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Michael Prendergast

Professor Malcolm Campbell

UWRT 1104

5 April 2017

The Impact of Using Social Media for Business Promotion

A current phenomenon that is reshaping the world as we know it, is the accessibility to

the internet. The lovechild of the internet is social media, which are computer-mediated

technologies that allow the creating and sharing of information, ideas, career interests and other

forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. The average person has five

social media accounts and spends around 1 hour and 40 minutes browsing these networks every

day, accounting for 28 percent of the total time spent on the internet (Davidson 2016). Among

the top 100 global brands, YouTube is the most widely adopted social network. All 100

companies maintain at least one YouTube channel. Twitter comes in second, adopted by 98%,

followed by Facebook at 96%, Instagram at 85%, Google+ at 78% and finally, Pinterest at 67%

(Dazeinfo). This clearly shows the effort businesses are making to get connected and exploit the

vast potential markets that social media holds. Today, audiences fast forward through

commercials on DVR players, listen to satellite radios, which do not have commercial breaks,

and no longer read printed newspapers. Businesses can no longer provide exposure to their

products with the old way of advertising and have largely been turning to social media. As said

by CEO Ardath Albee, Social media can provide a conversational extension to a companys

nurturing programs. Social Media gives us the opportunity to humanize our communications and

make our companies more approachable. Most retailers have established some sort of presence

online to connect with and reach consumers. Some of these retailers not only share their new
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merchandise, products, and updates with social media followers, but also create an online

personality for their company, allowing them to personally engage with them. Globally,

businesses are embracing social media as a cheaper, more convenient way of advertising and

promotion. With much of the world using social media, businesses have a low-cost, but wide-

reaching marketing plan. As a marketing strategy, using social media is ingenious. Rather than

pay for the research of consumer trends, a business can monitor these trends themselves on

websites like Twitter and Facebook. Through this research, businesses are better able to direct

their advertising to the specific needs of its consumers which allows for better distribution of

advertising resources. With the click of a button, a message could be sent for billions to see in a

matter of seconds. Individuals opinions are shaped by the material they consistently see on a

daily basis. In 2015, Facebook alone influenced 52 percent of consumers online and offline

purchases, up from 36 percent in 2014 (The Drum). This shows that it is very important for

retailers to manage their social media channels because it has a direct impact on purchasing

behavior.

Big organizations and corporations are not the only businesses taking advantage of the

expansion of social media. This phenomenon has played a major role in the growth of small

businesses, startup companies, and entrepreneurships. In an article from Forbes, author Jayson

DeMers provides ten benefits of using social media as a small business. Social media aids in

increased brand recognition, improved brand loyalty, increased website traffic, decreased

marketing costs, better customer experiences, and improved customer awareness. Social media

networks act as new channels for a brands voice and content. This is important because it

simultaneously makes a brand easier and more accessible for new customers, and makes it more

familiar and recognizable for existing customers. According to a report published by Texas Tech
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University, brands who engage in social media have higher loyalty from their customers. The

report concludes Companies should take advantage of the tools social media gives them when it

comes to connecting with their audience. A strategic and open social media plan could prove

influential in morphing consumers into being brand loyal (DeMers 2014). As a small business,

every customer interaction on social media is an opportunity to publicly demonstrate customer

service and enrich the relationship with customers. For example, if a customer complains about a

product on Twitter, that business can immediately address the comment, apologize publicly, and

take action to make it right. Or, if a customer compliments a small business, they can thank them

and recommend additional products. Social media also provides an opportunity to gain valuable

information about what customers are interested in and how they behave, via social listening. For

example, a business can monitor user comments to see what people think of that business.

Branding has become a challenge in the age of technology and in a world run by social media.

The rise of new technologies has caused a thing called crowd cultures. Crowd cultures are

communities that were once geographically isolated, and now, with the expansion of social

media, are densely connected and their cultural influence has become substantial. Crowd cultures

has posed a major problem for businesses, because these groups created new markets and

companies must find a way to appeal and target these new markets.

Social media at the corporate level is seen not only as a marketing tool, but as an overall

investment in the company and an opportunity to access potential new employees. In an

academic article written by Donna L. Hoffman, Professor of Marketing at the School of Business

at George Washington University, and Marek Fodor, the Chairman of KANTOX, focuses on

measuring return on investments by using social media. Managers should start by considering the

motivation consumers have to use social media and then measure the purchasing behavior of
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consumers when they engage with various markets and brands. They also talk about how using

social media to measure ROI and purchasing behavior is a global phenomenon in the business

world. Many corporations have used social media for the hiring process as well. Survey data

shows that within a one-year period, 15 percent of finance and accounting professionals found

new jobs through a form of social media. Social media can be both helpful and detrimental to

those searching for employment. Hiring managers sometimes search social media to look for

reasons to not hire an applicant. According to a 2013 study done by CareerBuilder.com, 43

percent of employers use social networking sites to research potential employees. Another 45

percent research the "fit" of a candidate with their company by conducting a Google search or

another search engine. 51 percent of employers who research candidates on social media say

they have found posts which have caused them to not hire an applicant. Job applicants who have

racist or homophobic jokes, inappropriate photos, offensive content, or photos

depicting drunkenness or other potentially undesirable behaviors may be screened out of hiring

processes.

A company such as Pepsi, which has been around for decades was forced to evolve with

the expansion of social media. Social media is helping Pepsi gain insight about its consumers

which previously has not been able to do with the methods that they had formerly

practiced. Pepsi forewent a Super Bowl advertisement for the first time in 20 years in order to

use millions of dollars for social media (Qualman, 2010). The level of commitment from Pepsi

regarding social media demonstrates how business is shifting towards this new model of social

media and away from the more, traditional advertising techniques. Pepsi recognized that they

would be able to reach a great deal of people through the social media route instead. Rather than

utilize other social media websites to promote their product, Pepsi has converted their own
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website into an actual social media site. By allowing users to create their own content on their

site, Pepsi allows its customers to be involved in the marketing of their product. Pepsi realizes

the influence that people can have towards other individuals. While this has been a common

conception held amongst marketing experts, social media demonstrates how much influence

friends and family can have on individuals buying habits and preferences. Ford used a similar

model to the Pepsi social media campaign. Rather than advertise on Facebook as other

companies had done, Ford created its own website which allowed its consumers to participate in

the build of a vehicle. This concept allowed for connecting consumers with businesses, the

utilization of the input from the users, the creation of new designs and various ideas based

around what the consumer desires. After the success of this campaign Ford continued to make

changes to its business model to incorporate more social media in their marketing. As said by the

Vice President and Chief of Marketing, Mark LaNeve, At Ford, weve adjusted our marketing

business so that 25% is digital and social media (Qualman, 2010). Ford recognized the direction

the company needed to take as the social media campaign was a resounding success.

As companies get left behind by those who embrace social media, we will see its use by

businesses broaden and expand. These companies will also generate new ways to use social

media to innovate and create new avenues for various means of communication. As more money

is dedicated to social media, we may see traditional forms of media such as television, radio and

newspapers lose the advertising dollars that they would normally receive. This in turn would lead

to changes being made in these traditional forms of media. Television and radio may find more

ways to connect with social media or utilize social media in their own promotions. While certain

forms of media have begun to utilize social media in small doses, they will be forced to embrace

social media entirely to survive. Social media is beginning to infiltrate more areas of our lives as
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businesses continue to expand their use of the sites. As social media grows and evolves, the

responsible use of it will need to be explored. Academics and experts in social media will need to

emerge as the regulators of the field. While radio, television and newspapers were once new

forms of communication, social media has emerged as the next stage of the evolution of media

and communication.
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Adame, Vivian. Consumers Obsession Becoming Retailers Possession: The Way That

Retailers Are Benefiting from Consumers Presence on Social Media San Diego Law

Review, vol. 53, no. 3, Summer2016, pp. 653-700

http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=131978db-2e39-43b2-a867-

2a0062a53153%40sessionmgr101&vid=45&hid=124 Accessed 10 March 2017.

Davidson, Lauren. Is your daily social media usage higher than average? The Telegraph,

Telegraph Media Group, 17 May 2015,

www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/11610959/Is-

your-daily-social-media-usage-higher-than-average.html. Accessed 2 April 2017.

DeMers, Jayson. The Top 10 Benefits of Social Media Marketing. Forbes, Forbes Magazine

20 Sept. 2015, www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2014/08/11/the-top-10-benefits-of-

social-media-marketing/#175103e1f80d. Accessed 11 Mar. 2017.

Hoffman, Donna L., and Marek Fodor. "Can You Measure the ROI of Your Social Media

Marketing?" MIT Sloan Management Review, vol. 52, no. 1, 2010, pp. 41-49,

https://librarylink.uncc.edu/login?

url=http://search.proquest.com.librarylink.uncc.edu/docview/757349606?

accountid=14605. Accessed 27 February 2017

Pick, Tom. 47 Superb Social Media Marketing Stats and Facts. Business 2 Community, 19 Jan.

2016, www.business2community.com/social-media/47-superb-social-media-marketing-

stats-facts-01431126#mRvhEPXYTTUuJiKy.97. Accessed 3 Apr. 2017.

Smith, Kit. 96 Amazing Social Media Statistics and Facts. Brandwatch, 27 Jan. 2017,

www.brandwatch.com/blog/96-amazing-social-media-statistics-and-facts-for-2016/.

Accessed 2 April 2017.

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Qualman, Erik. Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business.

Hoboken, NJ, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2013.