Impacts of Social Media on Online Presence - Literature review Example

Literature review (CONTINUED) Further impacts of social media on online presence Several scholars have attempted to define social media and online social networking in an effort to set out a direction for establishing their social, health and economic impacts. Kriescher (2009) defined online social networking as consisting of the relationships that emerge from computer-facilitated discussions on shared ideas and certain shared interests. According to Mrva-Montoya (2012), social media provides individuals who have established online presence to collaborate and communicate interactively online. A related view was suggested by Crofton and Parker (2012) who indicated that social media tools ease the generation and sharing of knowledge, opinions, media, insights and opinions. In Gruzd and Haythornthwaite’s (2013) view, such benefits signal the shift from passive consumption of marketing messages to interaction with messages. Towards this end, a survey of literature shows that social media promotes building and strengthening online communities, workforce management and work coordination, marketing and self-promotion, creativity and political participation and civic engagement (Colin’s et al. 2011; Eltantawy and Wiest 2011; Baker et al. 2011; Mrva-Montoya 2012; Gruzd and Haythornthwaite 2013; Crofton and Parker 2012). Building and strengthening online communities Social media’s interactive and collaborative interfaces promote building and strengthening online communities. In a study to demonstrate how social network analysis presents vocabulary and a set of techniques for reviewing patterns of interaction through the social media, Gruzd and Haythornthwaite (2013) found that social media could be instrumental in creating and maintaining communities online. Gruzd and Haythornthwaite (2013) used social network analysis to review the structure in a one-month sample of Twitter messages. In the study, 3871 tweets were examined. The scholars concluded that social network analysis could be applied to get an understanding of the use of social media for communication and how formation of networks in the social media helps to create online communities. Lau et al (2012) also pointed out that social media could be used to create online health communities. According to their analysis, creation of online networks through which individuals can participate in weekly discussions exposed them to their “followers” through the tweets on the topic (Gruzd and Haythornthwaite 2013). This enhanced creation of online communities. A related study by Colin et al. (2011) also established that social networking sites facilitated a sense of community, connectedness and belonging. Colin et al. (2011) stated that this is since social media platforms provide individuals with an opportunity for self-expression, experimentation and exploration in addition to the production and consumption of online content. In Coleman and Rowe’s (2005) view, opportunities for self-expression, experimentation and exploration are central to how social networking sites strengthen and build communities. Colin et al. (2011) cited an earlier research by Plant (2004), which set out that online community, should be defined as a collective group of individuals or entities that coordinate either permanently or temporarily through the social media, or any other online media, to interact in an interest space or common problem. Workforce management and work coordination Baker et al. (2011) investigated the impacts of social networking on businesses and employees and pointed to the fact that social media platforms increase the contact between the management and employees. According to the researchers, social media presents the management with an opportunity to create and enhance faster contact with the subordinates. In Baker’s et al. (2011) view, in case of issues that require immediate attention or response from the employees, then managers can send a message using the social media platforms to the concerned employees. Colin et al. (2011) argued that corporate social networks can reduce the need to send unnecessary emails or instant messages to workers. The scholars further discussed that social networking sites can reduce the time workers take to complete a job since they reduce the amount of time that employees and the employers take to contact each other (Colin et al. 2011). According to Aguenza, Al-Kassem and Mat Som (2012), since information is easily located through the internet, social networking sites can be one of the fastest ways that organisations can use to pass and access information. Aguenza, Al-Kassem & Mat Som (2012) explained that organisations are increasingly leveraging the power of social media to locate new business opportunities, potential partnering partners and new sources of industry-specific expertise. In a subsequent study, Baker et al. (2011) demonstrated that social media platforms enable business to locate and share information on varied marketing strategies and techniques. Baker et al. (2011) noted that among the key benefits of using the social media at the workplace is in advertising and as a strategic marketing tool to enable the company to reach its customers and potential employees. Marketing and self-promotion In their study of the use of social media in promotion and advertising, Colin et al. (2011) pointed out that the use of social media has enhanced generation, collection and sharing of marketing information since users can create and share content interactively and collaboratively compared to using traditional technologies. Crofton and Parker (2012) also found that social media provides consumers with an outlet through which they can give their personal feedback on products and services. In a study of how publishing professional use of the social media tools in editing and promoting published works, Mrva-Montoya (2012) discussed that the social media has changed the ways in which commodities are marketed, shifting from the “traditional one-way communication and paid-advertising to collaborative and multi-directional communication.” According to Mrva-Montoya (2012), publishers are ever more requesting the authors to engage in virtual promotion of their books and to create profiles using social networking sites. Mrva-Montoya’s (2012) research was based on the hypothesis that social media has emerged as a critical tool for self-promotion and marketing. Some scholars have also investigated the impacts of social media on tourism marketing. Parker (2010) studied the changing dynamics of social networking sites on tourism marketing. Parker (2010) discussed that despite the challenges related to information overload, the social media has become a primary information resource for individuals who seek personal satisfaction through travel experiences. Parker (2010) discussed that internet enables consumers to benefit from service satisfaction in regards to access convenience, decision convenience, benefit convenience and transaction convenience. In a later study of the impacts of using blogs in tourism marketing, Crofton and Parker (2012) admitted that blogging has become a significant channel for marketing communications compared to traditional communications channel such as use of word-of-mouth. Crofton and Parker (2012) elaborated that consumers who search the internet for information on aspects of tourism are likely to find travel blogs, hence the social media has opened up new channels for effective marketing. Scott and Orlikowski (2012) and Rosman and Stuhura (2013) also studied the use of social media in tourism and concluded that social networking sites can offer insights into why the impacts of social media on tourism should not be downplayed. The researcher concluded that social media had a significant impact on influencing users who had established online presence to visit certain sites that were over expressed on the social media. In another review of the opportunities that online social media presented to the tourism and hospitality industry, Crofton and Parker (2012) offered an insight into the economic impacts of social media on tourism industry. Other scholars, such as Crofton and Parker’s (2012) have recently examined the role of social media in marketing tourism in Atlantic Canada’s tourism industry and provided evidence that indicate that addition of new forms of social media had statistically and substantially significant positive implications in increasing the number of visitors to the province of Atlantic Canada. Crofton and Parker (2012) cited an early study by Chan and Guillet (2011) on the impacts of social media on Hong Kong hotel and tourism industry and concluded that giant social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus has extensively changed the face of tourism in the region. According to Chan and Guillet (2011), hotels in Hong Kong extensively used the three social networking sites to promote their discounted products that were designated for general guests or in some cases, online community. In a similar study, Rosman and Stuhura (2013) discussed that hotels that used social media platforms, such as YouTube, showcased advertised and outstanding selling points of their commodities to guests. Both Crofton and Parker (2012) and Rosman, R & Stuhura (2013) observed that the increased use of social media platforms by the tourism agencies generated sufficient exposure and interest among potential visitors. Social media Enhances Creativity Rapid uptake of social media has opened up unprecedented opportunities for users to create and distribute content, as a result, promoting creativity. Creatively generated and shared content include digital collages, animations, blogs, photos, and videos, which make up a vital part of the youth’s communicative exchange and enables them to develop a sense of community and identity. Colin et al. (2011) indicated that more and more internet users, both professional and amateurs, have become content producers and distributors, as a result enhancing creativity. The researchers argued that the relationship between social media and social networking service has presented a key impetus through platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, for sharing of creatively generated content by any individual with established online presence and broad networks. They further noted that the youth are specifically more immersed in the interactive media environment compared to any other age group (Colin et al. 2011). However, according to Mrva-Montoya (2012), social networking sites are not an exclusive domain of the youth, as it also promotes creativity among the older generation. Mrva-Montoya (2012), based his findings on a report by the Pew Research Center in the U.S. that found that despite those aged between 18 and 29 years remaining the heaviest users between 2009 and 2010 , their overall growth was insignificant compared to those aged 50 years and older, who increased significantly in adopting the social media by 42 percent. Related studies found that among the benefits of social media include faster development of literacy and technical skills, developing a sense of personal achievement, aspiration and self-worth and promoting further self-expression and creativity (Colin’s et al. 2011). Other studies have also established that the social media encourages creative activities, such as exploring and experimenting with certain aspects of identity (Coleman and Rowe 2005). According to Colin et al. (2011), the generating and sharing of creative content also has community-building implication, as it encourage a sense of belonging, connection and community that is cemented by a “shared history” of sharing creative content. Political Participation and Civic Engagement The social media facilitate political participation and civic engagement. Numerous researchers have pointed out to the new communication technologies, specifically the social media platforms that are collectively a significant resource for successful creation and implementation of social movements (Colin’s et al. 2011; Eltantawy and Wiest 2011). A review of the benefits of using the social media by Colin et al. (2011) observed that social networking sites make up new spaces for political participation and civic engagement as they share and harness new networks for actions through the user-generated content shared in the social networking sites. Colin et al. (2011) related their study to an earlier study by Smith et.al. (2009) that found that in the United States, some 37 percent of the youth between the ages of 18 and 19 years use social networking sites and blogs for civic and political engagement. Colin et al. (2011) came to a consensus that political candidates and advocacy groups are evermore using the social networking sites for policy discussions, coordination and mobilisation as a component of rising political discourse in the youth’s everyday life. Eltantawy and Wiest (2011), who studied the impacts of social media on the Egyptian revolution using resource mobilisation theory, validated Colin’s et al. (2011) remarks. Eltantawy and Wiest (2011) found that the social media played a critical role in the successful coordination of anti-government protests that caused the resignation of Egypt’s “dictatorial” leaders. Based on their findings, Eltantawy and Wiest (2011) concluded that social media is a vital resource for collective actions and coordination of contemporary movements, since it facilitates political participation and civic engagement. Indeed, findings by Colin’s et al. (2011) and Eltantawy and Wiest’s (2011) significantly relate. The researchers were of the view that computer-savvy activists can use the internet to start and coordinate a broad spectrum of political protests, such as public protests, demonstrations and consumer boycotts (Colin’s et al. 2011; Eltantawy and Wiest 2011). To conclude, a survey of literature has given evidence to the fact that social media promotes building and strengthening online communities, workforce management and work coordination, marketing and self-promotion, creativity, and political participation and civic engagement. Reference List Aguenza, B, Al-Kassem, A & Mat Som, A 2012, "Social Media and Productivity in the Workplace: Challenges and Constraints," Interdisciplinary Journal of Research in Business vol. 2 no. , pp.22-26 Baker, D, Buoni, N, Fee, M & Vitale, C 2011, Social Networking and Its Effects on Companies and Their Employees, viewed 21 April 2014, https://www.neumann.edu/academics/divisions/business/journal/Review2011/SocialNetworking.pdf Chan N & Guilleta B 2011 “Investigation of Social Media Marketing: How Does the Hotel Industry in Hong Kong Perform in Marketing on Social Media Websites?” Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing vol. 28, pp345-368. Coleman, S & Rowe, C 2005, Remixing citizenship: democracy and young people’s use of the internet a report for the Carnegie Young People’s Initiative. Colin, P, Rahilly, K, Richardson, I & Third, A 2011, The Benefits of Social Networking Services, YAW-CRC‟s partner organisations, viewed 21 April 2014, http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/11804/1/FINAL_The_Benefits_of_Social_Networking_Services_Lit_Review.pdf Crofton, S & Parker, R 2012, Do Twitter and Facebook Matter? Examining the Economic Impact of Social Media Marketing in Tourism Websites of Atlantic Canada," Journal of Tourism Research and Hospitality doi:10.4172/2324-8807.1000107 Eltantawy, N & Wiest, J 2011, "Social Media in the Egyptian Revolution: Reconsidering Resource Mobilization Theory," International Journal of Communication vol. 5, pp. 1207–1224 Gruzd, A & Haythornthwaite, C 2013, "Enabling Community Through Social Media," Journal Med Internet Res 2013;15(10):e248 Mrva-Montoya, A 2012, "Social Media: New Editing Tools or Weapons of Mass Distraction?" The Journal of Electronic Publishing vol. 15 no. 1, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3998/3336451.0015.103 Kriescher, M 2009, "Professional Benefits of Online Social Networking," The Colorado Lawyer vol. 38 no. 2, 61-64 Lau, A. Gabarron, E, Fernandez-Luque, L & Armayones, M 2012, "Social media in health – what are the safety concerns for health consumers? " Health Information Management Journal vol. 41 no. 2, pp.30-35 Parker, R 2010, "The Evolving Dynamics of Social Media in Internet Tourism Marketing," Journal of Tourism Research & Hospitality doi:10.4172/2324-8807.1000e102 Parker, R 2012, "The Evolving Dynamics of Social Media in Internet Tourism Marketing," J Tourism Res Hospitality, vol. 1 no. 1, pp.1-2 Plant, R 2004, Online communities, Technology in Society vol. 26 no. 1, 51–65. Rosman, R & Stuhura, K 2013, "The Implications of Social Media on Customer Relationship Management and the Hospitality Industry," Journal of Management Policy and Practice vol. 14 no.3, 18-23 Scott, S & Orlikowski J 2012, “Reconfiguring Relations of Accountability: Materialization of Social Media in the Travel Sector,” Accounting, Organizations & Society vol. 37, pp.26-40 Smith, A, Lehman Schlozman, K., Verba, Si. & Brady 2009, The internet and civic engagement, PEW Internet and America Life Project, Washington DC. Read More