taught by Professor Last Name.
Social media refers to the “websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking,” according to the Oxford English Dictionary. There are different types of social media, such as, social networking sites (Facebook, Google+, Foursquare, Instagram, Pinterest), microblogging sites (Twitter), blogs (WordPress, Live Journal, Weebly, Blogspot, Tumblr), video sharing sites (YouTube, DailyMotion, Vimeo), podcasts (iTunes, NPR, NYT), internet discussion forms, and weblogs. In the recent years, the most important forms of marketing communication affected by social media have been advertising, promotions, and branding. The tools and technology offered by social media have made it easier for people in different parts of the world to create and share information. Similarly, it has also provided businesses the opportunity to reach a broad range of target audience and promote their products and services in a more quick and effective manner.
The social media revolution has made the traditional forms of advertising obsolete, such as radio and newspapers. Since social media provides the opportunity to communicate directly with the target audience, larger corporations as well as small businesses are using social media marketing to advertise their products and services. Therefore, for this assignment, I researched journal articles about the effect of social media on advertising. After extensive research, I selected the article “Advertising on Social Media” by Sumit Goyal published in Scientific Journal of Pure and Applied Science (2013). In the article, Goyal has discussed the how social media has revolutionized advertising. According to Goyal (2013), nowadays customers use internet to research about products before purchasing them. In this way, buyers have the freedom to explore a wide range of products, check product reviews, and compare product ratings before buying a product.
The most current/cutting edge form of social media that has affected advertising in the last three years is probably Facebook. Since its launch in 2004, Facebook has been gaining popularity and increased usage throughout the world. Facebook has 727 million daily active users on average, according to Facebook newsroom. Thus, Facebook presents wonderful opportunities to the advertisers to reach their potential customers. Goyal (2013) said that “Facebook says ‘Connect with over 1 billion people with Facebook Advertising’. Facebook gives the following options to advertisers, Facebook Offers, Promoted Posts, Sponsored Stories, Page Post Ads, Facebook Object (Like) Ads, and External Website (Standard) Ads.” This allows the advertisers to use many strategies to gather personal data from a Facebook user’s profile and based on his or her likes, posts, and comments, present customized marketing messages to the user.
Moreover, advertising on social media is expected to increase in the coming years. Goyal (2013) believes that an increase in social media advertising is beneficial for both advertisers and customers. It is beneficial to advertisers as it expands their business network and is advantageous to the customers as it creates more jobs and gives the buyers more options. Thus, in conclusion, social media has not only the global communication but also advertising and marketing. The various types of social media have created new and unique opportunities for businesses to reach their target audience and increase their clientele. Therefore, companies should utilize the opportunities offered by social media and market their products and services in a more effective, customer friendly way.
Works Cited
Goyal, Sumit. (2013). Advertising on Social Media. Scientific Journal of Pure and Applied
Sciences, 2, 220-223. Retrieved from http://sjournals.com/index.php/SJPAS/article/view/551/pdf
