Use of Social Media in Advertising (Essay Sample)

Use of Social Media in Advertising
The modern era of information technology has created a platform for advertising. Today, social networking websites have been increasingly utilized by businesses to reach potential customers. Use of social networking sites for advertising is based on observation that social networking websites have attained a lot of success in connecting people across all parts of the globe. Social media platforms such as Facebook, MySpace and YouTube are used in all parts of the world. These platforms provide an arena for different people from different parts of the world to interact. They also display a great potential for businesses to easily reach their audiences through advertisements. Many businesses today have created different social media advertising methods which they use to reach their potential clients. These advertising methods range from traditional search engines to latest methods where people create product groups for others to join on Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms. Success of social media platforms in advertising depends on their effectiveness. This paper seeks to establish the importance of social networking as an advertising medium and a tool for strengthening businesses.
Social media networks have gained prominence as a medium for product advertising. Many advertisers have not fully embraced social media platforms to advertise their products. Studies have shown that effective use of social media platforms to advertise products can enhance sales. This is mainly because many consumers spend 46 percent of their time online where they can access advertised products that they are interested in (Boyd and Ellison 1). Studies reveal that despite having a large number of people on social media platforms, only 2 percent of total advertising in U.S are done on internet (Boyd and Ellison 1). If businesses can increase their use of social media to advertise their products, they can get more customers and increase their sales. Advertisements on internet have been generally accepted since 1994 when pop-up advertisements were discovered. Boyd and Ellison emphasizes on the fact that social media advertisers should consider consumer preferences when doing their online advertisements to ensure that they do not interfere with internet user privacy. They should only utilize advertising campaigns that can create meaningful impact on their audience.
Social networking sites are web-based services that allow people to build public profiles within the system, articulate other users with whom to be connected with and traverse their list of connections as well as other connections made by other users within the social network platform (Boyd and Ellison 1). SixDegrees.com was the first social networking website established in 1997. It made it possible for internet users to create personal profiles where they could list their friends and make new friends. Although the company attracted many users, it ended up closing down in 2000 because if failed to create a business model that was financially viable for its users (Boyd and Ellison 5). In 2001, new social networking sites such as Ryze.com, LinkedIn, Friendster and Tribe.net emerged. Their main aim was to assist individuals leverage their professional and social connections. In 2003, MySpace was launched and it ended up becoming a hub for indie rock bands. MySpace continually updated its appearance to include new features in order to meet the demands of its users. It also made it possible for users to customize their profiles. Boyd and Ellison note that the launch of Facebook in 2004 created a new dimension of social media networking. Its popularity increased and today, Facebook accounts for 85 percent market share of U.S college students. Other social media networking sites such as YouTube, Twitter, and Flicker emerged.
Studies have shown that social networking can play a prominent role in an organization’s advertising strategies because they are accessible to many users throughout the world. A survey done in 2007 indicated that at least two thirds of U.S users visited social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook and YouTube (Boyd and Ellison 7). Companies can incorporate social networks to their advertising strategies to reach millions of people across the globe without spending too much on advertisements. Advertising on social media is relatively cheap compared to other traditional forms of advertisements. Furthermore, companies can easily generate free publicity by using creative advertisement techniques in YouTube, Facebook and other social media platforms. Boyd and Ellison note that use of social media in advertising gives advertisers information on their target clients and their client’s interests (7). This information makes it possible for companies to customize their advertisements in order to focus on target clients. It also makes it possible for advertisers to make their advertisements unique and different from many other advertisements on social media.
Use of social media as an advertising platform saves time and money. Buyers can easily locate the products that they need via social media and place an order for their products without having to waste time moving from one store to another in search for the right product (Taylor 58). Moreover, advertisers can easily sell their products online to customers without spending so much in their advertisements.
Today, 75 percent of companies have a company page on social media networking sites. Studies have shown that 69 percent of companies update their status on social media networks and post articles of interest on social media network (Neti 5). Neti further highlights that 57 percent of companies monitor their business feedback on social media while 39 percent of companies maintain a blog for their businesses (Neti 5). These statistics are a clear indication that social media advertisement is likely to continue gaining popularity and use. Marketing budget for companies on social media increased from 3.5 percent in August 2009 to 5.6 percent in February 2010 (Neti 6). This is an indication that social media advertising has continued to gain prominence with advancement in technology. Use of social media in advertisement helps businesses to generate more exposure to potential customers, increase subscribers, build new business partners and increase their search rankings (Neti 7). It also helps businesses to increase their sales and reduce their overall marketing expenses since social media advertising campaigns do not require a lot of money to implement.
Bieber et al reveals that social media advertising can be successful if advertising campaigns are not obstructive. Pop-up advertisement campaigns are obstructive to users and therefore advertisers should use better methods to reach their consumers online. Online advertising campaigns should be less obstructive to internet users and be more integrated with the look of the website page where it is displayed. Companies can reach their online users on social media by sharing videos, articles and online applications about their products (Bieber et al 26). Use of social media for advertisement requires creativity in order to effectively compete with traditional methods of advertising such as banners and text-based advertisements. Bieber et al argue that use of creativity in social media advertisements captures the attention of users....