New media and the modern economy
No one can dispute the fact that new media has gained wide usage. While a number of people argue that new media presents problems for the operation of companies, I beg to differ with them basing on experience as a user of new media and backup from academic literature. New media has brought about a substantial number of benefits to firms across different industries.
Weitz and Wensley (281) observed that the 21st century has witnessed a revolution in communication and media. The number of media platforms has been rising at an accelerated pace. As it is today, there are numerous media platforms that are used in the world. New media platforms have overshadowed the ancient forms of media. They include blogs and other social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Skype.
Advancement in information and communication technology has backed up the development of new media. Massive debates in the prevailing corporate world are centered on new media and how they are utilized to enhance business performance. Companies have concentrated on developing new media platforms because they enhance business. A substantial number of companies have been reported to have developed strong media platforms (Stokes 174).
The contribution of new media to business development
I have made numerous observations about the role of new media in business enhancement. New media develop out of the demand for the flow of information an interaction between people in distant locations. They are a wide range of new media platforms which keep advancing day by day. New media platforms that exist in the current globalized economy include Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Yahoo and YouTube.
Research about new media produces findings which show that new media platforms attract a substantial number of customers as soon as they are developed. New media platforms have users which range from millions into billions. Billions of people use diverse platforms of new media for conducting social and business transactions. This means that firms can easily get people to buy their products on the new media (Weitz and Wensley 283).
Using new media to enhance customer engagement
Speaking of competition in the current global economy, I would like to point at how new media helps in enhancing competitiveness of firms. According to Hastings (177), the current global economy is competitive. There exist a high number of companies which compete for customers. The new media have turned into desirable tools for increasing the level of engagement between firms and their customers.
With new media, it is easy for companies to manage customers. New media work based on advanced information and communication technologies. Information and communication technology is the most desired platform on which firms maximize on the opportunities that exist in the environment. Advancement in information and communication technology is often accompanied by the growth in new media (Lievrouw and Livingstone 1).
I can strongly say that new media are the most common platforms on which firms enhance marketing practices. I argue this from the experience I have as an active user of new media. Companies keep creating online marketing platforms. Most global firms thriving the market today, highly utilize new media.
They use these platforms in linking link with customers who use new media. With new media, firms get it easy to link to a wide range of customers (Hastings 178). They get to understand different demands and needs of customers thus tailoring products and services to meet their demands. Through the use of online marketing platforms, a substantial number of firms have managed to expand their sales.
Firms also manage to export their products into new markets that are placed in areas that are distant from where they produce. Firms are advertising their products using the new media. Better utilization of the new media for advertising help firms to create strong brands. They also get views on the trend in the market through the new media hence make strategic moves that help them remain competitive (Stafford and Faber 2).
Works Cited
Hastings, Gerard. The Sage Handbook of Social Marketing, Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Inc, 2011. Print.
Lievrouw, Leah A, and Sonia M. Livingstone. Handbook of New Media: Social Shaping and Social Consequences of Icts, London: SAGE, 2006. Print.
Stafford, Marla R, and Ronald J. Faber. Advertising, Promotion, and New Media, Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 2005. Print.
Stokes, Jane C. The Media in Britain: Current Debates and Developments, Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1999. Print.
Weitz, Barton, and Robin Wensley. Handbook of Marketing, London: SAGE, 2006. Print.