Marketing Activities of Social Media - Essay Example

The Impact of Social Media on Internal Security Introduction Crime is rampant in every society today, and this is a growing concern across the world. The problem lies in the attitude of people towards law like Thomas Jefferson said, “The trouble seems to be that too many people think the law should be enforced and not enough think it should be observed” (Mathur, 1994, p.15). Such intolerance of law has resulted in increasing criminal activities and violations of Human Rights including domestic violence. Situation at times becomes so grave that a nation’s survival becomes threatened. It is not uncommon to read in newspapers about human rights being violated not only by terrorist attacks, but also by police force and security forces. It has become a Herculean task for the police and security forces to cope with internal security challenges created by terrorists and insurgents. It is also the concern of internal security to protect the rights of women and children. The cooperation of the common people can also play an important role in internal security, and much of it depends on people’s knowledge of their fundamental duties and their eagerness to participate in activities concerned with protection of their nation. In case of natural disaster and calamities, it is important that voluntary organizations come forward to join hands with internal security forces to help people affected by the disaster. In order to prevent the spread of criminal activities, common people can play their roles as witnesses and informers. In recent times, social networking sites have garnered the attention of police and security forces and other law enforcement agencies because of the challenges that exist in the cyber warfare. This will continue to be a big problem with more advancement of technology. The solution lies in participating in social websites and using them to the advantage of security forces. Social media are essentially platforms for global connection and communication tool for people from all over the world. Popularity of social media is immense and ever growing considering the extremely low cost of social media usage and along with its user friendly characteristic and flexibility this becomes tool of global dispersal of information. Like every technology, social media can have adverse affect considering who the users are and how the media is being used. Misuse or unethical use of social media can purposely or unintentionally lead to cause several negative impacts on the national security of a country. A country’s political secrets and strategies can also become vulnerable in the hands of social media. However, the positive elements of social media can also not be ignored. Social media being source of news and information can be extremely helpful to the leaders, and strategists of a nation can use it in order to make their strategies successful by reaching the desired goals. Moreover, social media can help security forces to foresee any possibility of future threats and how to deal with those threats. Social media is constantly and rapidly evolving, and therefore it is necessary that social media be always monitored, its working process must be always analyzed and its potentials need to be always assessed. The security forces and law enforcement agencies need always be alert in case social media is misused by adversaries. The important thing is to develop a national level strategy concerned with social media monitoring and assessment. Such a strategy can be utilized in different manners. With such a strategy it will be possible to keep watch on social media sites in order to observe conversations and materials shared on such sites, counter the efforts of adversaries to spread antagonism by circulating certain information and multimedia content through social network sites that will thwart negative propaganda and spread of misinformation. Social media strategies can also improve the functioning of government agencies and institutions as social media can hasten flow of information between agencies and departments thereby hastening decision making processes. A nation can also enhance its credibility in the global arena by executing large scale operations by integrating social media and other media forms. Social media has the potential to be used as a platform by terrorists to recruit, plan or make schemes to attack a nation. However, the same social media sites can be used by governments in cases of natural disasters like tornado hitting a state by collecting information through Facebook or Twitter in order to send quick help to those people who are in distress. Similarly, these sites can be used to communicate with the common people to create awareness among them about everything ranging from social issues to impending disasters to government policies etc. Governments can also increase their knowledge about common people’s reactions, both positive and negative, concerning any new policies or schemes launched by the governments. Another aspect of social media is its influence on public opinion. It is not only a platform for social interactions between users but also discussion of news and exchange of views. Although social media users do not use the principles of a journalist while posting news and information, i.e. such information may lack credibility, nevertheless these information can make people aware of different news and events around the world. Social media users can indulge in discussions and debates regarding social, political and economic issues resulting in forming public opinion. For police force, social media can prove to be an extremely useful tool. Through social media, police can perform various activities that can range from getting crime tips, spreading safety measures to the public and developing good relationship with the public. One important task of police and other security forces is to tackle rumors that get spread by social media sites. Since people can remain anonymous while making conversations in these sites, therefore social media users hardly take care to check what they are posting on the web since they do not have to take responsibility for their posts. Depending on the subject of the rumor, it can end up spreading panic among public and can also lead to prejudices against the government and security forces. It becomes the responsibility of law enforcement agencies to curb such rumors and maintain trust among the common people. Integrating Social Media with Traditional Communication Tools and mass media for a comprehensive security In this era of information revolution, social media play a significant role in the national security of a country because of its capability to influence people across the world. Social media has become a principle and reliable source of news and information whether local, national or international. The ubiquity of social media and its increasing use has become a tool for generating confidence or spreading mistrust among people regarding issues of national security. The importance of social media becomes even more evident during any kind of national crisis as social media becomes the source of garnering public support. The earlier role of social media as communication tool has now broadened. Today, political leaders function in an environment that is shaped by the media. Social media has a strong influence on the psychology of people and political leaders. Based on the opinions and perceptions shaped by media, a nation’s leaders can formulate strategies and policies especially during national crisis or emergencies (Hussain, 2008, pp.1-2). Only by studying the complex relationship between social media and national security it will be possible to conduct strategic communication. Social networking sites are frequented by all kinds of people. Communication between people can bring forward public perception of certain things like how defense strategies of a country are perceived by the public. On the other hand, certain secret strategies and operations can become exposed as confidential information may get inadvertently revealed. However, the most threatening situation can arise from lack of understanding of the social media among the military personnel. The common scenario is that while young members of the armed forced are quite knowledgeable about social media, those in higher ranks are yet to become acquainted with the new technology. Moreover, the rigid bureaucratic framework of military regime is another hindrance to timely adaptation to technological innovations (Carafano, 2011). The traditional communication tools also play an important role in national security of a country. The mass media is characterized by the process of how the “society disseminates and receives information” (Ali, 2013, p.55). For instance, in Nigeria since its independence, mass media has strived to become an integral part of the Nigerian society. First, the political parties have used the mass media for own selfish reasons like garnering the support of specific sections of the society. As a result of this, mass media has been the reason behind the increasing suspicion and tension between different sections of the society. Second, the growing demand among the Nigerian people to consume more and more foreign products has resulted in mass media becoming internationalized in its content. This disrupts the culture integrity of the nation. Third, during the military rule in Nigeria, journalism faced denial of rights as freedom of the press was suppressed. Journalists protested against such constitutional rules through their writings. Fourth, excess of media organizations threatens the national security as media ownership pattern has undergone a drastic change. It is the job of a journalist to study events and people in order to collect and spread news and information. In essence, “journalism is a social relation” (Ali, 2013, p.55). The nature of media content has the potential to cause harm to the society or can have positive impact. That is why social media or other traditional forms of communication have influential power on national security. For any country, national security and concerned strategies are elements that protect or endanger human life, national resources and environment. National security essentially means “protection of lives, rights, dignity and property of a country’s citizens, and also protection of its resources, cultural integrity, territory, sovereignty and lawful institutions” (Ali, 2013, p.56). The objective of national security is to ensure that the country is protected from hostile countries and civil disobedience. The freedom of media is an integral part of national security and symbolizes true democracy. It is the responsibility of the media to apply caution and stride carefully in order to utilize its freedom in useful manner. Before the advent of the Internet, traditional media forms played an important role in the political arena. Since television focus on entertainment element, therefore the essence of serious events gets diffused. For this reason, television has a negative impact on unity in communities and civic engagement. On the other hand, television coverage of events in political and economic arena can induce people to participate in such events. Today, more and more traditional media is finding social media as platform for messages, for instance popular or trending topics on the social networking site Twitter more often originate from traditional media. Social media essentially widens the range and influence of the traditional media. One major distinction between social media and traditional media is gatekeeping which meaning filtering news before broadcasting the same to the public through television, radio, Internet and so on. It means selecting pieces of information to decide which portion will form the content of news. While gatekeeping is an essential ingredient in traditional media, it however does not exist in the Internet. Given the freedom of media, it has the serious responsibility of bringing forward grave national issues and providing accurate information to the public. This is one respect in which media has significant contribution to matters of national security. It is the prerogative of media to spread necessary information to the public. The major controversy surrounding media is the power in the hands of media people and whether they use the power with integrity and in public interest. Media professionals have the capacity to use their power either to satisfy their selfish motives or to generate trust in the minds of common people regarding security forces and law enforcement agencies. Since media forms have the capacity to circulate information and create aware among people, therefore media become mouthpiece of national leaders at times of national crisis. Therefore, it is not surprising that media get reduced to becoming puppets in the hands of influential people in the society or politicians in order to promulgate their illegitimate rule. It is not difficult for politicians to exercise control over media practitioners because of the existing challenges they face during execution of their duties like low remuneration, limited resources for research, job insecurity, nepotism etc. (Ali, 2013, p.57). Media personnel are constantly under the pressure by politicians to give them publicity and also are expected by the public to provide genuine information. Mass media can become a threat to the national security when it collaborates with political leaders to deceive the public. Public exploitation by media can cause poverty and illiteracy leading to armed robbery and other criminal activities. This can disrupt the internal security of a country with growing possibility of mass revolution. Although media is supposed to provide the true picture of efficiency of security forces and law enforcement agencies, in reality news coverage depends on money channeled by a sponsor. Therefore, it can be concluded that although media is perceived as building block of nation, it in fact collaborates with politicians and other rich and influential people for power and money. This is when media becomes a threat to national security. Media needs to be aware of its values and the trust that the public has on media for current news and facts. Considering their powerful influence, media needs to exercise caution and integrity in their duties and responsibilities. Balance between Transparency and Security in the Dissemination of Information through the media and social network Transparency is an important criterion in the media and social networking. Media transparency refers to “the ideal condition that reporters and media are subject to limited influence from the state or corporations, and, as a result, they can provide objective coverage on social issues” (May, p.116). In early years, it was a common tendency to hold back information from the public in times of crisis. The idea then was to keep vital information away from the media till the problems got solved. However, with growing number of social networking sites and almost everyone having a cell phone or holding accounts in social networks, it is increasingly difficult to hide bad news for long. Social media like the social networking sites are platforms where there is rapid exchange of information and views. It is the presence of mass media and social networking sites that open transmission of information and accountability are possible in contemporary democracies. However, mass media has the capacity to obstruct or abet political transparency. There are three kinds of transparencies in the media like informational transparency, participatory transparency and accountability transparency. Information transparency means awareness of activities and strategies concerned with national security along with access to government information. It also means disclosure of any existing or impending national level crisis, and disclosure of any information held by the government. Participatory transparency means ability to get involved in political decisions regarding internal security. Accountability transparency means that government officials are answerable to the public or law enforcement agencies regarding any decisions that go wrong or whether any national security related strategies are against people’s interests (Balkin, 1999, pp.393-394). Governments and political leaders can influence the exposure of information by manipulation the information sources to achieve the goal of maintaining secrecy. Usually, two basic strategies can be applied to obstruct transparency in mass media – by diverting the attention of public, or by floating new real information that will eventually relegate the real issues of national level crisis to the background (Balkin, 1999, p.394). Among the different kinds of mass media, television is the dominant form of information coverage. Since television emphasizes the element of entertainment. For this reason, television tends to cover public, political or national security information in the manner that will attract the attention of the public and entertain them. Since there is limited broadcasting time on television, therefore focus is more on “sporting element of political conflict” (Balkin, 1999, p.396) and less on significant national policy issues. In essence, television portrays a manipulated version of news and information that excludes important debates or logical analysis. Previously, public perception of law was shaped by television dramas and movies but now it is more and more defined by television portrayal of legal events wrapped in entertainment package meant to grab the attention of the mass. Television commentary defines law and defense strategies of a country. Internet which is another popular mode of communication enhances the impact of television. Firstly, internet has short cycle of reporting news since news can be updated continuously with minimum difficulty. This means, internet helps to promote more continuous television coverage of events. Secondly, internet usage is relatively cheaper which makes spread of information that much inexpensive leading to conveyance of information from new sources including gossips and second-hand reports. Unlike television, where information flow has to maintain journalism protocol there is no such regulations in the internet (Balkin, 1999, pp.397-398). Transparency is essential an open and ethical manner of providing information. It provides a source of accountability to the millions of social network users across the world. Social media can prove to be both friend and foe of governments, business enterprises and other organizations like national security forces and law enforcement agencies. Although any of these institutions can choose to propagate any aspect of their business, their reputation and goodwill can be torpedoed by discussions and communication between social networking users. Social media can provide free promotion of organizations, and opinions formed by social network users can create long term public trust. Previously i.e. before the proliferation of social media, transparency of any organization included asking public forgiveness for errors or frauds. With increasing use of social media, any errors committed in the past can take prominence through communication and discussion thus making the concerned organizations accountable to the public. Organizations that strive for public attention look for ways to provide information in simple form to the public. Mass media like television, newspapers and the Internet are used by these organizations to serve their purpose. Media provide information because the concerned organizations want people to know about them. If regular flow of information is hampered or if media is not utilized properly, then the general people will be deprived of vital news and information regarding the activities of the government, security forces and law enforcement agencies. On the other hand, if the sources of information are not examined and media personnel do not accountability, then information can quickly turn into propaganda. The purpose of mass media like television and newspapers is to investigate the true events and “represent a variety of viewpoints, all of which will have different questions to ask and different secrets they want to uncover” (Phillips, 2010, p.2). In order to maintain transparency in news circulation, it is important that news organizations are provided the incentive to assess and examine every form of source. Verifying the authentication of sources is one element that differentiates journalism from social media since in the latter users do not carry any responsibility for the information they spread. Key Performance Indicators for the Use of Social Media in the Field of Information Security With growing popularity of social media, most organizations rely on this channel for dissemination of news and information. One major purpose is to assess the public opinion and to gain trust from the common people. The continuous proliferation of social networking sites reinforces its influence on social and political life. It is through the use of social media that common people remain aware of current news and civic participation becomes enhanced. For instance, “group” formation in Facebook indicated increased awareness and enthusiasm especially among the young people on specific issues. Although daily use of social networking sites indicate that people are staying connected with social events, it however do not clearly prove that constant use of social networking sites promote citizen’s engagement with political affairs. This means that general users of social media may not be directly related to any kind of political participation, but users who visit the social networking sites specifically for news exhibit inclination of online and offline participation. For instance, regular users of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter may not suggest political participation, but contribution is dependent on the specific types of users. Moreover, it is seen that social networking sites have more visible and tangible impact during any major national crisis or upheaval when they are used for spreading message or mobilizing the public, than when they are used for regular purposes during, peaceful time (Skoric & Poor, 2013, pp.188-189). Considering the importance of social media, it becomes necessary to assess the performance level of social media. Therefore the need is to develop key performance indicators. Social media measurement is regular monitoring of the marketing activities of social networking sites. This includes constant tracking of social sites like Facebook, Twitter, and blogs, forums, news sites, message boards etc. This measurement allows a marketer to know about the trends and emotions of the public regarding a particular brand or organization. It also helps to know the impact of social media marketing strategies, emerging trends and popularity of brands. Since every data that is extracted from social networking sites is not important, therefore it is required to learn the goals and objectives of the organization. Every data to be assessed needs to be aligned with the strategic goals of the organization. There are number of systems for measuring an organization’s strength regarding social media and each has its own method of measurement and assessment formula. Qualitative social media measuring is the process by which the opinions and beliefs of public is assessed regarding a brand. The most popular social media qualitative metrics are those that study the influence of social media on customers’ attitude towards brands. For instance, 84 percent of marketers assess dialogue with prospects and customers, while 68 percent assess the weight of customers’ relationship with brands. Also, 57 percent of marketers measure the rates of maintaining customer loyalty, while 43 percent calculate the ratio of positive and negative opinions of customers regarding a brand. Moreover, 68 percent of marketers track the reputation of brands or corporations. Quantitative social media measuring is counting the number of posts in a social networking site along with likes and dislikes for the post. Quantitative measurement does not always give a wholesome and accurate picture of social media performance level. This reality becomes even more prominent as a particular brand grows in popularity and more and more people become aware of its utility. Qualitative measurement gives a more clear picture of positive and negative opinions about people regarding the brand. By studying customer inclination, for or against a brand, helps marketers to design social media strategies to promote their brands. For instance, in a social networking site Twitter, if people are talking about a certain product, they may post that they like it or they do not like it. By using quantitative measure, markets will simply count the number of tweets without separating the positive and negatives ones. Hence, quantitative measure will only reveal the number of people who have experienced the brand and not the positive or negative sentiments attached to the brand. However, qualitative measure will assess the ratio of positive and negative tweets thus revealing whether majority of people are satisfied or dissatisfied with the brand. Such revelation of brand perception will help markets make brand promotion strategies. It is to be mentioned here that quantitative measurement and qualitative measurement are not mutually exclusive, and the combination of both can give more accurate and concise picture of customers’ perception of brands. Social media measurement is “unique in bringing both types of insights together to characterize performance and the value derived from social media efforts” (Barker et al., 2012, p.287). There are a number of key performance indicators that make qualitative measurement of marketing activities of social media. The most popular and impactful analysis is the assessment of opinions or sentiments of common people regarding a brand, organization, political system, national security measures and so on. For the assessment of public opinions, computer algorithms are used “to automatically detect the basic moods, attitudes or emotions of the creators of content on the social web” (Barker et al., 2012, p.287). This means, analysis of sentiments simultaneously distinguishes the different opinions of public regarding a brand like whether they are happy, moderately happy, unhappy or moderately unhappy with the brand. There are several principle objectives for which marketers engage in measure social media’s marketing performance. Firstly, they can find out which social networking sites are more popular which means where people more often engage in conversations about brands. Secondly, marketers can find out the social media channels which consumers use to interact with the brand. Thirdly, it is possible to identify consumers’ awareness level regarding characteristics of the brand and also the misconception that consumers have regarding the brand. Fourthly, it is also possible to assess the impact of social media marketing strategies on people’s engagement with the brand by studying the increase of communication regarding the brand. Finally, it is possible to learn the trend of customers using different brands by studying the difference between growth of communication regarding different brands (Marr, 2012, p.168). The Impact of Social Media on Mass Media and Public Opinion Formation References 1. Ali, A.D. (2013). The Role of the Media in National Security in Nigeria. Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review, 2(12), 55-62 2. Balkin, J.M. (1999). How does Media simulate political transparency. Cultural values, 3(4), 393-413 3. Barker, M. et al. (2012). Social Media Marketing: A Strategic Approach. Cengage Learning 4. Carafano, J.J. (2011), Social Media and National Security: A Wake-up Call, atlantic-community, retrieved on February 6, 2014 from: http://archive.atlantic-community.org/index/items/view/Social_Media_and_National_Security%3A_A_Wake-Up_Call 5. Hussain, N. (2008), The Role of Media in National Security, SASSI, retrieved on February 5, 2014 from: http://www.sassi.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/RP-20-Dr-Nazir-Hussain-The-Role-of-Media-in-National-Security-June-2008.pdf 6. Marr, B. (2012) Key Performance Indicators (KPI): The 75 measures every manager needs to know. Pearson 7. Mathur, K.M. (1996) Police, Law and Internal Security. New Delhi: Gyan Books 8. May, S. (2013) Case Studies in Organizational Communication. London: SAGE 9. Phillips, A. (2010), Transparency and the new ethic of Journalism, retrieved on February 7, 2014 from: http://www0.caerdydd.ac.uk/jomec/resources/foj2009/foj2009-Phillips.pdf 10. Skoric, M.M. & Poor, N. (2013). Youth Engagement in Singapore: The Interplay of Social and Traditional Media. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 57(2), 187-204 Read More