Threats and Opportunities of Social Media Marketing - Essay Example

?An essay discussing the threats and opportunities of social media marketing in the framework of contemporary advertising strategy Introduction The contemporary advertising strategy has narrowed down to suit the needs and wants of the people from different strata of the society. This is because the advertisers have found out that the customer requirements need to be met adequately well to make sure that they remain satisfied with the business domains and come back and forth to bring business, which would eventually reap the organizations rich profits. However, for the extent of this paper, the discussion will center on the premise of the social media marketing and how this has been seen as an opportunity in the modern advertising strategy which has been devised. This shall be the cornerstone of reaping a huge amount of success, notwithstanding the social and technological pressures that keep on mounting with the advent of time. This paper takes a keen look at how social media marketing brings with it both threats and opportunities within the frameworks of the present day advertising strategy which is undertaken by varied organizations for a multitude of reasons and understandings. Opportunities Social media marketing is something that must always remain supreme within any advertising strategy which is geared to meet the eye of the young audiences. This has been proven with the passage of time that the young ones appreciate the presence of marketing on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Google, YouTube, Instant Messengers and so on. The contemporary advertising strategy is such that it derives its basis from a number of different sectors, most significant of which remain the aspects of reaching out to the relevant target audiences and thus finding ways and means through which newer markets could be tapped in a corrective fashion. It would also manifest for growth and development under the already established clientele, which is indeed the target audience which is proving to be a major success for the brands and campaigns working under the aegis of these organizations (Hugl, 2011). The modern day advertising strategy is such that it will bring instant results if devised in line with the needs, wishes and desires of the target audience. Within the framework of the social media avenues, it is always pertinent to discern the basis of success within the making up of such advertising strategies and plans which would eventually give the intended mileage to the brands and campaigns that are run on these platforms. The social media trends and changes are happening so quickly that it is very difficult to follow up what exactly is taking place within the relevant ranks. This calls for an understanding of how properly the advertising strategies are devised, planned and later on implemented within the related settings (Sigala, 2011). What is most significant here is an understanding that much sanity can prevail within these discussions if everyone knows his role well and then goes about aligning and delegating people for their respective chores and tasks. After all, it must be remembered here that the social media marketing elements are always given the go ahead when the brands and campaigns within the aegis of organizations understand their use and believe in its effectiveness and efficiency without any issues that will ultimately come to the reckoning. An opportunity that can be discussed here is of these social media platforms working to best affects for the sake of the consumers and users alike. These people want to be updated about the latest products, services and trends that belong to their own age where they spend most of their time, i.e. the social media avenues. It excites the young audiences as they want to connect with it and thus know about the different worldly affairs (Nolan, 2011). It just is a very significant part of who they are and what they want to seek from life. Psychological entities have proven that the social media enterprises and platforms excite the teenagers more than the mature adults because the latter can only make use of the interaction mechanisms which come to the fore through these platforms while the teenagers and young adults do enjoy the intricate details which are linked up with these social media avenues and platforms, and thus spend most of their time discussing the pertinent angles and perspectives which have been drawn up (Weston, 2011). How this makes them feel different is how well they represent their own selves within the changing landscape of the social media and how proper their interaction mechanisms are within the related scheme of things. Another opportunity is in the form of the role of the people who are going to reap the dividends as far as the contemporary advertising strategies are concerned. How the advertising strategy works within such realms is an important undertaking because gaining such an understanding would eventually tell the corporation or the organization that wishes to advertise about the inherent practices which will bring success within the related folds (Shepherd, 2011). The advertising strategy of different brands and campaigns must be enacted in such a way that the threats are lessened and the opportunities are exponentially enhanced so that these brands and campaigns have the best possible mileage within the time frames that they are judged. The opportunities within such quarters are significant to decipher more so because these form the basis of continuing the advertising strategies for the social media marketing realms. It would mean that the opportunities will form the basis of growth and development, as well as reaching out to the relevant market entities in a very lucid way (Matic, 2011). These opportunities highlight the need for remaining stuck with the changing social media platforms which shall eventually boost the business domains in more ways than one. The advertising strategies so enacted would always have a deep and incisive look at the way things get done within the social media marketing platforms and programs, and would thus manifest success and growth over a period of time. It would be the basis of long term success within the relevant scheme of things if seen properly. Since the world is changing at a fast pace, it is only natural to think of the social media marketing campaigns in the same light, because this ensures accomplishment of goals and objectives which have been handled the right way within the organizations for so long now. One more opportunity is in the manner which discusses the element of advertisers who are bringing more and more new products and services for their end consumers. One must remember that these opportunities must not take away the limelight from the shores of the social media platforms for it is significant that these remain highlighted due to a host of reasons, best known to the advertisers within the related settings, which would eventually boost growth and productivity across the ranks. This has been termed as an important metaphor within this day and age because the social media marketing avenues can leverage the brands and campaigns in such a fine manner that other avenues might not even be able to translate. Last opportunity is for those competitors of such brands and campaigns who are not yet in the race of the social media marketing domains and who would fail if they do not stand up and be counted. These could include the companies that are not doing so well and have fallen time and again. There are many classic examples that are making the rounds of the different industries which have not yet tapped upon the chance to make their name get heard in the social media marketing realms. In fact, these would just be a dot in the clutter that has come about of age and it is significant that the social media marketing activities are used to such practice that the brand or the campaign under consideration is highlighted across the board. Threats As far as the threats of social media marketing are concerned, the wastage element is one of the most significant areas which need an understanding. Some organizations that have wasted their budgets incessantly are the telecom operators which do not have any idea where their money is being wasted all the same. What this implies for is the need to allocate properly and find out where the exact social media platforms are reaching out to the desired audiences. When one compares the basis of these threats, it is important to note what this brings to the fore. In line with understanding the social media marketing dynamics under the aegis of drawing up the advertising strategies, one must remember that these have their respective threats and opportunities which must be considered at all times. These threats must be weighed up with one another to seek the maximum mileage out of the situations that thus arise out of the social media marketing domains. The role is to have an understanding of the significant areas which shall find out ways and means to make sure success remains an important objective of the people behind such advertising undertakings (Love, 2011). The naivety of the situation and failure to comprehend how well the social media marketing has come up with the advent of time would only depict that the people devising such advertising strategies are indeed living in a fool’s paradise. It would be a proactive approach to find out where the companies need to invest and that too in a wise manner with minimal wastage so that the organizations could reap the rewards of the social media marketing entities which are shaping up the modern day and age. It is pivotal that organizations devise such advertising strategies which shall take into consideration both the threats and opportunities that the social media marketing avenues bring to the fore (Roth, 2011). One of the threats here is to lose back on the budgets and thus fall wrongly for the losses. The advertising strategies therefore must be narrowed down as much as possible to extract the best possible mileage out of these social media platforms and programs which are in widespread use today (Romero, 2011). These threats come about in full circle when there is an understanding that the advertising strategies will cut back on costs and look at properly utilizing the resources of the organization. But when the social media marketing domains are handled differently than these have been planned, then there is all the reason that one could suggest for the wastage element to be discussed across the board. If Twitter is seen as a social media platform which would not attract or come within the grasps of the select target audience for a region or locality, then this would mean that the advertising strategy must not take into perspective the social media platform of Twitter. Another threat is in the form of choosing a wrong platform in the wake of the social media ones would mean that the advertising strategy is not catering to the right target audience. This emanates in losses on the part of the advertisers who are always finding out solution for their own selves if seen properly (Tian, 2011). These threats might give a very bleak picture of the entire situation that has come about in the wake of the advertising strategies been drawn up but then again the opportunities are immensely more popular for all the right reasons, as has been proven with thorough research and solid basis of evidence. It is a fact that the advertising strategies must be drawn upon as precisely as possible because this would embody the basis of success for the brands and campaigns which want to advertise to the selected target audiences and thus reap rich profits in the short run or in the long term scheme of things. How well the advertisers understand the dictum of properly aligning with the social media marketing avenues suggests for the immense success within such regimes, and now is the time to move ahead and explore the basis of exponentially increasing the profits which have started to come in through the social media marketing avenues. One more threat that could be added here is of diluting the brand image somewhere in between. This would implicate for losses in terms of budgets when the organizations are vying to go the social media marketing way and when they come to know that their costs would be higher in such realms because of the presence of inferior direct and indirect competitors. This can hurt the basis of the brand and the campaign which has thus been run. The large corporations lose out on such discussions and hence their brand image and value gets ransacked by elements they have little or no control about. Last threat is in the form of the social media marketing dynamics that take place distinctively. This is because the social media landscape keeps on changing every now and then. Before one knows it, the social media dynamics have already been amended drastically. This is the world of trends and such a premise has been cashed upon by the advertisers who believe in enacting advertising strategies geared to look after these trends and happenings which are on the move; changing twice or thrice a day. The trends are such an important premise of social media tools like Twitter and Facebook that one just cannot get rid of their holds. The advertising thus done is also under the aegis of the trends that are shaping up every now and so often (Weeks, 2011). Conclusion The future opportunities to consider in the wake of the social media marketing comprise of how well the avenues are being exploited upon by the people who are in charge of the same. The need is to remain one step ahead of the competition that the traditional media possesses within its folds and to come up with new and vibrant ideas which will shape up the coming generations and more so the ones that are in the teenage and young adult brackets. It will take care of the threats itself. It would be fair to state that such understandings will always result in a better working knowledge of the social media marketing dynamics. It will tell the brands and campaigns what mileage they are about to receive at the hands of the social media marketing platforms, programs and websites. The proponents of social media must understand that this could be a trend that is present now but might just go away with the passage of time (Pallas, 2007). What remains to be seen is how well it is advanced over the period of time and how people shape up the social media avenues within their lives in the coming eras. Then again, it is the dire role of the organizations to make sure that their advertising strategies are in proper shape and size so that success remains an integral part of the social media marketing entities which are in use. This would ensure that the threats are kept at bay and the opportunities are thrived upon with full force. Works Cited Hugl, Ulrike. Reviewing person's value of privacy of online social networking. Internet Research, 21(4), 2011 Love, Brad. Profits and perspectives: advertising, social marketing, and public health. Journal of Social Marketing, 1(3), 2011 Matic, Julie. Mapping and leveraging influencers in social media to shape corporate brand perceptions. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 16(3), 2011 Nolan, Sara. A look at current trends and data. Strategic HR Review, 10(2), 2011 Pallas, Josef. Providing, promoting and co-opting: Corporate media work in a mediatized society. Journal of Communication Management, 15(2), 2007 Romero, Nuria. ROI. 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