Examining the Positive and Negative Aspects of Social Media - Essay Example

Examining the Positive and Negative Aspects of Social Media The new millennium has brought about much progress that makes life more convenient and interesting. Part of that progress is the way consumers source their information and create their own social networks. The power of the internet has grown in magnitude to include interacting with people online for various purposes. Donaldson (2010) mentions a research survey that 48% of all Americans aged 12 and older have a social networking profile. For people doing business online, this means that there are millions of potential clients, browsers and viewers who may just be waiting for the right opportunities to do business themselves. Social technology is being discovered by people by the score each day and is now being differentiated into distinct categories namely social networking, social media and social web. Although these are mostly used interchangeably, it is essential to distinguish one from the other based on its designed purpose. Social networking refers to networks of people coming together to connect with each other and only grant access to the content of their specific web pages for that purpose. Social media, on the other hand is related to the production of content by users which is accessible and searchable by anyone. The social web is described as the way an entity organizes its identity, connections and content in the internet. It drops information and new ideas about the entity which finds its way to the potential clients’ minds. This is deliberately designed in the social web through the connections and conversations found there (Reid, 2009). Dryer (2010) contends that: “Social media has democratized information and empowered ordinary citizens with the ability to organize, share information, and be heard like never before in our history. Social media is word of mouth on steroids and is beginning to morph from a fun and easy way to stay socially connected with friends into a dynamic and interactive way of doing business” (p. 16) This explains one positive aspect of social media. It is very accessible to everyone. It provides an avenue for individuals to share information and influence others with their ideas. Reid (2009) cites Soumitra Dutta for crediting the rise in social networking technology to a growth in e-skills of people with increased access to technology, the new generation’s shift in demographics towards one favoring openness and a desire to establish their identity and standing in a community, whether actual or virtual. Being so, these users are likewise open to whatever marketing trends the social media has to offer. Dryer (2010) agrees that social media expands the world of potentially discoverable materials. These are readily posted on social media sites and includes audio, photographs and video. Anyone can access such materials even on their cell phones, since most mobile phones have internet functions too. More and more ways to access social media sites and upload new content through mobile phones are being designed and such new technology continues to change the discovery landscape. Another positive aspect of social media marketing is the immediacy of feedback. Fair Isaac Corp, a credit-reporting agency gained higher sales from the members of its online community by 41% as a result of open communication about their products and services. The customers can avail of free advise from the website by posting their questions or comments and they are readily answered by their professional workers assigned online (Reid, 2009). Likewise, a significant reduction in hiring a call center service was manifested due to the fact that customers find answers to their support questions online through customer forums. This greatly saves the company and estimated $ 5 to $10 per call. On the other hand, companies have their turn of turning bad publicity around by observing and listening to customer feedback. One professional that represented the company replied to a complaint from a customer on their company’s blog (Reid, 2009). He was able to assuage the customer’s discontent and the customer walked away feeling better about the company rather than the discontent for the service it offered. One main objective of a marketing agency is to bring their product or service “out there”. They plant ideas in consumers online and in turn, these consumers are expected to spread the word offline. Alan Scott, SVP and CMO of Dow Jones Enterprise Media Group claims that using social media to see and hear “conversations” of their target market helps them improve their products and services (Reid, 2009). Social media now becomes a tool for market research. Despite the positive aspects of social media as a way to market goods and services, it is not free from criticism. One is violation of privacy. Just recently, the Wall Street Journal has found that the giant social networking site, Facebook has breached some privacy issues because their most popular applications have been transmitting identifying information such as people’s names, their friends’ names and contact information to several advertising and internet tracking companies (Steel & Fowler, 2010). This revelation may be happy news for advertisers and market agencies since it becomes an option to widen their marketing base, but upsetting for consumers who strive hard to protect their own privacy. For these consumers, it is like taking away their own will to choose which entities have access to them, their ideas, and their purse strings. Another negative aspect is that when social media is relegated to an official, third party operator, the marketing agency loses full control of the content they want to put out. Although the third party operator, such as Facebook provides much mileage for the marketing agency availing of their services, this marketing agency or any entity for that matter should understand that the information they want to share is subject to the terms of service of the hosting site (ex. Facebook) (Dryer, 2010). The hosting site reserves the right to edit, censor, delete, etc. whichever content they find objectionable for whatever reason. Likewise, since the social media is accessible to everyone, one cannot control the feedback that customers or members of the social media site post. Just as a customer can write positive things to endorse the marketed product or service, anyone can also write negative or potentially harmful things that may put the credibility of the company at stake. Still another negative impact is the sheer high maintenance of social media . Anthony Mora, president of Anthony Mora Communications, Inc. shares that his challenge was trying to keep up with all of the various options and tools. “We had to become social media mavens, mastering Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Delicious, Stumble-Upon, LinkedIn, Flickr, and Digg, just to name a few. And we simply couldn’t post information out there—we needed a process that includes keyword research, competitive review, and content analysis. We then needed to create a log, link out to other blogs and websites, start taping and posting video, keep track of our web analytics, referring domains, and reviewing our traffic movements on a weekly, or daily—or what the heck, hourly basis and remember to subscribe to feeds using Google, My Yahoo! Web, and a host of other RSS readers and … as I recall this was just the beginning,” he says. “Soon it seemed we were spending more time working on marketing the business than running the business,” (Grensing-Prophal, 2009) So even if social media may be inexpensive, the cost of time and effort to maintain the accounts may not be worth it. Personally, I am in awe of the endless possibilities social media can offer. I enjoy interacting with long lost friends, being updated with the latest trends through their status messages and commercial postings and the valuable information I gain while surfing various social media sites. When deliberating on purchasing something, I browse at the comments of consumers about the potential candidates for my choices and march to the store with confidence that I have been equipped with knowledge about the purchase I am about to make. As a consumer, I am having it good but need to be more discerning of all the hype it can push me. I have to keep in mind that I still have the power of giving the last word and make my own decision. If I am placed at the other side as an advertiser of a product or service, I need to study all my options well and choose the tools I would need for my target market. There is no guarantee that I will make money out of my contacts in social networking sites because I am not totally aware of their purpose for being there. However, if I put up my own website specifically for the purpose of advertising my own products or services, I would need to find ways to direct traffic towards it. I need to secure a visible position in search engines when people deliberately surf and browse the internet for their specific needs. Then, I would know that my views are actually potential clients. I agree with the views Grensing-Prophal (2009) has highlighted from the professionals interviewed. Mora advises small business owners to consider looking at their needs and their strengths, if they can develop a limited social media plan that works for them instead of getting caught up in all the overwhelming social media hype pushed to them from all over the internet. I agree that using social media as a marketing tool can be effective if done on a limited basis, without neglecting other ways to advertise, like traditional, low tech but proven effective strategies like tri-media marketing which use print, audio and video advertising offline. In conclusion, I echo the important lesson Kabani (2010), founder of the Marketing Zen Group imparts and that is: social media is not very different from conventional marketing in the sense that networking success is also dependent first on establishing trust then cultivating a good and reliable relationship with the customer base. She claims that simple practices of goodwill and honesty can produce results far beyond any traditional marketing campaign that is strategically effective and financially rewarding. Even if the pros and cons of social media balance off, it remains a viable alternative ready for the consumer and advertiser to use to their advantage with enough discernment. Knowledge of its potentials and dangers should be cultivated and disseminated to the public. References Donaldson, S.A. (2010) Marketing in the digital world, Retrieved on October 16, 2010 from www.blackenterprise.com Dryer, R.L. (2010) Advising Your Clients (and You!) in the New World of Social Media: What Every Lawyer Should Know About Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, & Wikis, Utah Bar Journal, Vol. 23, No. 3. Grensing-Pophal, L. (2009) Social Media: Investing in what works, Information Today, Vol. 26, No. 10 Kabani, S.H. (2010) The Zen of Social Media Marketing: An easier way to build credibility, generate buzz and increase revenue. BenBella. Reid, C (2009) Should business embrace social networking?, Retrieved on October 16, 2010 from www.econtentmag.com, June 2009 issue Steel, E. & Fowler, G.A. (2010) Facebook in Privacy Breach, WHAT THEY KNOW. Retrieved on October 18, 2010 from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304772804575558484075236968.html?mod=yhoofront . Read More