Business and Social Networks 1

BUSINESS AND SOCIAL NETWORKS: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

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 Business and Social Networks 2

BUSINESS AND SOCIAL NETWORKS: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

Technological advancement and its increased application in business in the 21st century

have made it extremely hard to separate business and technology in the current times. The rise in

social media platforms, accompanied by a tremendous number of users globally, has

revolutionized how businesses promote and sell products and communicate with their critical

stakeholders, including the employees, customers and the community (Kane et al., 2014). The

importance of social networks in business was exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic,

whereby social distancing and lockdowns reduced people's mobility; social networks became the

primary ways business managers communicated with their employees and customers and even

sold products. Through video calls and virtual chats allowed by social media platforms,

businesses could remotely engage with their employees in the comfort of their homes to keep

their operations going. Through their online shops, businesses could market and fulfil orders,

making their customers well-served despite the hardships of the time. According to the 2019

Global Web Index report, youth aged between 25 and 34 spend 2 hours and 4 minutes of their

day engaging and interacting on social media. During their survey, the same report showed more

than 3.725 billion social media users globally. The implication is that any business that wants to

reach a broad array of customers effectively has no option other than obtaining and engaging

them through social networks. There are plenty of opportunities for businesses in social

networks, including the ability to gather customer feedback, enhance brand influence, analyze

user behaviour, and promote marketing and marketing. Like any other form of technology, social

networks have challenges that businesses should comprehend and prepare for before opting to

use the networks. Some leading challenges include security and privacy concerns, online scams

and misinformation, and impromptu user preferences and competition changes. The paper
 Business and Social Networks 3

explores the literature on business and social networks regarding social network opportunities

and challenges for businesses to understand how businesses can maximize the opportunities

while effectively neutralizing the challenges.

Significance of The Research

Technological advancement has significantly changed the business world and continues

to change it. Social media, especially, has become a new way through which people across the

world communicate and interact. Through social media platforms, businesses can gather

information about customer needs and preferences in real-time, engage the customers, market

and promote their products and transact business at low costs. Because of the many visible

advantages associated with transacting business over social media platforms, businesses have

ignored that social media, like any other new technology, has challenges that limit their

application as business tools. They have also ignored the fact that, as the internet technology

advances, so does the skill of the cybercriminals. As a result, businesses have not taken the

necessary preventive measures to protect their businesses and customers from cybercriminals.

Therefore, there is a need for business people to consider both sides of the issue. They need to

consider the benefits and opportunities presented by social networks as business tools and the

associated challenges. In so doing, businesses can use their resources to take advantage of the

opportunities while at the same time neutralizing the challenges for smooth and efficient

business through the networks. Given the identified information gap, the paper seeks to inform

business leaders and entrepreneurs about the opportunities and changes associated with social

networks and how they can use necessary resources to take advantage of the networks to grow

and sustain their businesses while at the same time mitigating risks presented by the challenges.

Methodology of The Research Paper

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As an emerging business tool, using social networks to transact business has been

extensively studied since many businesses, veterans, and startups use the networks for business.

There is, thus, plenty of literature on the benefits/opportunities and challenges and the measures

businesses should consider in resolving the challenges associated with using social media

networks in conducting business. Therefore, the paper uses a literature review to study the

challenges and opportunities social media presents in conducting business. In finding the articles

to consider in the study from the internet, keywords associated with social media and networks

such as "social media and business," "challenges of social network in business", and

"opportunities of using social media as a business tool." Since the phenomenon is new, the

studies to consider are recent; therefore, they will all apply to the publication date. The paper will

consider all businesses, from small enterprises to large multinationals.

Literature Review

a. Opportunities of Using Social Networks for Business

Using social media as a business tool has recently given businesspeople several

opportunities to enhance profitability, growth, and development. Different researchers have

studied these opportunities to establish how businesses have taken advantage of them and how

advantageous they have been for the relevant businesses. One of the many studied opportunities

is the social network's ability to help enhance brand awareness and broaden product reach. In

their study, Ganesha and Ganapati (2019) explored social networks' capacity to broaden brand

awareness and product reach. According to their study, social media is far better than traditional

media in that, unlike traditional media like television, radio and newspapers, it is faster in

communication, inexpensive and can effectively reach a large population of young individuals

due to their inclination towards its use. Also, unlike traditional media, which allow for
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communication of information passage at a time, social media allows for both communication

and feedback. Due to its inherent characteristics, the researchers found that social media is an

effective and better medium through which businesses can enhance brand awareness, build brand

loyalty and broaden products. According to Ganesha & Ganapati (2019), businesses need to

spend about 25% of their day's marketing time on social media to realize the intended purposes

of enhancing brand awareness and broadening product reach. They also need to prioritize special

occasions as this will lead to the information reaching many of the target populations. According

to the study, social media advertising stands out as an inexpensive and effective way of creating

brand awareness, building brand loyalty and ensuring extended product reach. While exploring

the opportunity of creating brand awareness and expanding product reach through social media,

Ganesha & Ganapati (2019) apparently ignored the possibility of challenges that could mean

increased costs and diminish the effectiveness of social media in creating brand awareness and

expanding product reach.

Dwivedi et al. (2021) explored the potential of social media as the future of product

marketing. The study finds many opportunities for marketers, especially those who employ AI

and VR technologies in their social network marketing strategies. The opportunities allow these

marketers to enhance customer engagement behaviours and track customer journeys via social

media marketing, all of which will increase brand awareness, loyalty and company sales.

According to the study, advancements in technological innovation and the adoption of hand-held

digital devices have changed customer behaviour regarding how they interact and the utilization

of social commerce to make consumption decisions and shop online. Mobile tools such as

mobile wallets, shopping applications, location-based services and the general use of

smartphones for business purposes have created more diffused customer experiences, implying
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increased business opportunities. Social network platforms create forums through consumer

work in different ways, including empowered agents seeking collaboration and data-driven

decision-makers to enable transparency and using voices to spread knowledge and foster social

change. Social media marketers should thus effectively use these platforms to gain the best for

the companies they represent. Social network platforms also unlock creativity and knowledge

and link them together amid sophistication. Marketers can thus leverage social networks to

understand and analyze consumer behaviour. While recognizing the many opportunities for

marketers presented by social media platforms, Dwivedi et al. (2021) also recognize the many

challenges associated with the platforms. Misinformation is among the challenges highlighted.

According to the researchers, the impact and the flow rate of negative word-of-mouth through

social networks is higher than positive word-of-mouth, and influencers need to be aware of that.

Other challenges noted include the impromptu changes in social media and the lack of validated

scales and appropriate constructs to test the social impacts of consumer behaviour. With the

challenges and opportunities considered, the researchers advise that social network marketers

must plan appropriately and manage their marketing strategies because failure to plan and

manage leads to increased transaction and coordination costs, loss of non-contractible value, and

negative long-term benefits. The research is comprehensive in that it considers both the

opportunities and challenges and explains how social network marketers can mitigate the

challenges to gain the highest value in their marketing escapades.

Another study by Yang et al. (2022) explored the effects of social media marketing on

brand awareness and image, which determine the degree of customer loyalty and retention. The

study, conducted on Chinese tech product customers, had several findings related to social media

marketing, brand awareness, and brand loyalty. First, social media marketing allows for the
 Business and Social Networks 7

incorporation of entertainment in the marketing content, which helps establish a stronger

emotional bond between the brand and the customer, which enhances brand awareness and brand

image among social media users. Secondly, social media marketing allows for the customization

of information. Customization enhances brand awareness and image because customers believe

that when brand recommendations are personalized, they align with their preferences and needs

to a greater extent. Marketing information targeting a specific audience in a social media

platform such as a Facebook post can be more impactful on target customers than if the

information was generally broadcasted. This is because members of the target audience feel

closer to the brand. After all, the marketer recognizes their importance. They thus feel more

compelled to associate themselves with the brand. Thirdly, social media marketing allows

marketers to cultivate trends in their content, which immensely enriches customer experiences

and satisfaction. Trendiness works best for fashion and luxury products marketed on social

media platforms. Fourthly, social media enables the brand and customers to communicate

simultaneously, advancing customer engagement and bolstering brand awareness, loyalty and

equity among the customers, predominantly youthful customers of fashion and luxury products.

Social media marketing also allows for word-of-mouth interactions among customers. Through

word-of-mouth, consumers can experience and review the product. Other consumers are

prompted to buy by these reviews and experiences. Word-of-mouth thus enhances brand image

and awareness among customers. Lastly, social media marketing allows consumers to compare

and rate products. High ratings by consumers of particular products improve the brand equity of

the relevant products. As such, the improved brand equity increases consumers' interest in

repurchasing the product. Because of these opportunities, the researchers advise that businesses

using social marketing should prioritize entertainment and customization in the content and
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invest and build brand equity. From the preceding, it is clear that the study emphasizes the

benefits of social media marketing, including brand equity, loyalty and repurchasing intention,

without considering the challenges associated with social media marketing.

Hasson et al. (2019) explore the potential of social media networks as the primary source

of customer feedback in the 21st-century business world. According to the researchers, customer

satisfaction surveys have long dominated the business industry as the primary source of customer

feedback businesses. However, the rapid growth of social media services usage by a broad array

of customers has allowed businesses to get customer feedback in real time. Unlike customer

satisfaction surveys, which used to be expensive, highly involving for the customers, and costly

regarding time and low response rates, social media networks are associated with low-cost and

continuous platforms to identify, analyze and rectify issues on a timely basis. Customers provide

high-quality, firsthand information about their views on different products on their social media

timelines and the business's official social media accounts. According to Hasson et al. (2019),

businesses can extract valuable data from these timelines, and accounts apply the data to

compare different sentiments from different customers to get the overall sentiment of the

customers. To further optimize and encourage customer responses, the business can create

threads regarding a particular product through hashtags and Facebook threads. To clarify and

ensure the authenticity of the feedback provided, the business can further compare the social

media results with responses from customer satisfaction surveys. The value added by the social

media networks over the customer surveys can be obtained through such comparison. According

to the authors, a business that wants to satisfy customer tastes and preferences in the current

century fully has no option other than engaging its customers using social media networks.
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Rodoula (2020) explores the role of social media in creating another opportunity that has

proved to be quite crucial to businesses: customer engagement. According to the Statista Survey

in 2017, businesses globally invested about $32 billion in 2017 social media advertising, and the

investment was projected to reach a whopping $48 billion in 2021. The statistics showed just

how influential social media networks were influential in helping businesses reach their goals of

meeting their customer needs and expectations. According to Rodoula (2020), in addition to

helping businesses satisfy customers' needs, desires, interests, and expectations, social media

also helps them interact with customers and provide vital market intelligence. Social media

networks allow customers to actively evaluate product performance, post comments and material

regarding a product, share experiences with the product, express opinions, repost others'

comments and content, and observe other customers' conversations related to a particular

product. A business can engage its customers through creating and operating social media

communities. Such communities are practical tools for building lasting relationships with

customers. Customer engagement through social media communities enhances relationship

outcomes, including trust, value, satisfaction, loyalty and commitment. Through social media

communities, businesses and customers derive benefits by co-creating value through sharing,

contributing, retrieving and exploring content. Social media is also a reliable source of marketing

intelligence as businesses monitor customer social media activities and interactions to obtain

information about their offerings for use in product development. Collecting such intelligence

through social media is not only fast but also inexpensive. Like some other studies considered,

Rodoula (2020) does not consider the challenges associated with social media networks

concerning customer engagement.

b. Challenges Associated with Social Networks

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From the exploration above, while the benefits and opportunities of social media use in

business are many, the number and magnitude of challenges that limit their value for business are

just as many. Among the leading concerns involved in using social media networks for business

are security and privacy concerns. Security and privacy present ethical dilemmas in the world of

business data collection and use from social networks. Hanlon and Jones (2023) explored the

ethical concerns of social media users' limited ability to comprehend their consent actions in their

study. For businesses to collect, use, process and resell social media user data, they legally have

to obtain informed consent from the user. Due to the complexity of consent policies related to

social media platforms, users may consent without clearly understanding the implications of their

consent actions. When this happens, it implies that the business has unintentionally engaged in

unethical business practices. According to Hanlon & Jones (2023), though mature individual

users with higher reading ages understand the implications of their consent action concerning the

privacy policy of the social media platform, the same is not valid for minors and even adults with

lower reading ages. Due to readability, word counts and frequent changes and updates of the

privacy policy by different platforms, the users may find it difficult to read and understand the

privacy policy of the platform and, hence, end up consenting to what they do not understand.

According to the study, if readability scores are to be considered, Meta's readability score

requires users to be 21 years old to read and comprehend Facebook's privacy policy. Twitter

users need 14 years of reading age to understand the policy and provide informed consent. In

addition to the readability, the excessive wording of the policies makes it impossible for even

average readers to comprehend the policy. While companies like Twitter and Meta are revising

their privacy policies to improve readability scores and eliminate legal language, minors and

people with lower reading age still find it hard to comprehend the policies. Informed consent is a
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legal requirement if a company has to use user's data for business purposes. Though social media

platforms consider users autonomous and able to provide informed consent at the age of 13, this

is not uniform for all platforms. Consent legislation also varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction,

ranging from 13 to 16 in the UK, USA, and the European Union. Though parental consent may

be granted, many younger users access and use the platforms without their parent's knowledge.

Facebook accepted this fact in their 2021 annual by acknowledging that their privacy data was

inaccurate since a disproportionate number of minors access and use their platform by lying

about their ages. When these minors consent to the use of their data by businesses, the consent

cannot legally be termed as informed consent. Since most users are overwhelmed by the content

and complexity of the texts, skim, or entirely ignore the text, their consent cannot be reliably said

to be informed. The implication for businesses using the information provided by such users is

that the data is unreliable and, hence, can negatively impact their marketing strategies. For

example, if, because of uninformed consent, a company uses data provided by a minor

pretending to be an adult, it will skew its marketing strategy. Additionally, using such data

presents a risk of the business being embroiled in negative publicity resulting from complicated

privacy policies that meet legal requirements but fail in ethical considerations.

Senthil et al. (2016) explored the concepts of privacy and security related to social media.

In the study, the researchers found that most individuals in their sample, 52%, are aware of

privacy and security glitches and concerns presented by social networks and take available

measures to protect their private information. This involves changing their privacy settings

frequently if they detect anything suspicious. The researchers unearthed several security attacks

that had occurred to social media users and how the attacks could be prevented or mitigated. The

attacks include network infrastructure and malware attacks, which can be prevented by
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installation of intrusion detection systems and anti-virus and anti-malware software; phishing

attacks, which can be prevented by careful examination of emails and validation of data source;

evil twin attacks, which can be prevented by careful sharing of information, authenticating the

user profile when sharing data and understand the friendship policy of the network, identity

attacks which can be prevented by using strong and complex passwords and proper of shredding

emails and documents, cyberbullying which can be prevented by avoiding threatening and

hurtful messages, archiving such messages as evidence and taking the messages seriously and

lastly, physical attacks which can be prevented by proper use of security and privacy settings,

having a well-defined network policy and background security and privacy checks. The authors

advise that for users to be safe, they should be aware of the privacy risks that may occur to them,

understand and use the available measures to protect themselves, and avoid engaging in activities

that intensify the risk of attack.

Domenico et al. (2021) explore misinformation, another problem associated with social

media marketing and business. According to the authors, while false news has been part of

human history since humans started living on the planet, technology, especially social media, has

taken it to a whole new level. False information mimics conventional information and is aimed at

misinforming the recipient. With the increased use of social media platforms for brand marketing

activities such as customer service and product development and promotion, false information

poses a serious threat to businesses and customers alike. Customers base their consumption and

purchasing decisions on the information they get from social media platforms. If that information

is falsified, it affects the customer's beliefs and attitudes towards the brand. As such, the

customer makes decisions based on false beliefs and attitudes influenced by the false

information. False information does not only affect the customers. It presents a real financial risk
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to the companies as well. False information fed to the customer through the company's social

media handles or by unscrupulous marketers tarnishes the company's reputation. It could result

in the company's product boycotts, adversely impacting company sales revenues and

profitability. It is the customers' responsibility to be knowledgeable enough to identify fake

information and ignore it. Businesses must ensure that their target users know how to identify

fake news and take appropriate measures to eradicate the possibility of fake information from

their social media handles. It is also the primary role of social media companies to ensure that

their platforms have sufficient tools to help customers filter information in the platform for

authenticity, credibility and accuracy.

Another challenge affecting social media marketing in today's world is fierce

competition. With many advantages and opportunities associated with social media marketing

and the availability of means to deal with the relevant challenges, many companies, small,

medium, and large corporations, have opted to market and promote their brands and products

over social media platforms over the years. The increase in the number of businesses using social

media to market their products has increased competition. The fierce competition from

established brands with extensive budgets and vast followings has made it extremely hard for

new entrants to gain recognition and stand out on social media platforms (Roadmaplearning

Authors Group, 2023). Veteran companies have the financial muscles to fund innovation and

differentiation, which makes them continue to dominate social media marketing strategies. The

need for innovation, differentiation, authenticity and deep understanding of the target audience,

in addition to the need to mitigate risks posed by social media challenges, have increased the

costs of social media marketing and promotion. The increasing costs have made it increasingly

challenging for small and medium enterprises to compete and thrive in the social media
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marketing market. Therefore, before investing in social media marketing and promotion, a

company, especially an SME, needs to understand the technological, organizational, and

environmental (TOE) factors that influence competition in social media marketing.

Ali Abbasi et al. (2022) explore the TOE factors determining competition in social media

marketing. Among the technological factors to consider are perceived relative advantage,

complexity, and cost. The organizational factors to consider include senior management support,

financial availability, and employee capabilities. Among the environmental factors are perceived

competitive pressure, customer pressure, and vendor pressure. Perceived relative advantage

should positively impact a firm's adoption of social media marketing because the adoption of

social media marketing has proved to bring functional and strategic gains to firms. Perceived

complexity has little impact on the decision to adopt because social media has been around for

some time, and many people have used it. This means that people and business employees can

quickly learn and operationalize social media marketing. While perceived costs can negatively

affect the decision to adopt, adopting social media has proved to be less costly than traditional

media for marketing. The lower relative costs should, therefore, draw SMEs to adopt the new

form of marketing. Managerial support is essential in that it establishes a viable atmosphere by

creating positivity around the adoption and use of social media in the company and encouraging

and facilitating the adoption and use of the technology through the provision of resources

(Pearson, 2013). Regarding social media marketing, employee capabilities are essential because

the employees' skills and knowledge enable them to deal with the intricacies associated with the

technology. A company with technologically receptive employees and increased learning

capabilities should adopt social media marketing because of its advantages. Competitive pressure

emanating from competitors within a firm's industry who have adopted social media marketing
 Business and Social Networks 15

should prompt the firm which has yet to adopt the technology to do so because such adoption

enables the firm to stay on the same level or even ahead of the competition. All the companies in

the current century are competing to satisfy their customer needs and expectations. Customer

pressure has become vital when deciding on the technology to adopt. Many customers nowadays

make purchasing and consumption decisions based on the information they get from the internet,

especially the social media platforms they use so frequently. This is a call that a firm that wants

to engage their customers, understand their needs and expectations and satisfy them has no

option other than meeting and engaging them through social media. Vendor support is another

important aspect because it will enable the business and users to conduct business smoothly over

social media. Due to strict legislation worldwide and regulatory measures, social media

companies have implemented and continue implementing policies to use their platforms easily.

Though insufficient, these policies have generally minimized challenges associated with social

media usage like cyber-attacks, misuse of privacy rights and cyberbullying. Firms should thus

consider these aspects and ensure they effectively work on the factors in their control as the

external stakeholders continue improving external factors.

Wang (2017) explores consumer identity and its influence on consumer behaviour. The

challenge associated with social media marketing is predicting customer interests and

preferences because of the rapid change in user interests and preferences. A company that wants

to thrive in social media marketing can solve the problem by mastering the factors that affect the

social media identity of the target customers. Social identity, according to Wang (2017), to a

significant extent, influences customers' online behaviours, including their interests and

preferences, which they use to make purchase decisions. According to the study, a customer's

social identity influences their use of a particular social network and their purchase behaviour
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concurrently. This means that if a social media user develops an identity connection with a

particular social network, they will likely use the platform and continuously engage in purchase

behaviour. According to the researcher, social identity has three dimensions: social, cognitive,

and evaluative. The social dimension has a more significant influence on the customer's use of a

particular social media platform, as users who associate themselves with particular groups in the

social network platform will likely continuously use the platform to connect and interact with

other group members. As a result of such a connection, the customer will likely make decisions

based on the characteristics of other members of their social network group. The evaluative and

cognitive dimensions of identity have a more significant influence on purchasing behaviour.

Social media marketers should understand that customers develop identification with their

specific platforms and the virtual social groups fostered by the platforms—the identification

development determines the customer's use of the platform and their purchase behaviour. To

accurately predict and analyze consumer behaviour, the business can identify the social network

platform and virtual groups the target customers identify with and intensify their marketing

strategies in those platforms and groups.

Discussion and Conclusion

Regarding business and its interaction between business and social media, it is worth

noting that using social networks for business purposes, such as sales and marketing, presents

both opportunities and challenges. According to Baccarella et al. (2018), social media has both

the 'bright' and 'dark' sides. The bright side of social media represents the opportunities available

by technology to customers and businesses, which businesses can leverage to better their market

reach. On the other hand, the dark side represents the challenges posed by the new social media

technologies that imply risks and costs for businesses using the media to propel their businesses.
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While the opportunities are apparent and straightforward, the challenges cannot be directly

identified, especially by businesses that have yet to adopt the technologies. For this reason,

businesses, pulled by the opportunities, rush to adopt the technologies without creating the

groundwork for dealing with the challenges to reap the best from social media. For this reason,

many companies have had to incur considerable losses in fines and legal suits, as well as

tarnishing their reputations.

From all the studies considered in the paper, the researchers agree that social media usage

has been increasing rapidly over the past 20 years it has been around. According to the studies,

social media has appealed to the majority of youths across the world. According to Bartoloni and

Chiara (2023), in 2023, social media appealed to more than 90% of youths worldwide. The

studies considered also agree that social media has become a central influencer of people's lives

across the globe. Social media influences nearly all aspects of a user's life, including their

journey as customers and the relationships between customers, businesses, and brands. With vast

acceptance and usage of social media networks, businesses have found new opportunities to

connect with billions of their customers across the globe, enhance their brand visibility and

create affirmative word-of-mouth. Challenges related to these opportunities include security and

privacy concerns, attacks by cyber criminals, online scams and false information, and high

competition for using the networks among customers.

The literature review above has indicated that many scholars emphasize the opportunities

of using social media for business while soundly ignoring the challenges that limit the

applicability of the networks in business promotion. The few scholars who explore the

challenges also do not give sufficient weight to them. They fail to provide a comprehensive

account of the implications of the challenges to the businesses, communities and customers,
 Business and Social Networks 18

among other stakeholders. Failure to recognize the challenges leads to businesses not investing in

sufficient measures to protect themselves from the risks posed by these challenges.

The paper's main objective was to explore different opportunities and challenges

associated with the utilization of social networks in business and how businesses can use

resources at their disposal to harness the benefits of the opportunities and mitigate the challenges

to reap the best out of the social networks. Through the exploration of literature, different

opportunities include gathering user feedback, enhancing brand equity and influence, and

conducting marketing and promotion and user behaviour analysis. The literature has also

provided ways through which businesses can best take advantage of these opportunities. For

opportunities related to brand equity, the businesses that want to gain the best should emphasize

customization and entertainment. Customization involves tailoring content information to the

needs and preferences of the target customers. According to the literature review, every business

understands its market niche. They understand the needs and preferences of their target

population and the platforms they frequently use. Customizing content and putting it in the

platforms suited for its target customers makes the customers better aligned with the brand. As

such, the customer feels a solid connection to the social media platform and the brand. It is

different when the company prioritizes broadcasting, which targets the general population.

Entertainment is also at the core of promoting brand awareness and loyalty aspects of brand

equity. Incorporating entertainment in social media advertisement content is essential because it

arouses specific emotions in the customer. The emotions bring the customer closer to the brand

and the platform the advertisement uses. The strong connection between the brand and the

customer developed through the emotion creation enables the customer to associate the emotion
 Business and Social Networks 19

with the brand and, therefore, be willing to purchase the brand product whenever they experience

the advert.

Since the opportunities of using social media in marketing are more straightforward, as

the relevant literature explains, businesses know how to leverage them for their benefit.

However, little focus on the challenges means that businesses are unaware of how to mitigate the

challenges for the highest benefits best. The literature review shows that security and privacy

concerns are the leading challenges in social network marketing. While social media network

companies like Twitter and Facebook have policies to limit the misuse of private information,

the policies are insufficient. The business should thus invest in training and informing their target

audiences online on protecting themselves from malicious individuals and attacks. They should

inform their customers about the sights they should avoid, how to identify suspicious mail and

documents, and how to install anti-virus and anti-malware software when interacting with the

business. Businesses are also in a better position to push policymakers to pass legislation and

regulations that optimally guard users against privacy and security threats posed by social media.

Misinformation through false information and online scams comes second as the challenge of

conducting business over social media. Misinformation has become a norm in today's social

media-saturated world. Misinformation implies dire financial consequences for companies

because it can lead to product boycotts, reducing sales and profits. Companies using social media

should thus invest in educating their online customers on how to identify credible information

from them and how consumers can prevent themselves from falling prey to misinformation.

Customers should also protect themselves by authenticating information and its source before

they use it in decision-making.

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Intense competition from the financially stable early adopters of social media marketing

is another significant challenge preventing small businesses from social media marketing.

Innovation and differentiation are required if a company wants to take advantage of social media

marketing opportunities. Innovative and differential social media content means additional costs

for a business. To be safe, the company needs to take stock of technological, organizational and

environmental factors that favour its adoption of social media marketing. This implies you

identify factors that favour the company and those that disfavour it. The company should then

isolate the disfavoring factors and invest more in them for efficient and sustainable adoption of

social media marketing. After the adoption, the company should continue building on their social

network advert to stay on par with the early adopters.

User behaviour analysis is another challenge that has been brought out in the literature. It

is hard for companies to forecast future needs and preferences of customers due to the rapidly

changing preferences of online and social media customers. Companies should thus find a way to

stabilize their needs and preferences. One proposed method is the use of customers' social

identity characteristics. Customers usually like associating and building their identity with

certain social media groups. To sustain their identity and belonging to that particular group, the

individual will base their use of social media platforms and purchasing decisions on the group

members' views. A customer will likely frequently log onto the social media platform to see

what their peers on the platform are buying or are willing to buy. Through their evaluative and

cognitive identity, they will decide whether to buy the products. A company can, therefore,

establish such groups for its target audiences and prompt them to form their identity around their

product. By considering social media's opportunities and challenges, businesses can take

advantage of opportunities and effectively mitigate the challenges.

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Strengths and Weaknesses of the Study

One standout strength of the study is that, unlike studies considered in the literature

review, it combines the opportunities and ways businesses can take advantage of them and the

challenges and means through which businesses can mitigate them. The study is thus a

comprehensive exploration of the challenges and opportunities of using social networks for

business. The second strength is that the study uses literature from different authors, periods and

jurisdictions, implying that the findings can be applied in various settings. The leading weakness

is that the study considers all businesses without recognizing that businesses differ, as do the

challenges emanating from social networks, which are incidental to different types and sizes of

businesses.

Bibliography

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