Introduction
Social media websites have become an integral part of the lives of people on a whole. In fact, it is most effective as a marketing tool for a number of business organizations. Social media audience is widespread and the users are quite aware of the events that take place on these social media. In her article, Social Media and Its Role in Marketing, Sisira Neti looks at the way social media serves as one of the best available opportunities for entrepreneurs to connect with their prospective consumers. The author makes the case that social media marketing impacts the growth and benefits of businesses. In addition, the author succeeds in educating entrepreneurs on the relevance or importance of using social media for marketing purpose in countries such as India. The article is unique in its presentation as it provides useful information on the role of social media websites and their effectiveness in providing valuable information to the consumers and entrepreneurs. While the article gives valuable information on the use of social media as a marketing tool, Neti would have been more effective in reaching a wider audience had she used a wider range of sources and the views of people in countries that are more connected to social media websites. .
Focus Summary
The main argument in the article is that social media serves as a marketing and the businesses tool that is a bit more sophisticated in its use (Neti 2011). The author effectively creates a broad scope of literature to allow the readers to appreciate the widespread studies that have been carried out on the importance of social media on the lives of almost every person in the society. Neti suggests that social media engages with different consumers online (Neti 2) through the use of social media websites such as “Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Digg, MySpace, StumbleUpon, Delicious, Scribd, Flickr” (Neti 2) among others to allow marketers to introduce and advertise their products effectively. Social media also allows for the democratization of information and uses the “wisdom of crowds” to connect persons and information (Neti 2). Social media takes many forms and includes Internet forums, message boards, weblogs, pictures, podcasts, wikis, and video and allows different groups of users to access information readily. The author cites relevant literature from Kaplan and Michael Haenlein to support the views that social media serves as the foundations of Web 2.0 which promotes “the creation and exchange of user-generated content” (Neti 3). In addition, the author cites statiscal data from Robert Smith from the University of Maryland. The data allows for the assessment of the increase in the number of small business owners who use social media to advertise their businesses. The reports on these figures are important as readers are able to see the upward trend in use of social media marketing. The studies from Duke Univesity took place within the last seven years and gives valuable information on the high number of businesses (57%) that use blogs to improve fundraising effrts and increase the growth in these businesses.
The article successfully targets almost everyone who uses the social media websites and in particular marketing personnel who wish to develop new marketing strategies for their products. Neti adds to the theory that social media is an influential part of the lives of consumers in the present society. She also shows that marketers will benefit tremendously from using social media websites as a marketing strategy.The author’s arguments are logical and important as they allow the readers to develop a greater understanding of the value of the social media websites in marketing. The article is a literature review which offers an analysis of the importance of social media as a marketing tool in India.
Strengths
Neti's strongest argument lies in the belief that there is a strong connection between social media and marketing strategies. The author claims that businesses can use these websites to promote their good and services as social media is the medium to socialize (Neti 3). In essence Neti suggests that web-based technology help to disseminate information and knowledge efficiently and further create user - generated information. The author further suggests that social media marketing helps businesses to reduce the physical labour force as they can cut staff to generate more revenue. Through social media, Neti claims that the connection between consumers and businesses is established efficiently. In addition, the author offers valuable and clear information on how marketers can develop their strategies to reach a wider audience and maintain a commanding presence on these social media websites as the competitors continue to improve their products and services (Neti, 2011). Clearly, the author wishes to draw the attention of the marketers as she supports the use of social media as a marketing tool because social media has become a important phenomenon in the lives of most persons. This would mean that users would hease of access to view the goods and services of businesses. In other words, Neti accurately points out that social media serves as a free marketing and advertising tool for business
Weaknesses
The second weakness is that the author makes the assumption that social media websites guarantees an increase in consumer rates and that the companies will effectively tap into the wisdom of the consumers. While the information on the web is valuable, Neti assumes that marketing starategies will automatically reach a wide range of people who use the social media websites. The weakness in the assumption is that users of the Internet gravitate towards marketing strategies which would make social media an effective marketing tool. The argument is exaggerated as social media websites can generate negative publicity for the company in the same way that it generates positive advertisement. In addition, one must note that social media marketing attempts may not reach the targeted audience. Many persons may not lean towards a brand because consumers will share their information on the product and deter others from even trying to find appreciate thadvertising.
Conclusion
In conclusion, social media websites serve as a valuable marketing tool for many businesses. Neti successfully argues the positive benefits that one can get from this free marketing strategy and she bases most of the article on this claim. Nonetheless, the author’s reference to strategic and methodical use of social media helps to establish brand, reputation and influence of many businesses among potential customers, readers or supporters.
References
Neti, S., (2011) Social Media and Its Role In Marketing, International Journal of Enterprise
Computing and Business Systems ting and Business Systems Business Systems, Vol. 1 Issue 2 July 2011Retrieved from http://www.ijecbs.com 26 Mar 2016
