Business Use of Social Media Social Media

Business Use of Social Media

Social Media Marketing

Social media refers to the countless Internet-based sites and tools that facilitate and promote social interaction and networking through digitized means (Bulik, 2008). Social media marketing includes sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, and should always be included in an organization's business plan in some capacity. Each platform leverages the power of the Internet to facilitate social interaction and allow people to keep up-to-date with hundreds of others instantaneously (Fredericks, 2012). Social media as a marketing genre has the power to bridge distances and communication obstacles in a highly personalized and direct way.

It is estimated that 75% of the global consumers who use the web regularly visit social media websites (Libert, 2011). Visitors are reported as spending anywhere from 3 to 6.5 hours a day on sites such as Facebook. Subscriptions for social media sites are growing by leaps and bounds. Facebook, as an example, announced over 500 million users in 2011. Similarly, LinkedIn reports over 60 million subscribers; Twitter has 110 million users and MySpace claims of 50 million users in the United States alone (Fredericks, 2012). For businesses, this means excellent daily brand exposure and highly targeted marketing opportunities. As statistics suggest, businesses not using social media miss a huge opportunity for visibility.

Social media helps organizations improve their bottom line a number of ways, including: marketing, branding, customer interaction, and gathering business intelligence regarding customer preferences (McCafferty, 2011). The most successful business approaches to social media begin with solid research to identify the best channels for reaching an intended audience. Many times a combination of social media channels are used to cover all organizational needs and round out an over-arching social media strategy.

Social network services -- such as Facebook and LinkedIn -- are online platforms, which allow people to create a profile representing themselves, and connect with others to broadcast information, stay in touch, send messages and recommend one another for employment. Many companies use such sites for the captive audience they offer. They become an opportunity to engage customers who will further spread or repost news and information (Fredericks, 2012). Many social networking sites also offer advertising opportunities that can be targeted to the interests, demographics and geographical areas of millions of users. These sites help businesses remain in the public eye with relatively little time, effort and expense.

Recommendations and Rationale

An organization must determine the most appropriate social media platform according to its business goals and desired outcomes (i.e., lead generation, brand awareness, public relations, etc.). There are a number of tangible benefits to getting involved with social media, provided it is properly planned and executed. Recommendations typically include, at a minimum, a company blog, Facebook page, Twitter account, and LinkedIn page. A presence on such sites will boost the bottom line by allowing for increased brand visibility in a highly saturated competitive marketplace (McCafferty, 2011). In addition, the lower costs in comparison to traditional advertising in print, radio, television and other marketing outlets are a benefit to small businesses.

Often, social media helps strengthen a corporate reputation. The business will be better positioned to respond in a timely fashion to questions or customer feedback. This may take the form of clarifying product information, providing product knowledge, explaining special promotions, or thwarting negative comments and bad publicity (Bulik, 2008).

Privacy Policies and Security Considerations

Companies using e-commerce must make the proper security controls to protect customers. This means taking steps to minimize data collection and retention, and storing only what's required to deliver a product or service. All data such as social security numbers on credit applications, ID/password combinations and credit card numbers must be secured with encryption and firewall tools (Libert, 2011). In addition, commercial website owners are required by law to post a privacy policy. They are considered legally binding agreements and describe current business practices in regard to customer data. Settings and features should allow customers to choose what data they wish to share. They should also have a forum for complaints or issues.

Privacy concerns also extend to social media platforms. For instance, Facebook has been exposed to increasingly negative publicity about the dangers of posting personal information online and the potential for identity theft. Privacy standards have caused many users to change the settings frequently in to protect themselves and prevent personal info, photos, and data from being leaked. Spamming from outside entities can be problematic for individuals and businesses alike due to outsiders posting negative comments and viruses embedded into videos and web links. All of this has the potential to damage public perception about a company.

Companies must designate a moderator for social media platforms. This is an employee responsible for monitoring Facebook, Twitter and blog accounts and removing inappropriate content. It is equally important to include "direct from the company" responses to false statements or negative information, such as web links to articles considered bad publicity, disparaging consumer reports or product reviews, or less than favorable product or company commentary. It is also a good idea to include information regarding how the company uses contact information it may obtain. This can ease customer concerns about associating themselves, their social media accounts or email addresses with a company's social media platforms.