Marketing with social media Essay Example

connect and interact with others who have similar interests or are related. In the sass's, online social networking emerged through private and public forums. Discussions on specific topics were conducted on special interest websites during this time period. Real-time chat applications like ICQ and AOL instant messenger allowed for online communication. Online diaries known as blobbing gained popularity on sites such as Liveryman.Mom and Wordless.com.In the late sass's,Siderites introduced the first social networking website that enabled users to create profiles and connect with friends and friends of friends. This platform also facilitated meeting new friends and potential love interestsShortly after its emergence in 2002, Friends became a popular online community for connecting people through networks of friends, whether for dating or making new friendships. While it gained popularity in Asian communities, newer social media platforms like Namespace, Backbone, Linked, and Twitter have replaced it in the United States. The replacement of one social media site by another seems to be linked to the functionality they offer. For instance, Six Degrees was replaced by Friends due to slow server speeds and lack of engaging content beyond connecting with friends and family. Similarly, Friends lost interest from users as well.

On the other hand, Namespace and later Backbone offered more features not only for individuals but also for businesses at little to no cost. In January 2004, Namespace.Mom was launched and now has over 65 million users in the U.S. alone. According to Namespace.Com's creators, it is a "technology company connecting people through personal expression, content, and culture." By integrating personal profiles, photos videos mobile features messaging games and the world's largest music community,,Namespace empowers its global community

to experience the internet through a social lens.Namespace was the first website to offer users the ability to explore public profiles and use it as a virtual bulletin board for sharing information, pictures, music, and videos. Similar to Friends, Namespace allows users to personalize their pages, making it especially popular among teenagers and young adults.

Tablecloth.Com, which later became Backbone.Com in 2005, has emerged as a prominent website on the World Wide Web. Initially designed for Harvard University students, it quickly expanded to include other universities and gained global recognition. Unlike Namespace, Backbone focuses more on navigation capabilities and provides a consistent appearance rather than extensive customization options.

Users can access various free content such as games, videos, links, and fan pages that are constantly growing. The platform's mission is to promote openness in the world by enabling people to share and connect with others. Millions of users utilize features like share links and videos to learn more about individuals they come across. Moreover, the popularity of Backbone's fan pages continues to increase over time.

These pages serve as separate spaces for businesses, causes or individuals to provide information while keeping it distinct from their personal profiles. Additionally, users are encouraged to invite others to connect with these fan pages as well.

Launched in 2003, Linked.com is a professional social media website that serves as a platform for business networking.Users can utilize Linked to add contacts, give recommendations, and build a strong business network, as the platform emphasizes the significance of these relationships for career growth. Additionally, small businesses can benefit from Linked by sharing professional information and making connections within their associates' networks. On the other hand, Twitter.Mom

combines features from previous networking sites and functions as a mini blog with active updating capabilities similar to Backbone. It also offers SMS or instant messaging capabilities. The concept of Twitter was inspired by merging an "away-message" with the freedom and mobility of SMS. Initially an experiment in 2006, Twitter gained popularity for its instant communication network during shared events like earthquakes, conferences, and festivals. A tweet on Twitter aims to convey a message in 140 characters or less, allowing individuals and businesses to share announcements or statuses in real time. Social media platforms such as Namespace, Backbone, Linked, and Twitter provide users with options to select whose information they want to follow, who can follow them back, and whether they want to join any interesting groups. Through these platforms, individuals and businesses are able to connect virtually while spending a significant amount of time browsing social media pages, exploring other users' profiles, and engaging in communication that often involves sharing personal information.Businesses take advantage of the internet's capacity for delivering digital goods and content by creating targeted promotions that are more personalized than traditional web ads. They also use social media platforms like Namespace, Backbone, Linked, and Twitter to interact with potential customers. Small businesses prefer social media as a marketing medium because it is affordable. A.Gooding from Inspire Fitness, a small business owner, emphasized choosing advertising channels based on anything free when discussing her approach. Essentially, this means using various types of online promotions at low costs. She uses platforms such as Backbone and relies on word of mouth to advertise.She also engages in various advertising methods, such as writing a column for

a local paper, distributing flyers at schools, and participating in local health fairs. She mentioned that she is a contestant for Best of Western Washington personal trainers competition, which she believes will bring great publicity even if she doesn't win (Appendix A). D. Powell, co-founder of Rexes James Band, discussed using Artist Direct's tools to easily format and update their calendar (Appendix D) when talking about advertising techniques. R. Mimicker from Mimicker and Associates explained that they chose Twitter over Backbone due to its popularity and potential for growth. They also selected LinkedIn because of its professional nature and the ability to control the presentation of professional information (Appendix C).

Small businesses often have limited advertising budgets, making social media an attractive option as it provides a free marketing platform. Additionally, social media allows for interactive engagement with customers compared to traditional rotational advertising where feedback is limited (small). Social media enables businesses to engage in conversations with potential customers and establish relationships that can lead to business transactions (BBC). Small businesses may struggle to cater to a large customer base unlike bigger companies.

Mimicker experiences steady growth of around 7-10 new customers per year, resulting in a growth rate of approximately 15-20%. However, managing this growth poses challenges for Mimicker as excessive growth would require hiring staff not included in the business plan while insufficient growth hinders their ability to keep up with attrition and outperform competitors.

Mimicker and Associates specializes in providing assistance to clients and has two main groups within their customer base.Mimicker and Associates, a small business, must employ selective marketing messages to effectively reach different groups within their customer base due to size

limitations. The first group, comprising 20% of the customer base, is considered cornerstone assets and receives the most attention. The remaining 80% are potential cornerstones. In the past, Mimicker may have chosen direct marketing campaigns to control overwhelming responses and communicate with past and potential clients. However, social media platforms now offer businesses opportunities to target specific markets more effectively. For example, businesses can share information through profiles on platforms like Backbone (sic), reaching more people by creating fan pages. On Twitter, businesses can selectively choose who receives their messages and join groups for increased visibility. Linked enables businesses to connect with colleagues and offer services within their network—particularly important for home-based businesses that need control over clientele.Social media enables direct communication with friends and networks, facilitating the targeting of potential clients by gathering profile information or consulting acquaintances. Having a social media presence benefits small businesses as it improves search engine optimization (SEE) and increases exposure. Initially, search engines were basic keyword indexes of visited web pages. However, in 1998 Google introduced a new feature that not only indexed words on each page but also ranked results based on relevance. This evolution has been advantageous for small businesses as it boosts their online presence and enhances their chances of appearing in keyword searches. The Rexes James Band recognizes this advantage, stating that greater online exposure and correct keyword usage can improve search engine rankings. Russell Mimicker shares his experience, affirming that content attracts more search engine results and establishes him as a credible authority. While small business owners mainly emphasize the benefits of social networking, it is important to acknowledge the negative aspects linked

to social media use. L. Unguent of Vitiates explains his decision not to use Namespace due to excessive ads that people tend to ignore since individuals are programmed to filter out any type of advertisement on Namespace.Although these sites are free for users, they require revenue for growth and development.Paid advertising is a primary method used by online social media platforms like Namespace (Appendix B), where animated banner ads flood users' profiles, leading them to eventually ignore them. Unguent's concerns revolve around the possibility that Backbone users may become overwhelmed with marketing messages, causing them to disregard business fan pages. While Unguent recognizes that multi-level networking is an effective business model, he intends to prioritize forums and blogs related to karaoke for his long-term advertising strategy rather than social media (Appendix B).

Privacy is another issue associated with social media because much of the information shared on these platforms can be easily accessed through search engines. R. Sicilians, an internet security analyst, highlights the growing concern over privacy issues and identity theft in social media. According to Sicilians cited by Huffing Post, many individuals who share personal information online are either unaware of the potential consequences or do not care if their private lives become public knowledge.

Gooding utilizes targeted advertising on her Facebook page for her home-based gym business that caters to her friends and friends' friends. However, even friends of friends' friends can view her personal page and promote her business.To maintain control over access to her personal information, she created an Inspire Fitness fan page where anyone interested can connect with her company profile. Social media platforms such as Twitter lack regulation, leaving users

susceptible to potential harm to their business or legal issues if defamatory content is posted about them. Currently, Courtney Love is being sued by a clothing designer for making derogatory comments about the designer on Twitter, which has negatively affected the designer's business. While Facebook and MySpace have mechanisms in place to report abuse, they are not fully effective at preventing controversial content. Namespace, specifically used by many teenagers who post suggestive photos and lie about their age, raises concerns about sexual predators targeting potential victims on the platform, causing worry among parents, politicians, and police (Lauded 2009). Social media provides businesses with a competitive edge by allowing interactive relationships with customers. When utilized wisely, it enables small businesses to gather customer information and respond more efficiently compared to traditional marketing methods. The key lies in selecting an appropriate platform that accurately represents the product or service offered; failure to do so may devalue advertising efforts and damage a company's reputation.Namespace is beneficial for Rexes James Band as it allows them to share music and engage with their primarily twenty-something fans. It is important to carefully monitor and remove offensive or discouraging posts on social media platforms like Namespace and Backbone. However, these platforms may not be suitable for professional services like Mimicker and Associates, who prefer testimonials over constant wall posts. Mimicker wisely chooses to use LinkedIn to reflect their professionalism and Twitter as an interactive tool for engaging with customers.

Establishing connections with existing customers on social media platforms is significant, as it encourages them to add the fan page and increases visibility for potential customers through "word-by-mouse" advertising. According to D. Scott, author

of Viral Marketing Success, "word-of-mouse" is the most empowering tool available to marketers today (Scott 2008).

C. Gordon, Vice President of New Media at Warner Bros., successfully implemented a process involving seven die-hard fans in announcing the opening of the new Harry Potter theme park at Universal Orlando. These fans were invited to a top-secret Webmaster event on May 31, 2007, and used as messengers to reach a wider audience through their families, friends, previous customers, and floggers.Gordon was able to reach an impressive audience of 350 million through social media (Scott, 2008, p.6 ;7). Additionally, Powell highlights the benefits of online networking on Namespace by explaining that participating in the same circles can effortlessly help gain new contacts and significantly expand friend lists quickly (Appendix D). When considering desired online exposure for a business owner, it is crucial to utilize options available on Backbone. Business owners have the choice to direct customers to a fan page that attracts followers through word-of-mouse networking. Furthermore, having a dedicated business page allows for focus on the business rather than personal information about the owner. However, social media users should be aware that once they publicize their pages, they become accessible via web search by anyone. When searching for "Inspire Fitness" on Backbone, both the Inspire Fitness fan page and Goodie's personal page will appear in the results. To avoid being included in search results, Gooding must remove any mentions of Inspire Fitness from her personal page. It is recommended that business owners regularly monitor content in public forums by conducting searches on Google and Yahoo or choose to receive email or mobile text alerts whenever their name or

their business' name appears in a search engine.Online resources can be beneficial for new businesses looking to establish themselves on social media platforms, such as Twitter. "Sparseness's Geek's Guide to Promoting Yourself with Twitter" offers advice on gaining followers and directing them towards the business' website. While L. Unguent prefers advertising on karaoke-related forums and blogs rather than extensively using social media when exploring other options beyond Facebook, it is important for him to consider creating a website and utilizing Twitter to drive business towards him. It is crucial for business owners in New York (NY) to understand that social networking platforms are constantly evolving. According to d.Boyd, online communities are more than just technological tools; they resemble nation-states with a master controlling the system's walls who has the potential to harm its people at any given moment. Trusting the creators of social media platforms and believing that their best interests are considered is crucial for users who invest time and energy in building their online identity, hoping it will be worthwhile (Boyd, 2006). If a platform fails to meet expectations, users will switch to a better one. Therefore, monitoring the interaction between platform creators and users is important for small businesses relying on social media for customer attraction and retention since they should not solely rely on one platform as they can come and go.The study's objective was to investigate the advantages of social media for small businesses. It discovered that these businesses do not seek to rival larger enterprises, but rather utilize social media to gain an edge within their target markets. Certain interviewed businesses have identified suitable platforms and achieved success in

reaching their desired customers. For struggling businesses, the recommendations from this research project may offer untapped solutions for effectively utilizing social media.