The scope of social media’s influence is virtually unfathomable. Today, social media platforms have undeniably immense followings due to its ease of access and lack of user charge; in other words, if you have access to the internet, you have free access to social media. As of January 2017, 1.9 billion people use Facebook monthly, 1 billion people use YouTube monthly, 600 million people use Instagram monthly and 317 million people use Twitter monthly (Top Social, 2017). In total, there are 2.8 billion active social media users worldwide and with 37% of the Earth’s population being one click away how can a business not take advantage of such an easy medium for advertisement and communication. A better question to ask is “How can a business use such a powerful tool effectively?”. The main concern with social media and businesses today is public relations or “PR”. Customarily, public relations was originally conducted with press releases, however during the dawn of the “Information Age”, the latitude of public relations has expanded and become intertwined with marketing. Public relations, as defined by our textbooks (Cardon, 2018, p.245), is “the management function that establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the various publics on whom its success depends”. Simply put, public relations is essentially about establishing and fulfilling relationships with customers, shareholders, employees, the media, and business communities.
An effective way businesses can use social media is by establishing connections. Instead of focusing on posting discount prices on their merchandise or services, businesses are turning posting or blogging in a more humane manner that engages the average Joe better. 78% of businesses currently use Twitter and it’s by far more common to scroll across a company tweeting a photo of a meme with a witty tagline rather than an advertisement with a giant price tag slapped across the top. Why is that though? In short, businesses want to connect with their viewers and potential customers in a more personal and natural manner. Nobody likes to have advertisements and deals shoved down their throats about merchandise they weren’t even interested in when they’re scrolling through their Twitter feed. The reason people go on Twitter in the first place is to kill spare time by watching funny videos and memes, looking at photos of friends and family, or keeping up with the latest news and pop culture, NOT to see what sales their favorite store is currently having. If people wanted to see the sales of a website they would visit the actual website and not an app designed to help users waste spare minutes in the day. If a corporation were to tweet photos of their goods and services relating to current viral trends, pop culture, and current events the corporation would, in turn, look more approachable to users. In turn, this method would build trust with individuals, therefore, making them more liable to conduct business with you (Techstars, 2014).
On the other hand, social media is a highly effective marketing and campaigning tool. In the past, companies would have to pay for advertisements on the radio, pay for advertisements on TV, pay for advertisements on billboards, and pay for advertisements everywhere but with social, a company’s goods and services can reach millions for free. Of course, corporations can pay for added advertisements to pop up on browsers but, just like everyone else on social media, they can make a profile for their business for free. This free social media profile can be seen as a personal broadcasting network and is an essential tool for receiving negative and positive customer feedback (LInkdIn). This campaigning aspect of social media goes back to public relations because all it takes is a few minutes for a customer to submit their feedback involving a business transaction. The swiftness of the internet provides companies with the opportunity to respond to a customer’s information promptly while also keeping them within reach for further inquiries. A problem is stated, the company has the ability to remedy the issue, it is made publicly know that the issue is being taken care of, and not only is the original customer satisfied but other customers with similar questions are satisfied.
When it comes to public relations, every organization’s goal is to maintain an impeccable reputation and to project a positive image to current and prospect consumers. The beauty of social media is that it bypasses tradition media forms and creates relationships with clients directly (Vinuelas, 2014). Often times, companies connect with consumers in real time and their social media profile or account become a core of a client community. However, before a company tries to use social media they have to know which outlet audiences prefer and what works best for them. For example, Twitter has a 140-character limit so important new articles, important memos of car recalls, or other company messages that would need at least a paragraph to state an issue would have to resort to other websites such as Facebook to state their whole message or tweet a link to the company’s article located on another site. A company must understand the media platform before posting in order to convey the entire proper message to its audience. The purpose of Social media is its availability so the company must always listen first to remain likeable and compassionate. Even though the posts might be widely accepted by the target audience, consistency is key, gaining attention is social media takes time on account of the millions of users flooding the servers on a daily basis but if a company does not keep a consistent media presence then the attention they worked hard for will be lost.
In conclusion, availability is what ties it all together. A company cannot establish connections, campaign, or create an image without the swiftness and availability of social media. Although social media is a fairly new way to reach customers, if executed correctly, it can be the key factor in making a company a household name. Social media is one of the most effective methods for a company to clarify their brand, express their messages directly to their customers, and to communicate with their audience swiftly. Social media in today’s age really does dictate a company’s success and it is all achieved over a phone.