The Growth in the Use of Social Media Has Changed the Relationship Between Marketers and Customers of Brands. Some Suggest That Marketers Have Lost Control over Their Brands, and Now Have to Participate in a ‘‘ Essay Example
The growth in the use of social media has changed the relationship between marketers and customers of brands. Some suggest that marketers have lost control over their brands, and now have to participate in a ‘‘conversation’’ about the brand (Deighton and Kornfeld, 2009). Critically discuss how social media affects consumer behaviour in the 21st century and the challenges and opportunities that social media present for the marketing of products and services. Real world examples should be used to illustrate your assessment (examples can be taken from any country and any product/service).
“With over 500million users, if Facebook was a country it would be the third biggest in the world”. Social media is changing the world we live in and the way in which we communicate in it. Social media is an enhancement of regular media such as newspapers and television commercials. In terms of Web 2.0 it is giving people information but through interaction and also allowing you to communicate back. Media is no longer selling a product to a customer but having a two way conversation about it, as discussed by Deighton and Kornfeld. Social media websites include; Social Bookmarking, Social News, Wikis, Social Photo and Video Sharing and the most popular being Social Networking Sites. 22% of all time spent online is spent on social media sites, and although many may see it just as a time filler, it does offers an abundance of opportunities to organizations, mainly because of its global reach. However we must remember that social media is giving consumers a voice, which could affect an organisation positively but also negatively. A Consumer research showed that “individuals give greater consideration to advice and information shared online, spending more time with websites that provide third-party evaluations” (Huang et al. 2009), therefore it is essential that organisations have good feedback on social media sites because the consequences of gaining a bad reputation online can
“With over 500million users, if Facebook was a country it would be the third biggest in the world”. Social media is changing the world we live in and the way in which we communicate in it. Social media is an enhancement of regular media such as newspapers and television commercials. In terms of Web 2.0 it is giving people information but through interaction and also allowing you to communicate back. Media is no longer selling a product to a customer but having a two way conversation about it, as discussed by Deighton and Kornfeld. Social media websites include; Social Bookmarking, Social News, Wikis, Social Photo and Video Sharing and the most popular being Social Networking Sites. 22% of all time spent online is spent on social media sites, and although many may see it just as a time filler, it does offers an abundance of opportunities to organizations, mainly because of its global reach. However we must remember that social media is giving consumers a voice, which could affect an organisation positively but also negatively. A Consumer research showed that “individuals give greater consideration to advice and information shared online, spending more time with websites that provide third-party evaluations” (Huang et al. 2009), therefore it is essential that organisations have good feedback on social media sites because the consequences of gaining a bad reputation online can