Facebook Marketing Should Be Used For Business - Research Paper Example

Facebook marketing should be used for business The current global marketing trend is that; most of the companies are focusing ondigital platforms as their main marketing tools, as opposed to the use of print and mass media, which was highly used in the past as the channel of marketing. The focus of marketing has shifted from viewing social media as a trendy fad that is passing, to seeing it as an important marketing tool that any business seeking to succeed must apply (Bosari, n.p.). Therefore, Facebook is one of the marketing tools that organizations can apply to advertise their products, and inform their customer on their brand offering. Nevertheless, there are advantages and disadvantages associated with the use of Facebook as a marketing tool for organizations. Thus, this discussion seeks to analyze the application of Facebook as a marketing tool for businesses. Pros of using Facebook marketing for business First, the greatest advantage offered by Facebook marketing for business is its accessibility to many prospective customers. Facebook hit one billion active users by September 2012, creating a platform that has among the highest number of people interacting throughout the world (One Billion Factsheet, n.p.). Therefore, the application of Facebook as a Marketing tool for business will be advantageous, considering that it will be possible for the business to reach many customers, since Facebook offers the platform where a business can interact with over one billion customers in form of individuals, groups and corporate, thus providing the best target market platform that any business can reach (Treanor, n.p.). In addition, by September, 2012, Facebook reached a high of 140.3 billion active subscribers with friendship connections throughout the world, making Facebook one of the interconnected platforms that any business can apply to advertise its products, and thus reach many customers, through the friendship interconnections (One Billion Factsheet, n.p.). Further, Facebook has become a major trend in the world, with the 2012 Social Media Marketing Industry Report indicating that 94% of all organizations that have an advertising department are utilizing social media as one of their major marketing tool, with 60% of such business dedicating time that is equivalent to full day, in developing social media marketing, as well as maintaining it (Bosari, n.p.). Secondly, in addition to being a highly accessible social networking platform, Facebook combines the advantages of word-of-mouth advertising with the ability to interconnect links and thus enable the prospective customers to view the advertisement, as well as the news related to the business, its products and services (Kang, 22). Word-of-mouth advertising remains one of the most effective advertising mode that customers are well acquitted with, and Facebook allows individuals to share information regarding the existence of a business and its products through sharing such information, using the share option that is offered by Facebook, where individuals can share any useful information with their friends who are on the same social media network (Treanor, n.p.). Therefore, Facebook offers an opportunity where businesses can create a fan page, and then share the same with people and groups who are on the same social network or even those who are in other different social networks, thus building up an interconnection that would allow the company, its brand and services to be viewed by millions of customers, who will in turn make purchase decisions regarding the same, based on the information provided by the business in their fan page (Bosari, n.p.). The other reason why Facebook should be used by businesses for marketing is the fact that; it is one of the few marketing tool that combines the advantage of visual, audio and written media, making it one of the favorite platform for advertisers (Kang, 47). When most of the mass and print media offers either audio-visual or print advertisement, Facebook combines all these items under one platform, thus enabling prospective customers to view the product and the business brands, to listen to the advertisement message, and to read more news regarding the business and the product of their interest (Marrs, n.p.). The greatest advantage associated with Facebook however, compared to all the other social media platforms is that; it allows a business to upload videos, photos, audios and even print message, while also offering a further advantage of even lengthy business and product descriptions that are not offered by the other social media platforms (Kang, 15). This being the case, Facebook remains the advertising channel of choice, considering that it also enables individual businesses to establish a Facebook page which is equal to creating an own business website, only that Facebook adds to the advantage of the interconnectivity that the other websites do not have (Bosari, n.p.). Finally, Facebook is a tool of marketing that offers another advantage that the other channels of advertisement do not have, in terms of offering an interactive and direct contact with the prospective customers of a company’s brand and products (Treanor, n.p.). Facebook has an option for real time chatting, which enables different subscribers to communicate in real time through chatting in short messages, while also attaching photographs, videos and audio files on the same chat option. Thus, Facebook allows the subscribers to this social media platform to engage with each other, and thus offer clarifications and answer questions that the customers and other business stakeholders could have, as opposed to advertisement through the mass or print media, which just passes the advertisement information to the customers either through audio-visual or print modes, but does not provide a platform through which the advertisers can interact directly with the customers directly, and give any clarifications and answer the questions that the customers could have (Kang, 17). Further, social media also allows for a channel through which a business can assess the strengths and weaknesses of their competitors, through a competitor analysis in form of evaluating the number of subscribers that the competitors have, and the nature of the advertising messages and information that such competitors offer (Marrs, n.p.). This way, the business is able to improve its advertisement messages and forms, such that it attracts more attention from the prospective customers and other stakeholders. Cons of using Facebook marketing for business First, while Facebook is an important channel through which a business can advertise and thus reach many customers, it also offers an option through which the prospective customer and any other individual who is interested in the organization can make comments, whether positive or negative (Kang, 31). The implication is that the use Facebook marketing for business can expose the business to negative publicity, through the negative comments posted on their advertisement messages (Treanor, n.p.). The other disadvantage associated with the use of Facebook as a channel of advertising and marketing for business is that; it is a marketing channel that is exposed to the risk of hacking and criminal attacks, meaning that the competitors or any individual with a malicious intention towards the business can hack the account of the business in Facebook, and post damaging or misleading information, which will then discredit the business and make it lose its customers (Kang, 44). Further, the application of social media as a marketing tool for businesses is disadvantageous in that, it is only accessed, and reaches the individuals who are on this social network, while ignoring the rest of the target population, who may not have access to social media, or who are not interested in subscribing to social media (Treanor, n.p.). The implication of this is that; the business becomes disoriented from the holistic marketing approach, only targeting the modernized and the elite category of the society who are able to subscribe and make use of Facebook (Marrs, n.p.). This means that Facebook as a channel of marketing is not sufficient to serve the marketing needs of a business, and thus it requires to be combined with other marketing tools, to make it effective. Works Cited Bosari, Jessica. “The Developing Role of Social Media in the Modern Business World.” Forbes Magazine, August 8, 2012. http://www.forbes.com/sites/moneywisewomen/2012/08/08/the-developing-role-of-social-media-in-the-modern-business-world/ Kang, Juhee. Social media marketing in the hospitality industry: The role of benefits in increasing brand community participation and the impact of participation on consumer trust and commitment toward hotel and restaurant brands (dissertation). Iowa State University, 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2013. Print. Marrs, Megan. “7 Ways to Use Facebook for Marketing”. The World Stream, April 15, 2013. http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2013/04/15/facebook-marketing “One Billion Fact Sheet - Facebook Newsroom”, October 4, 2012. http://newsroom.fb.com/Photos-and-B-Roll/4227/One-Billion-Fact-Sheet Treanor, Tom. “5 Ways Your Company Can Use Social Media: Tools to Employ”. Social Media Today, October 13, 2013. http://socialmediatoday.com/rtmixmktg/1824456/5-ways-your-company-can-use-social-media-tools-use Read More