Social Networking on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr as a Marketing Strategy - Term Paper Example

Social networking as a marketing strategy According to studies, most of the social networks are website based (Gilbert, 2009). These networks provide a means of communication to the users whereby they are able to interact through the internet especially through instant messaging and e-mail. In addition, social networking gives the users an opportunity to share events, ideas, activities as well as interests in their personal networks. According to past research, social networking can be used as a marketing strategy. As a reality more firms are turning to social networking as one of their marketing strategy (Braziel, 2008). This is because the social networks are very effective in any form of marketing program where businesses are able to spread out their marketing message across the universe but it only works when applied correctly. Through the use of the social network services such as MySpace, Facebook or twitter ones choices as well as preferences are saved, stored, shared as well as used to create a network of blooming endorsements for the products and business at large (Hogan, et al.2007). In addition businesses are using the social networks to maintain a healthy business relationship with their customers as well as finding out their customer’s preferences and as a result they are able to produce and sell the products that are going to satisfy their customers. Furthermore, the businesses are able to advertise their products online by providing the relevant information about the product such as the benefits of the product, how it is used, where it can be bought, what makes it a unique product and at times the price. For the social network to act as a marketing strategy, the user should use his/ her social networking profile to communicate the brand of the business. In addition he/ she should set up a very unique page not linked to the home page to provide the details of who one is, what one does as well as individual facts that will enable the profile to be more approachable. Further, for the social network to effectively act as a marketing strategy it is of paramount for the user to manage with a lot of care the online reputation (Freeman, 2006). The user can achieve this by not using the social networking profile as a stand to negatively talk about a certain business associate, former employer, colleague, and the failure of a certain business or coworker. Moreover, for a social network to be an effective marketing strategy, it has to ensure that there exists some balance in the posts in that they are not too few to make the followers or interested associates lose their interests in the business or products being marketed or yet not too many as they could turn people away for no one likes so much literature and when this happens it impends marketing of the products, oneself or company (Kitsak, et al, 2010). Successful use of the social networking services, contributes to increased sales for the business or firm (Valdis, 2000). Further the firm is also able to maintain a competitive advantage over its competitors in that when they find out what their customers need they get to maintain them as well as attract more. Moreover businesses are able to source for market opportunities in the globe with the aim of expanding their business. Current ways in which organizations are utilizing social networking as a marketing strategy The use of social networking as a marketing strategy is the newest trend among businesses and organizations across the globe. Social networking is considered as a multi-media social structure that enhances the transfer of information between individuals, groups or organizations. Some of the most recognized social networking sites include MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and. However, there are numerous social networking sites available for organizations to market their products and services. It is apparent that both small and big organizations are currently depending on social networking sites to obtain information regarding consumer trends. Indeed, market research highlights those organizations that are not using the social networking sites are at a greater risk of falling behind competition, and lack the opportunity to slot in thousands of customers that are ready to hear from the organization. For instance, a major car company in the United States, known as Chrysler, lately signed a deal with the New Media Strategies, which is the pioneer in the social media engagement and online intelligence industries for a period of ten years. This has made the New Media Strategies Chrysler’s social media marketing network an agency of record. In addition, most organizations are today cutting on the costs of marketing through online advertisements since they can still target a wider audience (Victoria, 2008). For instance, most organizations have created Face book groups and pages, where they can inform their customers about the special events such as a special promotion or sale or grand opening, allowing information to spread fast and at a cheaper cost. Furthermore, through the internet advertising, the organizations can reach numerous customers who would have otherwise been left out. Apparently, to remain effective in the market today, the organization has to produce products or offer services that meet the customer tastes and preferences (Johnson, 2009). The consumer tastes and preferences are regularly changing and therefore organizations need to keep trend of these trends so that they can be incorporated in the production of products. Social networking sites offer avenues where organizations can learn such trends and therefore this is why some companies such as Coca-Cola and apple have remained competitive in the market (Shaoolian, 2010). Approximately all organizations have developed websites as well as social networking pages that display the range of products and services they offer. They therefore make the general public aware of the products range they offer, which reduces the efforts required to market such products. Such sites also enable organizations to keep their customers aware of the new products in the market including the prices of the products offered. Furthermore, organizations are also using social networking sites to carry out market research such as the identification of new markets for their products (Goodwin, 1991). Market research also highlights that Facebook provides opportunities to the users to leave comments, which companies can use to enhance customer relationships. In such a way, customer loyalty can be enhanced, one of the key factors to attaining a competitive advantage in the market. Social networking can also be applied as a strategy to target more customers. It is apparent that youths and young adults are the most users of these social networks. Therefore a company dealing in products meant for these age groups can use the social networks to target its customers (Kitsak, et al, 2010). The organization can use the information from the social network users to identify the tastes and preferences of the customers in order to target them. In addition, the social networks can be used to identify potential markets. Apparently, most organizations today have opened accounts with the social networks, for instance, Facebook. The company will detail information about the company, where it operates and the range of products it offers. Users of the social network can therefore leave comments regarding the company in the company’s profile (Victoria, 2008). Other organizations can therefore analyze these comments to find ways they can improve their service and products delivery to meet the customer’s tastes and preferences. Alternative social marketing opportunities for organizations Due to the increased recognition of the numerous benefits offered by social networking sites with regard to marketing, numerous research studies have been conducted to identify alternative social networking marketing opportunities available to organizations. The three suggestions organizations can adopt are: Beacon Lately, Face book introduced a new feature known as Beacon. This is an advertising and marketing technique. This feature operates in a way in that when a Facebook user conducts an online purchase Beacon will send an automatic notification to the other Facebook members (Maclean, 2008). Each time an online purchase is made by a Facebook user, the friends will as well be notified of the purchase. In the same way, organizations can advertise the range of products purchased by the Face book users without incurring any costs, and even introduce them to other Face book users. E Factor Organizations can also make use of the E Factor, which is a social network that provides tools and experts to enable organizations prosper. E Factor enables organizations to identify customers as well as partners (Kaplan and Michael, 2010). Organizations can therefore adopt this site in order to identify the potential markets for their products so that proper targeting is made to enable the organization attain higher sales. In addition, E Factor contains a Finance Request Network that is meant to enable businesses acquire capital and identify investment opportunities. Organizations also have the opportunity of interacting with other organizations around the world with regard to the available consumer markets (Betsy, 2009). StartUp Biz The other social networking marketing opportunity organizations can adopt is the StartUp Biz, which is considered as the one of the rapidly growing sites in the recent years. At its creation, the site targeted people who wished to start up business ventures. However, this site sis contemporarily used to promote businesses as well as posting a blog about the organization (Tyagi, 2010). Therefore, the organizations have the opportunity to list the range of products or services they offer as well as events such as product promotions or sales. Ways in which organization can adopt the above marketing strategies Businesses can adopt the above named marketing strategies by learning from certain organizations that have been successful as a result of employing these strategies in their operations (James and White, 2003). This can be achieved when business managers ensure that they are in a good relationship with managers from other business who deal with the same products as well as different since what is of importance is the success story Chen et al, 2007. Moreover, the organization can share its problems to the other organization with the aim of getting advice on how it can resolve them. This way it will be able to probe the other organization in sharing how it has tackled such problems as well as how certain social networks have worked for them. In addition, organizations can also adopt by hiring website designers to install the social networks such as beacon, which other organizations could be using as a marketing strategy. In addition the management could also pay the web designer to explain clearly how they could use these social networks to market their brand as well as product (Wasserman, 1994). Furthermore the organizations can be more creative and use every opportunity to their advantage. This they can do by ensuring that they are always on the look out to new marketing strategies as well as being quick to use them for the benefit of their company. Conclusion Social networking sites provide numerous opportunities for the organizations to market their products. Organizations apply social networking sites to promote and advertise their products, promote employee relationships, boost sales, conduct market research, and engage customers in discussions regarding the products that are offered in the market. Some of the most common social marketing sites include Face book, twitter, flickr and you tube However, organizations can also opt to use alternative social marketing opportunities such as beacon, E Factor and StartUp Biz. Research shows if effectively used, social networking sites can act as effective marketing strategies. References Betsy, B. 2009. Companies using Social Networking to Boost Sales. Available at http://www.resourcenation.com/blog/companies-using-social-networking-to-boost-sales/ Braziel, L. 2008. Developing a Social Network Engagement Strategy. 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