Social Networking for Jean's Specialty Shoppe: Benefits and Drawbacks

The use of social media marketing has become a standard way in which organizations advertise their products or services. Social media marketing allows consumers to have immediate access to other consumers reviews or to post a review about a product or service. There is engagement between the company and the consumer (Evans, Dave 2010). Social Media emerged in the late 1980’s when websites such as Prodigy, Compuserve and America Online. Prodigy was first of it’s kind and was known as a ”consumer online service”. Half of the page is devoted to advertising. Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Hi5, Bebo and Orkut are all social media platforms that are utilized as platforms today.

One of the key roles of social media from a marketing perspective is the development of a client based platform. It is becoming an increasingly important part of any business’s marketing. Businesses can utilize existing online platforms to build networks of current and potential clients. By being active online allows businesses to connect with their customers in innovative ways to become a trusted source of information and convey the passion they have for their industry.

The usage of social networking sites in today’s society has reached new levels due to the recent advancements in technology that are available to worldwide users. Because of the improvements in technology, it is common for many businesses to make adjustments to its policies and procedures to meet the needs of their customers. This strategic planning allows the companies to reach new audiences, a strategy which further enhances the company’s relationship with its customers.

A countless number of businesses are learning that through social networking they can resolve problematic matters of their complete staff reasonably instead of choosing to trust in a particular panel or faction. To help improve sales businesses like Lowes are using social networking. For example they chose a worker in the internal networking site display a demonstration operating a product that is not selling rapidly. Many others have since tailored their company to use this method and have outcomes of over one million dollars of extra income (Afshar).

Moving forward, social media has been a major convenience and reward to virtually everyone. On an individual basis, social media allows friends and family both near and far to communicate with one another. Also, businesses are flourishing through the use of social media. Advertising has never been easier. Horn (2013) states, “Our profession, unlike any time before, is demanding we become social media (…) experts” (1). Horn (2013) also states, “More than half of reporters (55 percent) use Twitter and Facebook to source stories” (1). Social media has greatly benefited business life and personal life.

Social media is not new. Facebook has been around since 2004, YouTube since 2005, and Twitter in 2006. What is new is how social media sites like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are affecting the way businesses market their products and services. Never before in our history have consumers been able to communicate so effortlessly with each other and with the businesses they frequent. Never before have businesses been able to interact and react to customer feedback so quickly and efficiently. However, just because businesses have the ability to use social media for their marketing and advertising efforts, does not necessarily mean they should. This paper intends to

Etsy and Macy’s have a strong social media presence in platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. It allows followers to interact with these companies with a comment, like and/or share the new products or offers. Social media has become one of the easiest and most powerful tools when it comes to marketing. Is the “next big thing,” a temporary yet powerful fad that must be taken advantage of while it’s still in the spotlight. (Forbes, 2014) For small businesses such as Kurafuchi, social media is one of the best strategies to promote their product and increases their brand recognition by investing little or no money, where it allows the business to decrease their marketing costs.

The way that individuals and businesses communicate and interact has radically changed. With the development of technology and the internet, people can connect almost instantaneously and with very little effort. Social media has come to play a huge part in the way that the world communicates with each other. In fact, a recent report shows that in a single month people spend over 25 hours on social networks (“The Digital Consumer”). With consumers committing that much time to social media sites, social networking has become an important aspect of everyday life for individuals—and businesses. Like most marketing activities, social media marketing poses some risk. However, it is advantageous for businesses to exploit this opportunity, and develop an effective and ethical marketing strategy that includes using social media as a marketing tool.

Black Seed Bagels is one of the most promising small businesses that are currently operating in New York. The bakery concentrates on the provision of tasty bagels to the city’s numerous dwellers who love the snack. There are also exciting items on Black Seed Bagels’ menu that can entice any hungry fellow looking for a quick and delicious bite. Tuten & Solomon (2013) indicate that the success of most up and coming small businesses is highly dependent on their social media marketing strategies. According to Tuten & Solomon (2013), Social commerce refers to a branch of e-commerce that “uses social media applications to enable online shoppers to interact and collaborate during the shopping experience and to assist retailers and customers during the process” para 2.

From a company standpoint, a social media can be used to capture different customer insights and better follow the trend. If some social media users were looking for a specialized product and were not able to find such product,

Social media is capable of connecting a brand with its consumers and discover how they are being perceived, it also has the power to change perceptions and identify the key people within the business network. The unique feature of social media is that it can provide corporations and businesses solutions developed through operating with consumers and stakeholders. Basically, social media serves as a visible connection to one’s corporation and its stakeholders, consumers, suppliers, etc, who each have a defined role within the system to filter and regulate information. As mentioned earlier, the influence of social media is spreading in a proliferative pace that has resulted to an essential transformation in society, technology and business customs.

Social media has taken off like a rocket throughout the years. The annoying sound of a modem connecting has turned into a soundless transaction. The wait time to connect is instant, opening a global world of interactions for people. You can now connect with anyone, anywhere at anytime at least once a day. Social media defined by Goyal is “Any platform,which provides the facility of sharing ideas, exchanging information and sending messages over an electronic medium, is considered as social media.” (Goyal,222). This is to include online magazines, Facebook, Twitter, Newspapers,Email, Blogs, YouTube and many more. Advertisers have taken notice to these platforms, utilizing social media to promote their brands, develop trust with the consumer,save money and target audiences faster than ever before.

On another note, it seems like technology has progressed at a phenomenal pace in the last two decades than any other time in history. And as long as there is technology, digital marketing will continue to evolve, giving new and small businesses the chance to build their companies from the ground up. With this, digital marketing through social media, banner ads, websites, and YouTube videos has become an increasingly popular initiative. This enables target audiences to see more content; become more familiar with the company’s brand, product, or services; and by process, build trust. Indeed, social media plays a critical role in online marketing. Routine updates and posts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest can form part of

Today, many businesses are experiencing the effects of social media. Government, businesses, and communities interact through social media and use it to access their investors and potential customers. According to Donovan (2016), “Most types of businesses today make use of different tactics and techniques to make a significant exposure of their website to its target customers.” The goal is to use social media to maximize their potential in order to be one of the strongest participants in the business world.

With social networks, companies can develop direct interaction with their customers and above all they can create online word of mouth with the tools providing by social networks.