Tools of Social Media Used In Business-Free-Samples for Students

Question: Aalyse various tools of Social Media used in Business. Answer: Introduction Social media in present era is one of the most significant ways to promote business and its product or services. The usage of internet and various social networking sites has increased to considerable amount. As a result, various business organisations are trying to capture a large customer base through this medium. The said medium gives an appropriate platform for promotion of goods and services and addressing right customers for stimulating them to purchase the products (Boyd, 2014). The present report is based on making a study on use of social media and its results for company. The chosen business firm for this purpose is Telstra which is a well known brand of Telecommunications in Australia. The enterprise is use to promote its various services of internet, voice, mobile, pay television and similar entertainment products. The report will have a look over various advantages and disadvantages of social media for business. Project objective The project has determined several objectives that will aid in fulfilling major aim of the study. As per this, major objectives of the report are: To analyse the use of social media in business To analyse various tools of social media used in business To study various benefits and disadvantages of using social media for Telstra. Scope of project The present project has addressed the latest topic for research purpose which is related to use of social media. Through the report, attempt has been made to develop the ideas related to various benefits and disadvantages that can be devastating for any business firm (Curtis, and et.al., 2010). Apart from this, the study done in present report will aid in developing the secondary research data for further studies. Thus, the scope of present project will extend from a general view to its application in a practical business world to enhance the understanding about the topic. Literature review Social media is a tool that is being used widely at present time in every type of business organisations. The stated method helps in developing a promotional method in an advanced way that can cover a large number of customers at a time (Correa, Hinsley and De Zuniga, 2010). Besides this, it is an effective tool that can aid in making contact with customers to bring improvements within business. However, it is evident that misuse if such effective tool can also prove to be a big disadvantage for the business. The literature review section will make a deeper analysis of the current situation concerned with social media and its use. Social media and its use in business With the advancement in technology within recent years, the usage of internet among people has increased to a great extent. According to DeAndrea and et.al., (2012) a large part of population spends their time on internet to browse different social networking sites, Youtube, online shopping etc. Therefore every small to big business organisations have started promoting their products and services through social media. The use of social media for promotion is aimed at connecting with customers in a more personalised way so that they can be informed about new products and services in market. Besides this, it is an effective medium to monitor various customers choices and demands so that target customers can be focussed upon. The telecom industry evidence a cut throat competition. Therefore to remain within competition, the stated industry seeks aid of social media (Gerbaudo, 2012). This makes communication between intended consumers and business firm easier. However, it is also evident that the use of social media has its own pros as well as cons that must be considered before implementing the social media tools. Social media tools The tools of social media are present in a large quantity which can be used by the business enterprises for promotion of their products and services. These tools are prominently useful for maintaining the business communication with the customers. Some of the major tools of social media that are used by various entities are as follows: Social networking sites: Moran, Seaman and Tinti-Kane, (2011) says that there are diverse social networkings sites on which a large number of people are active. The business firms are also using sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as a powerful tool for promoting business and its products and services. These sites are very helpful in maintaining contacts with large number of customers to attract them for purchasing products. Social extranets: The social extranet provides an opportunity for establishing a private network through internet so as to share significant business information with intended parties like consumers, suppliers, retailers etc. (Keim and Noji, 2010). Employee networks: The employee networks are the medium which are established for maintaining internal communication. Besides this the stated medium is an effective way to contact service professionals by customers. Advantages of social media The major advantage of social media can be seen within Telstra network as a powerful tool for connecting with the customers of external world. The customers can be influenced deeply through these mediums for stimulating their urges for purchases of products and services. The foremost advantages of social media for stated business can be looked upon within below points: Connecting world: According to Shirky (2011), social networking sites and internet presents a medium, which provides a large platform for connecting with the entire world. The respective medium not only gives an opportunity to Telstra for connecting with customers at local level but also at global level without visiting them physically. Thus, it proves to be a cheaper method of spreading wide networks. Easy segmentation of the customers: The social media helps to connect through internet with large number of people. As per Xiang and Gretzel, (2010), the medium can be very helpful in identifying the customers with similar types of likes and interests. Besides this, it helps mentioned company in promotion of innovative ideas and inventions among customers on the basis of their expectations. Thus, it makes easier to categorise the consumers on the basis of their common interests and preferences. Quick information sharing: The social media sites include the facility of chats and messaging through which any type of message can be shared among various persons instantly (Dabbagh and Kitsantas, 2012). For stated venture, the exchange of ideas and information can be made in very less time among a large group of persons. The business people can also utilise this facility to make an interaction with customers to provide them information about their products and service. Disadvantages Time intensive: In the views of Treem and Leonardi, (2013) the social networking is a time intensive way as it aims to establish a long term relationship with customers. Thus, it is essential to appoint a person who closely and regularly monitors the activities on social media about customers responses and comments. Mentioned organisation is also facing this issue as it has a large customer base with it. Risk of fraud: Courtney (2013) states that with various types of advancements, there is an increased possibility of theft and frauds that can be harmful for significant business information and data which can be entered through unauthorised access. The said entity must maintain a high level of security system that can help in saving from such theft and fraud. Research questions The major objective of present research has been set to analyse the use of social media in present time. With this objective, the selected company for this purpose is Telstra on which the entire research has been done (Fisher and Clayton, 2012). As per the previous objectives set in the above section, several research questions have been framed which are mentioned below: Is social networking always advantageous for various business purposes? H0: The social media is not always beneficial for various business purposes. H1: The social media is always beneficial for various business purposes. Secondary questions What are the uses of social media in business? Which are the various tools of social networking mediums used in business? What are the advantages and disadvantages of social media in business? Research design and methodology The research design is a plan that provides a particular structure which can be followed to move towards a particular direction for research purpose. The design of research also mentions a specific methodology according to which the research will be carried out (Whiting and Williams, 2013). The present research has been accomplished as per the following structure and design: Research design: The current research has embraced the qualitative method of research which follows an observation method for making a deep study on chosen matter of social media use in Telstra Company. The basic design of research follows the descriptive study so as to describe the major points about the research and various findings related to it. Sampling: The sampling is a process in which researcher makes an attempt to limit the size of large population into smaller one so that a proper study can be carried out (Kavanaugh and et.al., 2012). A proper sampling provides a right structure to entire research by making the study precise and more result oriented. The present research has been undertaken by taking a sample size of 5 managers of Telstra organisation who can provide information related to effectiveness of social media for their business. Designing: The current research has been designed and structured as per the qualitative method in which secondary method of data collection has been adopted. The analysis part of the research has been designed as per thematic assessment to generate the desired results. Data collection method: The present research is based on collecting data through secondary data collection (Brennan and Croft, 2012). The sources referred for this purpose are newspapers, magazines, internet articles and various business reports of the mentioned firm. These sources have proved to be of special significance for collecting concerned information. Reliability and validity: The reliability is a basic characteristic of a good research which refers to the consistency in the findings which can generate similar results each time if similar instruments are applied. While, the Validity is a factor in the research, which maintains the authenticity of the findings presented in the report. By maintaining these two constituents throughout the report will aid in improving the quality and value of research. Research Limitations The limitations of a research can be understood as the constraints that may act as a limit to the scope of study (Boyd, 2014). There are always some limitations in a report that can restrain the scope of study. The current research has also some limitations like limited time period. The study with wide scale of research scope cannot be completed as per the allotted time period. Besides this, approaching managers of Telstra to collect relevant information and gaining their permission to conduct a research on their company was a complex task. As per this, the information collected for study and research purpose was available in limited quantity. These limitations have affected the results of present study in negative manner (DeAndrea and et.al., 2012). Time schedule Task Name Duration Start Finish Predecessors Business research methodology 13 wks Tue 8/29/17 Mon 11/27/17 Analysis of social media in market 1 wk Tue 8/29/17 Mon 9/4/17 Identifying gaps in the study 1 wk Tue 9/5/17 Mon 9/11/17 2 Setting aims and objectives 1 wk Tue 9/12/17 Mon 9/18/17 3 Literature review 2 wks Tue 9/19/17 Mon 10/2/17 4 Selecting data collecting method 1 wk Tue 10/3/17 Mon 10/9/17 5 Sampling 1 wk Tue 10/3/17 Mon 10/9/17 5 Collecting secondary data 2 wks Tue 10/10/17 Mon 10/23/17 6,7 Analysis of secondary data 1 wk Tue 10/24/17 Mon 10/30/17 8 Searching for alternative solutions 1 wk Tue 10/31/17 Mon 11/6/17 9 Draft submitting 1 wk Tue 11/7/17 Mon 11/13/17 10 Making corrections as per feedback 1 wk Tue 11/14/17 Mon 11/20/17 11 Final submission 1 wk Tue 11/21/17 Mon 11/27/17 12 Conclusion The above research has been conducted with an aim of looking into social media network for business purpose. This research concludes that Telstra Company is also using this medium for business purpose which is proving to be of valuable service. While, the report also articulates that there can be some disadvantages of social networking as well which must be addressed to reap appropriate benefits. References Books and Journals Boyd, D., 2014. It's complicated: The social lives of networked teens. Yale University Press. Brennan, R. and Croft, R., 2012. The use of social media in B2B marketing and branding: An exploratory study. Journal of Customer Behaviour, 11(2), pp.101-115. Correa, T., Hinsley, A.W. and De Zuniga, H.G., 2010. Who interacts on the Web?: The intersection of users personality and social media use. Computers in Human Behavior, 26(2), pp.247-253. Courtney, K.L., 2013. The use of social media in healthcare: organizational, clinical, and patient perspectives. Enabling health and healthcare through ICT: available, tailored and closer, 183, p.244. 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Kavanaugh, A.L., Fox, E.A., Sheetz, S.D., Yang, S., Li, L.T., Shoemaker, D.J., Natsev, A. and Xie, L., 2012. Social media use by government: From the routine to the critical. Government Information Quarterly, 29(4), pp.480-491. Keim, M.E. and Noji, E., 2010. Emergent use of social media: a new age of opportunity for disaster resilience. American journal of disaster medicine, 6(1), pp.47-54. Moran, M., Seaman, J. and Tinti-Kane, H., 2011. Teaching, Learning, and Sharing: How Today's Higher Education Faculty Use Social Media. Babson Survey Research Group. Shirky, C., 2011. The political power of social media: Technology, the public sphere, and political change. Foreign affairs, pp.28-41. Treem, J.W. and Leonardi, P.M., 2013. Social media use in organizations: Exploring the affordances of visibility, editability, persistence, and association. Annals of the International Communication Association, 36(1), pp.143-189. Whiting, A. and Williams, D., 2013. Why people use social media: a uses and gratifications approach. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 16(4), pp.362-369. Xiang, Z. and Gretzel, U., 2010. Role of social media in online travel information search. Tourism management, 31(2), pp.179-188.