Advertising Through Social Media Essay

In todays business world, friendly media is universe discussed on a daily hind end. This phenomenon has taken all over the merchandising and ad industries and has changed the way they handle their endeavors to attract customers. There is a big mistake that hearty media ar nevertheless(prenominal) pop networking sites more(prenominal) as Facebook and Twitter, only if as de beauteousd by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, kindly media argon gos of electronic chat (as Web sites for wellhead-disposed networking and micro blogging) by which users create online communities to get by teaching, ideas, in-person messages, and otherwise content (as videos).The rise of these online communities has given companies an opportunity to engage in conversations with their customers. This in turn has exclusivelyowed them to better understand what people are smell for, and tailor both their products as well as their marketing endeavors accordingly. hotshot of the main advantag es that social media has brought to businesses is the opportunity to advertise their products through this media. As a result, advertizement through social media has proven to be to a greater extent utile than that through traditional media outlets such as radio, television, magazines, newspapers etc.As declared by Stephen and Galak in their elevate The complimentary Roles of Traditional and fond Media in driving Marketing Performance, brotherly media is a relatively new form of publicity, and yet the impact of to a greater extent traditional forms of publicity on marketing outcomes has received disproportionately less attention (pg. ? ). Although Social media is a relatively new way of advertise, companies are divulgeing it to be more m unmatchedymaking and successful in driving gross revenue than any other media.In this paper I will examine (i) the monetary impact that ad through social media has on companies,(ii) the targeted demographics for this type of advertising and (iii) consumers reply to this phenomenon, whether it is dogmatic or electronegative. Financial Impact of Advertising through Social Media As previously mentioned, businesses are moving away from traditional sources of advertising to more innovative ways that confirm proven to be more potent. employ the apparel industry as an example, companies are experiencing increase traffic to their websites give give thanks to their social media ads. They are taking advantage of these sites to further relationships with their customers Apparel brands and retailers that cod invested time and resources into crafting a progressive social media strategy have been equal to use the medium to further customer loyalty, raise brand awareness, distri thoe advertising messages, create online communities, communicate directly with customers, and in many cases, hunting expedition gross revenue (Apparel Industry 1).Apparel retailers are only one example of an industry that has taken advantage o f the reach that social media has. look into conducted by Swedish economists Dahlen and Colliander, on the effectiveness of blogs versus online magazines proves that blogs generated higher brand attitudes and leverage intentions than magazines did (pg. ? ). Their experiment was found on posting the same exact text edition on vii different blogs as well as seven different online magazines and testing their effectiveness in a scale of consumer reaction and purchases.The fact that blogs were proven more effective proves that even online traditional ads have woolly their power. It is non a matter of posting an ad online, but rather building a sense of trust in costumers minds that will drive them to purchase form you. Customers today are plaqued with more options than ever before, that is why companies strive to maintain close relationships, to gain ground it that some(prenominal) harder for customers to switch to a nonher competitor.Social Media except is not only employ to introduce a new product or advertise an vivacious one, it has also helped companies to regain their reputation after a scandal. After Toyota had to lay out their decline in sales because of the safety recalls, the company used a combination of Facebook pages and videos on YouTube to promote a cool couple that scorn others beliefs drove Sienna cars and felt better than anyone else. The combination of these social networking efforts resulted in approximately 2,000 Facebook fans and 15,000 views on YouTube.Wi polished a couple of weeks Toyota undergo an increase in sales, especially in their Sienna model (Taylor, 258). Toyota is a sack up example of a company facing both a financial and reputation crisis that with the help of social media was able to regain some of their lost sales as well as their trust amongst its costumers. Clearly social media can have a direct impact on consumer acquire patterns, and it has increase the amount of online shopping for several companies.Author s Chung and Austria examine in their article Social MediaGratification and Attitude towards Social Media marketing Messages, the effect that this phenomenon has had on online shopping value According to the 2010 Social Media Report from ForeSee results, 69% of online shoppers use social media. Fifty-six percent of shoppers indicate that they visit e-retail websites on a social networking site and that website visiting acts consumer purchase intention (? ). Costumers risk it convenient to visit a companys Website after perceive an ad in any popular social networking site. It requires minimal effort form the customer and it signifies an important portion of sales to a company.However, Social Media has not only had a positive financial impact on a company, but as it rapidly grows it has now also expire a cost for many businesses. Chung and Austria argue how marketers have noticed the increased importance of social media on the marketing mix (product, place, promotion and price). Co mpanies are now opening jobs that focus exclusively on social media. This is an increased labor cost as well as an extra effort for the marketing department, however its proven effectiveness in driving sales outweighs the cost of implementing this department. Targeted DemographicsThe essence of Social Media is how its easily additionible to bothone, thanks to the Internet. It is a 24-hour business that runs in every part of the world. Although many professionals in the field have argued its acceptance and effectiveness, many could not help but notice that in that respect is an age and demographic aspect of it. Not every potentiality costumer has access to the Internet as well as not all customers olfactory sensation comfortable purchasing subjects online. Social Media is targeted to those generations who were born(p) with technical schoolnologies like this, and are comfortable using them.There are unlike opinions in this matter, authors Stephen and Galak argue that social me dia has grown to be widely current amongst many age groups Furthermore, while social media was once the domain of younger, tech- grasp consumers who were faster to adopt new technologies, it is now generally considered to have entered the mainstream and covers a broad demographic spectrum with 75% of Internet-using adults in the United States using such social media (? ).They argue that it is a mistake to believe that only tech avy customers would be influenced by social media, since now more than ever anyone with access to a computer has found it inevitable to come across advertising in popular networking sites. However in their article Friends, Fans and Followers Do Ads work on Social Networks, authors Taylor et al. argue that age and gender lick receptivity (? ). They state As more advertisers integrate SNA social networking ads into their promotional mix, the contend for these questions to be answered becomes apparent.Particularly with members of the 18- to 34- grade-old de mographic, whose digital-video recorder usage and aversion to print media make them an increasingly elusive target, SNA can be a highly effective channel of engagement (? ). The effectiveness of an ad is not only based on where it is posted but also on who is looking at it. Companies have to pay attention to where they post their advertising based on aspects such as age, gender, repair, etc. An ad for dentures that bes on an 18 year old kids Facebook page will most by all odds not be as effective as an ad for a popular apparel brand.Although there capability be certain demographics that affect the effectiveness of advertising through social media, it is inevitable to admit that social media users are a lucrative market that companies need to reach In 2009, Facebook and Twitter both posted triple-digit growth in the number of users (comScore, 2010). Users appear to be spending more time on social networking sites as well, growing from an average of 3 hours per week in December 2 008 to more than 5. 5 hours in December 2010 (Nielsenwire, 2010).To tap this growing market, advertisers spent an estimated $1. gazillion on SNA social networking ads in 2009, with totals for 2010 expected to grow by more than 7 percent (Williamson, 2009). During a single month in 2009, SNA depended for nearly 69 billion advertising impressions, with 129. 6 million unique users (comScore, 2009). (Taylor, 260) Facebook and Twitter are only a few of the most popular networking sites, and these numbers take a hop only the results from these two sites. If all social media outlets would be taken into account the market is even bigger, with more customers to reach. Consumer ResponseIn addition to all the good things that have been attributed to advertising through social media, studies have shown that there is a percentage of customers who have stopped using social media in part because of the amount of advertising that fills these sites. It is impossible to open a popular social media site such as YouTube or Facebook and not see bombarded by advertising. Most of these ads are trying to sell consumer products, but there is also an increase in the selling of services or the publicizing of not for profit organizations that are looking for support.Marketers have argued that as much as advertising through social media is effective, there is a fine line between effectiveness and annoyance according to one industry-sponsored study, only 22 percent of consumers had a positive attitude toward social media advertisingand 8 percent of consumers studied had abandoned an SNS social networking site because of what they perceived as unwarranted advertising (AdReaction, 2010) (Taylor, 258). As costumers we all feel constantly approached by companies through their advertisements.It is not only online, but on a daily basis you will encounter companies marketing efforts all around. The initial intention rear end social networking sites was giving people a chance to build onlin e communities and share content with each other. However this has dramatically changed since now it is impossible not to feel attacked by all the ads. Another growing concern in the minds of consumers is privacy issues. The ads that appear on your personal Facebook page are carefully chosen by a system based on your age, gender, location and past click-ons.These ads are perfectly tailored to those targeted consumers to be more effective. However, having your information available to everyone and anyone is becoming an important issue for social network users. fix Stone, columnist for the New York Times quotes When it works, its amazingly impactful, but when it doesnt work, its not only creepy but off-putting, said Tim Hanlon, a principal at the consulting firm Riverview Lane Associates of Chicago. What a marketer might think is endearing, by knowing a little bit rough you, actually crosses the line pretty easily (? . Its one thing to come across ads that are targeted to everyone a nd might or might not have an impact on you, but when you see something that looks like it is talk of the town directly to you, it might have a negative impact. The increase in sales through the use of social media has also been attributed to the fact that customers feel like they are engaging in a conversation with other customers when they receive recommendations through social networking sites.Colliander and Dahlen quote In a 2009 article, The economic expert reported that contemporary consumers use social media to help make purchases because they rely on recommendations from friends (The Economist, 2009). The word friends seems to indicate some sort of PSI. Are bloggers real friends, however? Para-social interaction (PSI) refers to the illusion of a face-to-face relationship that is created online. Social media allows these kind of interactions. When reading a blog you might come across a recommendation of where to purchase certain products.These recommendations seem to come from a friend, since in blogs you will most often find the bloggers name and other credentials. The question is however, are these people really bloggers? Or are they employees of that same company that are using social media to reach potential customers. Are they hiding behind another customers face? It is undeniable that people have begun to generate a negative response to advertising through social media for this exact reason. It has lost the essence of world an online community, to being another source through which companies look to improve their sales digits.Looking at all the aspects that deal with advertising through social media, I cant help but ask myself a question How much advertising is too much? When will that thin line between annoyance and effectiveness be crossed, and consumers will find themselves walking away from these online communities? Consumers have clearly manifested their discontent towards companies taking over their social network sites. It is an increa sed concern that information is available for everyone and anyone, and indeed consumers are more apprehensive to sharing their credentials as well as their thoughts online.Should companies start thinking of the effect that their excessive ads will have, and the negative response they might get. I personally believe that ads are unavoidable, however there is a need for stronger rights that protect customer privacy. Companies should not only make an effort to get to know their costumers by engaging in online conversations, but they should also respect the privacy of consumers information and refrain from over-advertising in popular social media sites.