Social Media Marketing Services Effects on Businesses

Social Media Marketing Services Effects on Businesses

Social media marketing services have affected the business community in every level of activity and planning. All businesses, large and small alike, are using social media (such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google+) to drive sales, track and decipher customer behavior, increase productivity, build community good will, and even design research and development initiatives. Social media’s increasing Internet marketing activities have opened new avenues to data on customer preferences and patterns of behavior never before used or available. Not surprisingly, the management of this database (Big Data) has spawned a whole subset of information management tools and experts, ready and willing, for a fee, to explore and plot consumer actions, reactions, and likings. The use of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has also become critical for a business’s success. This feedback, in turn, has great potential value for businesses as they choose new products, explore new markets, handle their supply chains, and increase in-house office productivity.

Uses of Social Media Marketing Within Companies

Considering that virtually every business now utilizes some or all varieties of Internet marketing services (according to Forbes magazine, 73% of businesses now use Twitter), the impact is both noticeable and growing. Every division or function is now affected: human resources uses Internet marketing platforms to process and investigate applicants, sales teams use information garnered from SEO sites to track and nurture new customer bases, marketing teams implement blog creation for friendly blogs, advertising campaigns and feedback channels. The wave of social media has engulfed all areas of companies, with most divisions struggling to understand the power and impact of this tsunami. Most businesses realize the importance of Internet marketing services and anticipate spending more in these areas than ever before (according to the Harvard Business Review report), but are still unsure how best to utilize this enormous potential tool. New products, sales promotions, community services, customer habits, all will be driven by social media’s influence over their business. Companies realize the need to provide quality content on their pages, in their campaigns, in their press releases; they must turn to Internet marketingservices to enhance their sites and profits. How a company harnesses this invaluable media for their benefit is the key to success in an ever-increasing world of tweets and likes and dislikes. Budgets devoted strictly to social media activities are becoming noticeable, supplanting and superseding marketing budgets per se.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Whereas before, if a customer was unhappy, he might send a nasty letter to the customer service department, call the company to vent his anger, or describe his issue with his immediate circle of friends, with all of the social media outlets now available, he can send his unflattering sentiments to millions of fellow consumers within minutes.

Likewise, companies with strict regulatory governance (such as investment firms and pharmaceutical companies) need to be ever vigilant about what is being broadcast about their services and performance; lawsuits are an ever present danger when openly discussing processes and problems “live” for millions to see and hear. Companies need to monitor conversations on the various social media to understand who is discussing the company, positively and negatively, and know how and when to respond.

Impact on Specific Industries

The manufacturing industry has embraced Internet marketing services as a method to open new, international markets for their products, using blogs and Facebook and LinkedIn to promote lines of goods and services. Training companies and publishing companies actively seek new recruits and potential customers through blogs and informational items on Internet channels. Even higher education institutions, such as the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida recognize the power and potential of Facebook and Twitter to garnered the attention of students actively researching (i.e. surfing) social media for “awesome” schools to apply to and/or attend. Likewise, educational entities are just beginning to use the power of Internet marketing services to promote their research and outreach activities to the surrounding community to build rapport with government agencies and funding sources. They realize the amazing power of Internet marketing, search engines and the need for SEO if they are to compete for the top students in the future.

Published by: Axiom Internet Marketing