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Adam Fox

Professor Intawiwat

English 114-05

April 18, 2018

Social Media in Business

Social media is defined as “forms of electronic communication (such as websites for

social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share

information, ideas, personal messages and other content (such as videos)” (Merriam-Webster).

Companies around the world use social networking applications to start-up, connect, develop,

expand, and stay competitive. Discussed below are five social media platforms that when used

correctly can be extremely beneficial to business marketing.

Facebook offers a versatile social networking platform connecting people and companies

around the globe. “With more than 1.23 billion monthly users and over 70 translations available

on the site, Facebook is a one-stop location for companies to market products or services, create

brand recognition, recruit new employees, and connect with the customer on a personal basis”

(Gerson and Gerson 300). Facebook plays a vital role in service industry, restaurants promote the

evening’s entertainment and specials with the public as a simple way to increase revenue.

Friending other local bars and restaurants helps to maintain competitive pricing and persuade

customers to visit the establishment. However, Facebook is far from perfect, and companies are

encouraged to conduct research on the risks of using social networking sites. In the digital age,

cyber security is critical to protect confidential company or client information from being hacked

or leaked to the public. Congress has recently placed a watchful eye on Facebook regarding the

types of consumer information the site is permitted to collect and share.

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Twitter and Instagram are two popular social blogging applications. Twitter is a text

based microblogging application that allows users to post short messages, up to 140 characters,

called tweets. On the contrary, Instagram is image based and allows users to post photos

enhanced by filters. Twitter and Instagram inspire creativity from the user to gain followers that

will subscribe, respond, and share. Along with promotions through Facebook, Restaurants utilize

Twitter and Instagram accounts to entertain followers while encouraging them to respond.

Tweeting daily jokes and re-tweeting a customer’s feedback or posting photos of delighted

patrons on Instagram are great ways to showcase the restaurant. Corresponding with followers is

necessary in making improvements as well as building rapport. Businesses also recognize the

importance of customer feedback to strategically market themselves, but the content posted can

directly affect the integrity of the company’s brand name.

The leading social networking platform for business professionals is LinkedIn.

Employers expect you to be as qualified on paper as you are in real life, considering most

employers will not see you prior to a face-to-face interview. The use of social media in human

resource recruitment, or “social recruiting”, refers to the use of social media platforms to locate

qualified applicants and fill job openings. Social recruiting benefits companies because it is a

fast, targeted, reliable, cost-effective source of potential candidates for employment (Petre et al

9-13). As a platform of self-promotion LinkedIn benefits both companies and users by granting

the opportunity to boast about work experience, education, and accomplishments. One concern

for this platform may be providing an overabundance of potential candidates. Companies use

algorithms to filter applicants by specific buzzwords from their profiles or resumes. This could

provide too many or too few results.

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YouTube is a video blogging application that allows companies to advertise products and

services, post user guides, share “How to Use” videos, and research market trends. Video

bloggers or “Vloggers” post videos that review and critique the products or services rendered at

any time and from anywhere at the push of a button. YouTube creates a valuable resource that

companies should utilize by evaluating these vlogs to improve performance. Video blogs allow

companies to conduct instant market research based on the feedback of the consumer as the

product is unpackaged and revealed. Unfortunately, companies who utilize online sales and retail

markets have the disadvantage of not seeing genuine customer reactions in real time. This also

means that customers have a delayed response to any questions or concerns.

Social media can be great for business marketing because it is user friendly, time

efficient, and cost effective. However, if used incorrectly social media can have detrimental

impacts on a company due to irreversible effects of internet history. Companies should be up to

date on the advantages and disadvantages of using social media networks before integrating them

into the workplace to capitalize on marketing.

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Work Cited

Gerson, Sharon J. and Steven M. Gerson. Technical Communication Process and Product. 9th.

Pearson Education, Inc., 2018.

Petre, A., R. Stegerean, and C. Gavrea. The Use of Social Media In Recruitment-applicants'

Perception, vol. 10, Babes Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, 2017. ProQuest,

http://ezproxy.cpcc.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/2014451088?accoun

tid=10008.

“Social Media.” Merriam-Webster.com, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/social media. Accessed 18 Apr. 2018.