reader response draft 3

The article titled “The Challenges and Opportunities of Social Media” (Newton, 2014) states that social media is a critical concept to all businesses. The author discusses the different challenges and opportunities of using social media for businesses (Newton, 2010). He claims that social media is crucial for improving sales and it is advisable to allow employees’ participation in the platform. However, businesses have to know ways in attracting their target market and engaging them through the right social media platform.

In this article, the author mentions that “social media is a concept that most organizations are realizing they have to embrace”. This is indeed true based on the fact that social media tools can help to increase sales provided that businesses choose platforms which suited their targeted pool of customers and also have the capability to retain them. As a frequent user of social media, I usually browse through different platforms for new update on products such as clothing, accessories and shoes. If I come across a product I like on Instagram, I visit the online store and purchase it. Hence, social media serves as a good advertising platform for businesses as they can make use of it to increase their brand exposure and their web traffic. Moreover, there is a growing trend in the users of social media, according to the statistics provided by Statista; the numbers of social network user worldwide have climbed from 0.97 billion in 2010 to 1.79 billion in 2014. This suggests that businesses are able to achieve higher market penetration through social media due to the rising numbers of user.

The author also points out another important point, which is a business choosing its active sites. This is largely dependent on a business’ targeted market. For instance, if the target group is youths, Instagram, Twitter and online blogs are better choices as users of these platforms are mostly from the younger age group. However, just being active is not enough to attract new customers; businesses have to engage customers by using humor and interesting posts. Being a consumer myself, I am more attracted to sites which use humor to promote their products and also this certainly leaves a deep impression on me. This is supported by the article “2014 Statistics and Trends for Businesses on Social Media” whereby one of the five reasons why people follow brands on social media is for its entertaining content (Karr,2014).


In addition, the two other reasons why people follow brands on social media are for its customer service and ability to offer feedback (Karr,2014). A customer like to have product support after purchase from the seller as this can improve his or her buying experience and trust in the brand. Furthermore, before buying a product, most of the people read the buyers’ reviews of the product and the feedback provided by the seller as these have an influence on his or her purchase decision. In order to provide feedback more efficiently, Karr suggested that an organization should set up a social media team to handle any matters regarding the platform and allow other employees in the organization to participate instead of blocking social media applications. This is a useful concept that businesses should adopt, as by proving prompt feedback to the consumers can improve customer satisfaction. Eventually it can translate into higher sales for the company.


In conclusion, social media is a useful tool for businesses as it can help to boost their sales level. Nonetheless, it is only useful if businesses choose the suitable platform for their targeted customers and they must also have the ability to retain them.

(602 words)

References


Karr,D. (2014, October 1). 2014 Statistics and Trends for Businesses on Social Media [web log post]. Retrieved from https://www.marketingtechblog.com/2014-statistics-trends-businesses-social-media/

Newton,P. (2014, June 18). The Challenges and Opportunities of Social Media. Retrieved from http://www.intelligenthq.com/social-media-posts/the-challenges-and-opportunities-of-social-media/

Number of social network users worldwide from 2010 to 2018 (in billions). (2015). Retrieved from http://www.statista.com/statistics/278414/number-of-worldwide-social-network-users/