It is important for the companies to understand that there will always be risks when they are thinking of any strategies that are related to the internet. There are downsides and they need to be checked in order to gain full service from the social media networking sites. The general social media activities should be broadly assessed by the companies.
The downsides are creating a bad reputation for the brand which affects its online presence and risks of security breaching, stolen privacy, and identity, downloading of virus, malware or spyware. There are advantages of social media for the business networks but there are also some limitations which can be called scary but this does not stop the companies from gaining notable success.
Social Media Marketing benefits for businesses. Master of International Marketing
Social Media Marketing benefits for businesses. Why and how should every business create and develop its Social Media Sites?.
The Business Benefits May Be Enormous, But Can the Risks – Reputational, Legal, Operational – Be Mitigated?
Business and social networks in international trade. Journal of economic literature
Interfirm alliances in the small business: The role of social networks. Journal of small Business management,
For this assessment, students are expected to present a written research proposal that is based on the literature reviewand demonstrates their understanding of business research/research paradigm.
Based on their literature review, students are required to write a business research proposal outlining the details of the proposed research project that addresses the gaps identified in the literature. Derived from the business topic, the proposal needs to include clearly state research questions (primary and secondary), and provide a solid research methodology that supports the feasibility of the research project
Marking criteria of the research proposal include: the justification of the research questions that operationalize the research topic; the demonstration of a detailed research methodology addressing research instrument, sample size and sampling approach, research location/s and schedule as well as providing a critical assessment of the limitations of the methodology and the expected outcome of the research project.
Answer:
Introduction
According to Ward (2016), use of social media is increasing for the marketing of the products and services. Term social media marketing can be explained as a process for the purpose of attracting the attention of the customers and potential customers with the help of social media platforms. The use of social media platforms for attracting customers is increasing as these platforms help in interacting with the customers and potential customers in an effective and efficient manner. Various advantages and disadvantages are attached with the use of social media as a marketing tool. Use of social media platforms have provided cost benefit to the businesses and enhance the reach of the business.
According to Queensland Government (2017), social media is an internet service which has enabled businesses to interact with the customers or potential customers for sharing and creating content with the help of online communities. Social networking has provided opportunity to the business for enhancing their customer base. Social media or social networking can be used for the promotion of the products and service offered by the business, making customers and society aware of the products and services offered by the business, attracting potential customers, developing strong relationship with customers and enhancing reputation of the business. There are various advantages of using social networking and these advantages include better coverage area, cost effective and efficient, facilitate communication on personal basis, targeting the market in a better manner and generation of traffic (Ferguson, 2008).
There are various benefits of using social networking and these benefits are enhancement in the loyalty among the customers towards the brand, increase in the recognition of brand, better opportunities, reduction in the cost involved in marketing activities, better ranking on the search engine and better customer satisfaction. There are few risks attached with the use of social networking and these risks include wastage of time and money, legal issues and spread of wrong information (Demers, 2014).
Objective of research project
Objectives of this research project are stated below:
To analyse the role of social networking as a marketing tool.
To analyse the advantages and disadvantages of using social networking in business.
To identify the trend in the use of social networking in business in this changing business environment.
This research project has been executed over the topic “Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Social Networks in Business” so as to develop knowledge of the role played by social networking in business. This research will cover the advantages and disadvantages of using social networking in business.
Literature Review
Social media is used widely by the businesses nowadays. It provides many advantages to the business. Social media encourages the other modes of marketing as well like word of mouth marketing, market research, etc. Social networking increases the awareness and customer loyalty (Armstrong, et al., 2014).
Social media generates traffic and gathers millions of users who are interested in using the products or services of the company. The social networks divert the traffic towards the companies and it creates a huge amount of revenue for the business because the number of interested users increases. It enhances the awareness about the brand and provides exposure to the company. It is fruitful for the new brands as well as for the existing brands. It builds reputation of the company and enhances popularity (Celine, 2012).
Social media generates leads for the business and it has been admitted by 61% of the businesses. It is once challenging for the business to catch the online traffic. Once, it is done, it becomes easy for them to attract and made them shop. It is cost effective as it helps in researching the market successfully. The target audiences and the target market are easy to detect and approach. The insights of the market are easily accessed through the social media marketing. Social networking is a kind of promotional tool without any advertising costs and provides quality results (Evans, 2008).
Along with the advantages of social media, there are some disadvantages as well. Social media networking for the businesses are not possible without hard efforts. The companies are at risks before achieving the merits of the social networking. It depends on the type of business, size and age of the business that how social media networking can work. The company needs human and time resources and this needs costs as well. The staffs are to be trained for handling the social networking of the business. It needs financial resources. The business can receive negative comments which could hamper the image and reputation of the business. This is the main concern of the business. So the business has to make efforts to maintain their position and reputation on online platform. Other issues are related to privacy and security. All the laws related to the internet and technology needs to be considered before making a social strategy of the business. The security breaches might occur which can harm the websites or promotional events of the business (Nichole, 2010).
After all the discussion, it is clear that Internet and social media is a powerful tool which should be used effectively by the businesses and they can provide excellent results to the business. This can create huge pool of customers which will market the products and services of business further and will help business in creating its significant presence in the market.
What advantages and disadvantages are attached with the concept of social networking in the business?
Secondary Questions
How companies have used social networking for promoting its products and enhancing customer base?
What role is played by social networking as a marketing tool for the business?
Research Design and Methodology
Design of the study
The research is designed as mixed research where both the quantitative and qualitative data will be collected for the purpose of completing the research successfully. The qualitative data will be collected from the secondary sources like journals, research reports, articles, etc. and the quantitative data will be collected through secondary sources and primary sources like questionnaire (Gorard, 2013).
Collection of data
The data will be collected from the primary as well as secondary sources. The primary sources are those which provides raw information and which is been never used by anyone else before. The primary sources used here is questionnaire. The secondary sources are those which provide used information and it supports the primary information as well. The secondary sources used in this research are the articles, journals and other internet sources (Quick & Hall, 2015).
Technique of sampling
Sampling is done by random sampling method. 10 businesses which use social networking for the business will be selected randomly in Australia and they will be provided with the questionnaires. The responses of the population will be analysed to get the results. The sample size is 10.
Analyses of the data
The data will be analysed by understanding it and interpreting it. The quantitative data will be analysed by using various statistical tools (Turkenburg & McAuley, 2013).
Generate findings
Once, the data will be analysed, the findings will be generated. These findings will be used to draw the conclusion of the research that whether social networking is advantageous or disadvantageous for the business.
Validate the findings
The findings are valid and reliable as each and every information used is referenced genuinely. The responses are collected after taking the prior approvals from the related authorities. The responses will be secured with strong passwords to save their originality.
Research Limitations
There are some limitations to this research. The time available for completing the research is limited which might affect the quality of the research activities. The responses received might be biased and affected by the views of others.
The data which has been collected through various sources will be analysed with the help of different tools.
Findings of the study and discussion
The data collected and analysed will be further used for taking out the findings so that the discussions could be carried out.
Once, the discussion is done, conclusions are made and recommendations are given for improving the businesses.
Conclusion
This research project has been executed with a motive to develop the knowledge regarding the use of social networking in business for the attainment of the objectives of the business. This research has focused on the role played by social networking and various advantages and disadvantages of using social networking for the business in this competitive business environment.
References
Armstrong, G, Adam, S, Denize, S and Kotler, P, 2014, Principles of marketing, Pearson Australia.
Celine, A.R.C.A., 2012. Social Media Marketing benefits for businesses. Master of International Marketing.
Demers, J., 2014, “The Top 10 Benefits of Social Media Marketing”, Forbes.
Evans, D. 2008, “Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day”, Wiley Publishing Inc., Indiana, United States.
Ferguson, R (2008). Word of mouth and viral marketing: taking the temperature of the hottest trends in marketing. Journal of consumer marketing, 25(3), 179-182.
Gorard, S., 2013, “Research design: creating robust approaches for the social sciences”, SAGE, London.
Nichole, K. 2010, “4 ways to Measure Social Media and Its Impact on Your Brand”, Social Media Examiner, viewed 10th January 2012,
Queensland Government, 2017, “Using social media to market your business: the basics”, Queensland Government.
Quick, J. & Hall, S., 2015, “Part three: The quantitative approach”, Journal of perioperative practice, vol. 25, no. 10, pp. 192.
Turkenburg, J. P. & McAuley, K. E., 2013, “Data collection and processing”, Acta Crystallographica Section D, vol. 69, no. 7, pp. 1193-1194.
Ward, S., 2016, “Social Network Marketing Definition”, The Balance.
Wilson, V., 2016, “Research Methods: Mixed Methods Research”, Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 56-59.
