Introduction
Current marketing strategy is highly based on social networking websites or social forums in websites, since the sites have a number of benefits for due to high levels of online social-Interaction. Online marketing has been in use over the time but current trends show that companies are ready to diversify and invest in marketing through social sites or include some form of social interaction on their websites. The strategy encourages site visits and promotes sales (O’Guinn et al, 2008).
Technical Communication
In addition, a contemporary marketing strategy focuses on amount of sales as unit for measuring performance. The strategy is preferred due to huge number of the websites users and the high number of transactions that social network marketing generates. The capacity and effectiveness are both attributable to social interactions and discussions regarding services or goods offered (Plummer et al, 2007).
Challenges of Social-Network Marketing
Social networks form of marketing faces a huge challenge concerning information security. As technology advances, people are finding ambiguities that compromise patent laws such as the ability to hack business information. The risk involving consumer identity also incarcerates freedom of potential users.
Current marketing strategies are thus based upon virtual or online social networks. However, the security threats are making clients to become keener in clarifying the viability of a site before venturing into interactions or online transactions. These security risks are mainly showing more aggression in vibrant social sites such as Hi5, MySpace, twitter, Face-book especially due to their links to various emails servers or the personal information that each user must submit before commencement of interaction sessions.
Socialization is also promoting formation of effective business alliances. This is quite a huge challenge since businesses need to enhance the right security measure that caters for Information safety. The recent security attack on giant web-based companies, Google and Yahoo in China, is a clear indication that this form of marketing requires major investments on security measures. People fear loss of personal integrity due to compromised data such as use of personal information by fraudsters for malicious acts (Wimmer and Dominick, 2005).
The hefty investments by public and private sectors in the implementation of infrastructure especially in developing countries point outs that there is vigorous competition among firms in getting message, goods or services across the borders. The social marketing sites are also being quantified and regulated to ensure information security and provision of legal framework in cases of rights violations.
Costs and benefits of marketing through social networks
There is a lot of enthusiasm among the internet users especially the youth created by social networks or the concepts of social networking in various sites. The practices of interaction are equally advancing at a high rate and today most firms are able to incorporate the online chatting systems to cater for its clients’ needs/inquiries. Internet browsing is a leisure activity for many people and this is a strong advantage for the advertising firms since they can easily find and capture the attention of the site visitors.
The process also avails a cheap and easy way of interaction between the client and the firm representatives, thus easiness on diversification of needs. Social sites present marketers with the latest information regarding clients’ demands and therefore they are able to adjust easily in accordance with the demands and build stronger or better relationships with clients at a lower cost.
The networks also present clients with an easier and convenient method of accessing information about services or products. The direct form of online interaction also enables them to gain wide-ranging information about products or services. The firms do not require a lot of persuasion procedures or bargains during trade.
During the online marketing, the niche market is not defined and sites provide data that relates to general market sizes. The diversity of market is thus a huge advantage to firms since they can find profitable opportunities both locally and internationally.
They have ability to analyze powers of potential clients, thus confront only those strategies that would alleviate sales. (Cooper et al, 2009). Today’s marketing styles is thus more focused on automation of interaction between sellers and buyers, as opposed to the physical interactions. (Cooper et al, 2009).
The social sites are presenting opportunities for engaging vibrant advertising where the real interaction between sellers and willing buyers provide first-hand information before settling a deal. The social interactive form of advertising is today’s vibrant form of trading interaction.
Over the years, marketers have always considered face-to-face to be a very strong and effective marketing strategy, since the buyer has answers for all queries. The system is carried along using social sites such as twitter and face-book, which have turn out to be the contemporary and transformed buyer-seller real-time interaction.
Conclusion
A few advertisements or forum options on social sites are very essential and an excellent advertisement strategies. Currently, firms are investing heavily on these forums sites due to site visits and need to embrace technology. The social forums enable people to interact and share experiences of products or services, without any necessary need to know or understand each other’s background.
People willingly offer each other advises regarding the good or bad aspects of a product and the procedure of protecting one-another from poor services or products eventually adds up as a marketing tool for the high-quality products or services. Informative forums such as the blogs also enhance business growth especially for new products, since users will positively leave some recommendations for other site visitors.
Reference
Cooper, S., Grutzner, F., & Cooper B. (2009). Tips and Traps for Marketing Your Business. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Inc.
Plummer, J., Rappaport, S., & Hall, T. (2007). The online advertising playbook: proven strategies and tested tactics from the advertising research foundation. New Jersey, NJ: John Wiley and Sons Inc.
O’Guinn, T., Chris. A., & Semenik, R. (2008). Advertising and Integrated Brand Promotion. Ohio, OH: Southwestern Cengage Learning publishers.
Wimmer, R., & Dominick, J. (2005). Mass media research: an introduction. Kentucky, KY: Cengage Learning.