(HubSpot, 2017)
• Companies spend 46% of their budget on content creation. (HubSpot, 2017)
• Search is the number one traffic source to blogs across all industries. (SEMrush, 2019)
• In the marketing industry, the top-performing articles are over 5,700 words in length.
(SEMrush, 2019)
• Articles that are >3,000 words get 3x more traffic, 4x more shares, and 3.5x more backlinks
than shorter articles. (SEMrush, 2019)
Video Statistics:
• Video has become the most commonly used format in content marketing, overtaking blogs
and infographics. (HubSpot, 2020)
• Promotional videos and brand storytelling are the most common video types created by
marketers. (HubSpot, 2020)
• 87% of video marketers say that video has increased traffic to their website. (Wyzowl,
2020)
Content Strategy:
• 70% of marketers are actively investing in content marketing. (HubSpot, 2020)
• 78% of companies have a team of one-to-three content specialists. (SEMrush, 2019)

8
 • Web traffic is among the top two most-common measurements of success for content
marketing strategies. (HubSpot, 2020)
• 94% of marketers use social media for content distribution. (SEMrush, 2019)

Marketing Technology:
Marketing techniques affect the way you attract your audience, how they consume content,
and how they interact with the brand. Marketing technology statistics and trends highlight the best
ways to connect with audiences and customers through various apps, software and mobile
channels.
Messaging Apps:
• As of April 2020, two billion users were accessing the WhatsApp messenger monthly.
(Statista, 2020)
• The number of messaging app users worldwide is expected to reach 2.48 billion by 2021.
(Statista, 2020)
• As of April 2020, WhatsApp was the top messaging app in terms of monthly active users
globally. (Statista, 2020)
• Nearly one in three c-commerce (conversational commerce) buyers say they chat with
businesses in order to determine if they’re trustworthy and credible. (Facebook, 2019)
• There are 300,000 active Messenger bots on the Facebook Messenger platform.
(Messenger, 2020)
Mobile:
• Nearly 4.57 billion people were active internet users as of April 2020, which is 59% of the
global population. (Statista, 2020)
• 58% of smartphone users feel more favorable towards companies whose mobile sites or
apps remember who they are and their past behavior. (Think with Google, 2019)
• 62% of consumers would like to confirm service appointments via messaging, though just
41% do so today. (Sinch, 2020)
Artificial intelligence (AI):
• In 2020, the global artificial intelligence (AI) software market is expected to grow
approximately 154% year-over-year. (Statista, 2020)
• In a 2018 Deloitte survey of 1,100 U.S. executives from companies considered to be early
AI adopters, 82% reported a positive return on their investment for their AI initiatives.
(Deloitte, 2018)
• 30% of enterprise companies surveyed in a 2018 Deloitte study have slowed an AI
initiative in order to address cybersecurity concerns, and one-in-five have decided not to
launch AI initiatives due to cybersecurity worries. (Deloitte, 2018)

Social Media Influence:

Sir Andrew Likierman, Dean of the London Business School, said that “social media has
completely destroyed the way companies evaluate their performance”. This statement is
completely correct, because social media is no longer an option, but a must, especially for

9
companies that deal directly with customers. Some companies can avoid considering social media
such as wholesalers altogether because they are only dealing with another company. As social
media becomes more powerful, organizations face difficulties in measuring their performance.
They must develop specific strategies for social media, and even the company can have a
dedicated department to handle user feedback and responses. Any negative feedback should be
noted, and they must discuss how to deal with negative comments. Any negative response from
customers will always exist. There is no way to eliminate this situation, so companies that avoid
considering social media will lose some customers.
Now, customers are becoming more and more special, with whom and where they buy
products or services. They are willing to conduct an online search before making any purchasing
decisions, especially for expensive items. Since it is now easier to search the Internet through a
smartphone, customers can search in just a few minutes. Therefore, the company must have a
social media presence and invest a certain amount of energy to manage customer responses and
try to convince them that the business is reputable and trustworthy. Social media provides great
opportunities for organizations to build better relationships with customers and provide true one-
on-one communication. There is no better advertisement than word of mouth.
Satisfied customers will definitely share their experiences in a particular company with
their friends on social networks. If a person shares their experience with his 400 Facebook friends,
and that friend spreads the news to their friends, the information moves very fast. If a video
uploaded on YouTube has an attractive title, such as "Think twice before eating", then the video
will definitely attract thousands or even millions of social media users. By using the "share"
function on almost any site, we can share any content to the social media community in just a
second.
One of the main reasons we must use social media is because our competitor uses social
media as a marketing strategy every day. If we do not use it means losing customers. Emarketer
said that in 2011, Facebook advertising revenue is estimated to be 3.8 billion US dollars, by 2012
it can increase to 5.2 billion US dollars. What does it mean? This figure shows that many
companies are using social media to advertise. Many companies have social media network
accounts. As a result, competitors are forced to go online. They have no choice but to show up on
social media or you will lose customers.
Another important reason why companies use social media is because their customers and
future customers are using social media. Many people have at least one social media account, such
as Facebook, YouTube, etc. Companies should display their brands where customers are.
Traditionally, we can see people opening stores in crowded places, such as shopping centers. Here,
companies should be the same in social media and other crowds. Millions of people use it every
day. You have not shown meanness, and your competitors have become stronger and stronger.
According to McKinsey & Company, using social media can increase customer satisfaction
by 50%. They were also able to seize 48% of business opportunities, and most importantly, their
profits increased by 24%.

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Platforms Options and Uses:
Not all channels are suitable for every commercial brand and business needs. For example,
for ordinary audiences, Facebook and Twitter are excellent platforms. This is true for almost all
commercial brands that focus on the presence of social media. LinkedIn is very suitable for
technology brands, professional services and corporate audience business. Instagram and Pinterest
are very suitable for travel, fashion, interior decoration, jewelry, retail and other businesses that
focus on barriers to visual content.

Blogs

Question
and Articles
Answers

Social Media
Marketing

Social
Forums
Networking

Review
Sites

Fig 3: Social media platforms

• Blogs: WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr, Gator etc..

• Articles: eHow, EzineArticles, ArticleCube etc..
• Social Networking: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc..
• Review Sites: Google My Business, Amazon, Yelp, Facebook, Trip Advisor etc..
• Forums: WarriorForum, DigitalPoint, Nairaland etc..
• Questions & Answers: Answerbag, Quora, Yahoo! Answer etc..

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Impact of Social Media on Marketing:
Because marketers are always interested in attracting consumers' attention. People have
accepted new media and new technologies, such as smart phones, and this has provided marketers
with opportunities to reach consumers 24/7 through various media. It increases the chance of
displaying messages. Therefore, it is obvious to induce marketers to turn to social media.
Traditional campaign methods are not only shrouded by the rise of social media, but also difficult
to carry out outstanding campaigns due to the highly competitive market.
The problem is the change in the way consumers think. Social media has led to a culture
of active participation, contact with anyone and doing anything, and continuous communication
anytime, anywhere. Of course, this is not possible with traditional advertising and other marketing
methods. And social media (such as Facebook pages, Twitter, YouTube, etc.)
Social media is a long-term strategy and is an investment in advertising and public
relations. When social media is combined with other marketing strategies, a particular brand will
always be in people's minds.
In November 2011, Wildfire (a division of Google), the world's largest social media
marketing software provider, participated in the ROI survey. This survey surveyed more than 700
marketers from multiple countries/regions. This survey shows that marketers acknowledge that
social media can help them increase brand awareness and enhance customer relationships. More
than 97% of marketers believe that social media marketing activities can improve their business
performance. As a long-term strategy, they also hope to increase social media spending.
The survey also shows that social media has the ability to increase brand awareness and
increase sales and partnerships. 41% of marketers agree that the media can reduce costs, leading
to increased revenue.
94% of respondents regard Facebook as one of the largest social marketing platforms,
which brings more value to their advertising campaigns. Facebook has brought in more new
customers, has a higher conversion rate and increased customer loyalty.

Technology Impact:
Many organizations are now using internal social networks to connect their employees
around the world. For example, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers restaurant has more than 460
branches in the United States. They are using an internal social network similar to Facebook to
teach recipes and how to make recipes quickly to employees and managers. They no longer use
traditional methods, such as distributing a pile of books to each store.
When the headquarters visits the store, they no longer wait for feedback. Any problem at
any branch can be quickly responded to by the headquarters in just a few minutes. With the help
of internal social networks, everything will become easy and fast. The manager communicates
with other managers in other channels through chat or video conversation. The more exciting news
is that they are making burgers based on customer feedback on social media. As a result, Red
Robin Gourmet Burgers became one of the famous restaurants in the United States.

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 Now, more and more companies are using social media technology to speed up business
processes and ensure that every job can be completed effectively. Wal-Mart is the world's largest
retailer with more than 2.2 million employees in 2012. It uses social media platforms to simplify
the supply chain and manage inventory and inventory more effectively to reduce product prices.
Many US banks use social media to reduce mortgage processing costs.
SupeValu is one of the companies that own several supermarket chains in the United States.
These chains use Yammer (corporate social networking software) to connect all 11,000 executives
and store managers. They created 1,000 groups in the network to discuss challenges and new ideas.
All store managers are in a group discussing issues and ideas. Another group of supervisors
discussed issues related to their control. This method is more cost-effective than meetings where
all managers participate.

Economic Impact:
Social media helps companies create products with high demand and based on customer
needs. Customers provide feedback, which helps many companies develop their products and
services. Companies such as Dell use customer ideas to create and improve their products. One
example is the creation of a backlit keyboard, which is more suitable for working on an airplane.
Companies that produce products according to customer needs will certainly help promote
economic development because of the high demand for that product.
Any product related to social media also helps promote the world economy. Products that
customers use to access social media such as laptops, iPads, iPhones, earphones, and headsets are
in high demand. HP CEO Meg Whitman (Meg Whitman) said that in the past two years, notebook
computer sales have increased by more than 60%. The dramatic growth is mainly due to the
influence of social media. Now, more and more people are using social media, and devices such
as laptops are in great demand. Apple also admitted that due to social media, sales of its popular
product, the iPad, are in high demand.
Social media has also created jobs that can help the economy. Social media has created
thousands of jobs. Facebook has more than 2,000 employees, Twitter has 300 employees, and
Groupon has more than 4,500 employees. With these few figures alone, thousands of companies
around the world participate in providing social media services, thereby providing thousands of
job opportunities. The world economy is growing and the unemployment rate is falling. According
to CNN, Facebook-related businesses created 232,000 new jobs in Europe in 2012.
Social media has also created a new industry where many people can make money online.
Now, many people are enjoying their income at home and helping their wives earn income to help
their husbands while taking care of their children at home.
Social media has brought many benefits to the economy, but it has also produced some
negative effects. The entertainment industry affected by social media, especially the film industry.
The filmmakers invested millions of dollars in making movies. I think that on social media sites
like You Tube or any file-sharing site, anyone can enjoy new movies for free. Although industry
participants have taken some measures to reduce the impact, they cannot completely stop this
activity.

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Political Impact:
Leaders in many countries are now encouraging people to use social media. One of the
greatest examples is Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. He has more than one million
Facebook fans and Tweeter. He shared a lot of information about his daily activities through his
network, and so on. As a result, many companies have begun to use social media, especially
Facebook, in their daily operations. Most businesses in Malaysia have Facebook IDs.
If we delve into the impact of social media in Malaysia, we can see the Lynas Corporation
project. The Lynas project comes from the Australian company Lynas Corporation. The company
provides rare earths to many companies. Many opposition parties in Malaysia expressed their
opposition to this project because they believed that the project would be dangerous to the local
environment. Social media believes that Malaysian citizen programs will boycott the project.
Facebook and many other social networks are full of feedback on the project. As a result,
the government took some actions to explain the project to citizens and promised to evaluate the
project’s existence in Malaysia. In one example, this clearly shows how social media influences
government decision-making and business.

Cultural Exchanges Impact:

Social media has largely affected most businesses. Now, many companies, especially those
with a large number of employees, are beginning to use internal social networking utilities, which
makes communication between them easier. According to Garner's research, in 2014, it assumed
that more than 20% of businesses will use internal social networking utilities, which will now
replace email communications. With the help of internal communication social networks, any
latest activities such as the company will be known to employees more quickly.
Social media has an impact on the human resources process in terms of recruitment,
development, career management, and guidance. For example, LinkedIn is a social networking
site for professional professionals. The website has more than 140 million members. Many
organizations use this site to search for real talent. Nowadays, many human resources departments
use LinkedIn for recruiting, and the site provides many tools that can be used to view complete
personal data, etc. The company also posts jobs on this site. This website provides a new way to
find talent. Professionals like to share their experiences on this site.
The company also uses social media sites to evaluate its employees and prospective
employees. For example, after the human resources department conducts an interview for a job
vacancy, they will search for details of the candidate through social networking sites (such as
Facebook) to check whether the candidate is suitable or if there is anything wrong with it. This is
one of the ways the human resources department now evaluates its candidates.
Social networks like Facebook have greatly influenced world culture. We can have friends
from many countries, and communicating with them can enable us to understand their culture.
Companies are now trying to explore new markets. Companies such as KFC and McDonald's are
trying to localize some of their food. These companies use customer feedback from social networks
to try to add some local food from that particular country and its main menu. "Nasi Ayam" is one

14
of the local Malaysian foods provided by KFC. They also tried to add food from other countries
to the local market.

Some Fail Stories of Business When Using Social Media:

Netflix is one of the top Internet subscription services for watching movies and TV shows
from any country. They have more than 27 million subscribers in the United States, Canada, the
United Kingdom and Ireland. When they raised the monthly subscription price, customers showed
more than 82,000 negative comments on social media to protect themselves. Next month, they lost
800,000 customers. We can see that companies can use social media as one of the platforms to
evaluate any decisions related to customers. Any negative reaction must arouse prompt attention
from the organization.

Advantage of Social Media for Business:

Advertising costs are much cheaper than traditional advertising and promotional activities.
Social media also provides full value for every penny we spend. Traditional advertising only shows
the brand to customers, but with the help of social media, we can build long-term relationships
through the "Like" function and get their email addresses to send future emails.
Future customers can find our brand through various channels such as shared events, news,
search engine search results, etc., so as to provide us with free advertising. Social media can bring
huge traffic to our content, especially when the content attracts their attention. This is what we call
free traffic or free customers.
Social media allows customers to express their experiences to others. Satisfied customers
can definitely bring in another new customer through shared experience activities. This can also
motivate companies to do what they can, because consumers are now free to express their opinions
and feedback. The company will improve its products and services to customers.
Key social media benefits for marketers are as follows:

Improved customer insights:

Social media channels allow companies to better understand the behavior, intentions and
preferences of their customers. Social media allows brands to easily view the opinions of potential
customers or the opinions and reactions of target customers.

Expanding contact with customers:

Once companies understand customers, they can easily use content and messages targeted
at them to ask them for help. Social channels also allow marketers to establish networks with target
customers.

Enhanced customer service:

Social media enables corporate brands to quickly respond to customer questions, appeals,
inquiries, and various issues. Through immediate or fast query processing and solutions to various
problems and grievances, brands can provide customers with meaningful help.

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High cost-effectiveness:
For all commercial brands that encounter restrictions on marketing budgets, social media
platforms are an effective solution. Social channels provide the most cost-effective solutions to
promote business products and reach target audiences. Almost all leading social media platforms
are free platforms that can be used by marketers and individuals.

Social media marketing is highly scalable:

Social media platforms are also highly scalable marketing platforms, which allow to start
with zero budget and basic strategies. Over time, these strategies can be extended to a wide range
of content marketing and paid advertising to Promote on the same social media platform.

Keep in touch:
Because the social media platform is always linear, companies can always keep up-to-date
information about rapidly evolving customer preferences, lifestyle factors, constraints, and
available resources.

Build brand awareness:

With the help of social media, any little-known commercial brand can use content
marketing and regular social media participation to build brand awareness on a global scale.

Commercial conversion:
Increased exposure and continuous engagement with the audience help commercial brands
to promote better commercial conversion and sales. Social media channels can help commercial
brands more easily maintain contact with target customers, thereby avoiding confusion and
confusion.

How to Implement Social Media Strategies to a Business:

1. Clearly define your business goals.
2. Use analytics and insights to discover your audience demographics, preferences and
activities.
3. Taylor your message to your audience so that when you tell your story, it is relevant to the
people you want to reach. Your message can include text, images and video.
4. Optimize your posts to boost SEO and link to relevant, optimized landing pages on your
website to drive traffic.
5. Use social media as a listening tool. Listen. Respond. Repeat.

Concerns and Criticism of Social Media:

With the popularity of social media, people have a variety of concerns about technology.
If comments and tweets are posted in a hurry, they may cause some marketing disasters, thereby
damaging the reputation of customers and their agencies. When consumers find that the brand’s
social activities are disruptive or annoying, consumers will get lost. In many cases, brands are
trying to abuse the system through fake reviews. Because marketers deal directly with the public,

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they cannot hide behind the scenes and must be responsible for the brand. Other issues with social
media include social media tracking, child predators and privacy issues.
Despite the potential drawbacks of social media, the popularity of social media is replacing
traditional forms of marketing. If you compare TV advertising with online viruses promoted
through social media, TV advertising can cost millions of dollars; poor positioning makes it
impossible to capture data, and the cost of social media is almost zero. This is why social media is
popular among marketers.

Conclusion:
With the popularity and irreversible development of social media, it seems that social
media will largely replace other marketing functional areas. Social media is trying to fill the gap
between marketers and consumers through continuous dialogue, building trust and interacting with
the right audience in the fastest way.
From small companies to large giant companies, social media has had a profound impact
on today's business world. Social media has a bright future, and systems and technologies continue
to grow and change every day. Companies that use social media and showcase them will reap huge
benefits. Some companies have been negatively affected. Social media is no longer an option, but
a company that must deal directly with social media. Social media brings many opportunities and
challenges, so organizations must be prepared to face this challenge.

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