The Power of Social Media and Its Impact on the Current Business Environment
The Power of Social Media and its Impact on the Current Business Environment
The number of internet users has increased over the last decade due to the development of new technologies, internet availability and improved connectivity. Various online communications platforms have been invented and are widely used for both personal and business purposes world wide and social networking is the latest communication platform helping people connect to each other across different places. Its introduction has changed the way groups of people are connecting and communicating in business via online communities and professional networks. In business, many multi-national companies are currently moving beyond traditional media channels and using social network sites as a medium to reach their targets consumers instead. There is no argument that social networking is the key player driving new media communications in the digital era and its benefits and functions are impacting business considerably. There are hundreds of social networking platforms that have been introduced to the market but currently there are only two major sites recognised as the world's most powerful platforms attracting millions of users to participate. Firstly there is Facebook, a social network service that allows users to create their own profile, status, interest and preferences and also share information with friends and contacts. According to Trimpe (2011), reported that Facebook's active user base is 519 million which equates approximately to 1 in 13 of every person on earth. In the Facebook world millions of pieces of content, links and event invitations are shared every 20 minutes indicating the enormous power of Facebook as a social media tool. Secondly there is Twitter, a social network platform that allows users to generate and share messages, or “Tweets”, up to a maximum of 140 characters. According to Chiang (2011), claimed that there are nearly 200 million Twitter's users worldwide. The most
The number of internet users has increased over the last decade due to the development of new technologies, internet availability and improved connectivity. Various online communications platforms have been invented and are widely used for both personal and business purposes world wide and social networking is the latest communication platform helping people connect to each other across different places. Its introduction has changed the way groups of people are connecting and communicating in business via online communities and professional networks. In business, many multi-national companies are currently moving beyond traditional media channels and using social network sites as a medium to reach their targets consumers instead. There is no argument that social networking is the key player driving new media communications in the digital era and its benefits and functions are impacting business considerably. There are hundreds of social networking platforms that have been introduced to the market but currently there are only two major sites recognised as the world's most powerful platforms attracting millions of users to participate. Firstly there is Facebook, a social network service that allows users to create their own profile, status, interest and preferences and also share information with friends and contacts. According to Trimpe (2011), reported that Facebook's active user base is 519 million which equates approximately to 1 in 13 of every person on earth. In the Facebook world millions of pieces of content, links and event invitations are shared every 20 minutes indicating the enormous power of Facebook as a social media tool. Secondly there is Twitter, a social network platform that allows users to generate and share messages, or “Tweets”, up to a maximum of 140 characters. According to Chiang (2011), claimed that there are nearly 200 million Twitter's users worldwide. The most