Essay: The Impact of Social Media on Advertising and Public Relations

The increase in social media platforms as well as social media users has increased drastically over the past few years. Social media allows companies to engage with consumers on a very different level, giving consumers a new sense of loyalty and connection to brands that they are the most passionate about. Consumer to brand engagement is extremely important in that it develops dialogue and fosters a conversation about new and upcoming products that will be launched. Content published by a digital means can reach a much broader range of people on a higher level when compared to the use of traditional media advertising. The rise of social media has advanced the way in which companies and organizations reach their target markets and because of this, organizations are altering the ways in which they market to consumers in order to engage with them in a digital environment. With constant changes happening in the marketing place, many large organizations are adopting a marketing perspective that focuses on using social media to promote their products. Social media marketing is the utilization of social media to market a product, company or brand. It is up to these organizations to weigh out the pros and cons of social media marketing, as well as figure out how to incorporate them into their marketing plan. This essay will explore social media’s impact on advertising and public relations and how companies are incorporating it into their strategic plans.
Social media plays a vital role in connecting consumers with organizations that are trying to market and sell their products. While digital and social media platforms are advancing the way in which companies reach their consumers, there are still people who are skeptical of the concrete benefits that social media offers to public relations and the people it serves. Chiara Valentini discusses that using social media negatively affects interpersonal relations and communications, in that “social media [outlets] were created to enhance social capital, and to enable more human connectedness, rather than to promote organizational business interests” (Valentini, 2015). With the ability for almost anyone to be online at any time, it is much easier for people to engage with others across the world at the simple touch of a button. Although the increased use of social media marketing is a positive thing in terms of reaching a much more vast range of people, marketers have to also take into account the people who cannot afford to purchase tablets, smartphones and laptops that contain access to the internet. While most people believe that the use of digital and social media marketing can enhance knowledge, sharing of information and extend the use of public services, it is not necessarily without risk. Some sceptics argue “that it has promoted a society of isolation, of warped communications, and of disintegrating communities, and that it could promote what Formenti (2011) calls a new form of capitalism, the “digital capitalism” characterized by organizations’ exploitation of the creativity of individuals through online co-creational processes” (Valentini, 2015). The increased use of a digital environment has altered the way in which humans connect and interact. People not only use the internet to engage with friends, family and brands, but it can also be used for online dating. This is a prime example that conveys how the digital environment has affected human relationships. There no longer needs to be a physical presence to connect with someone, as you can chat and engage with others through your fingertips. This easy accessibility to people around the world is what is encouraging organizations to switch from traditional to digital media methods, in order to create a bond with their consumers through an interactive online environment. With that being said, Valentini believes that social media marketing is being used for the wrong reasons, in that “particularly in the last five years, the social media environment has been increasingly populated by organizations seeking their own direct access to communicate to, rather than with, publics” (Valentini, 2015). Rather than use social media to foster dialogues between a brand and its consumers, organizations are using social media to distribute corporate information. Regardless of the way companies are using social media to market their products, the main function of using digital marketing is to maintain a relationship with the public by fostering dialogue and engagement in order to build relationships with consumers.
The advancements in digital media have allowed organizations to alter the way in which they communicate and market their products and services to their consumers in order to communicate with them on a digital platform. Prior to social media, most companies targeted their marketing at certain individuals such as investors or businessmen and women, but “social media has caused this target group to be expanded to include all persons vital to the success of a business” (Bates). The inclusion of everyone is significant in that it allows individuals to grow close to certain companies. This encourages consumers to become repeat purchasers, recommend products to friends and family through social media and try out new products that the company offers. The increase in customer engagement, cloud operating systems and web participation has greatly changed the way in which companies decide how to market their products. Internet access is changing the way in which products are being marketed in that, “online searches, email, social media conversations and digital ads and mobile marketing will soon dominate business marketing plans” (Clow and Baack, 2016). The rise of smartphones and social media have allowed consumers to connect almost anywhere at any time. This furthers consumer engagement not only with the brand itself, but with other consumers as well. Rather than selling a consumer a product and then just having the consumer post a review, companies are now allowing their customers to engage with the brand through various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more. A prime aspect of social media that allows brand engagement is the ability to “like” or “follow” a brand’s page on different social media platforms. This allows consumers to stay informed and up to date on new products being launched, other customer reviews, interaction with the brand and special offers. These customer interactions help generate a better relationship between the customer and the brand. Due to the fact that the emergence of social media has allowed a single person to communicate with hundreds of people about companies and products, “the impact of consumer-to-consumer communications has been greatly magnified in the marketplace” (Mangold and Faulds, 2009). Consumers now have more control in terms of the marketing plan, mainly because they are now able to shape the conversation about the products that these companies are selling. It is up to the marketers to help foster the conversations and generate a positive buzz about their organizations.
For years major corporations have used advertising to market their products to consumers all over the world. More and more companies are starting to set aside money from traditional advertising such as billboards, newspapers, radio and television ads to invest in more modern advertising, such as digital and social media advertising. Over one billion dollars have been spent on social media marketing in the U.S. and around the world. With social media’s extreme growth, “projections show that social media advertising will be worth $50.2 billion by 2019, and social media platforms, like Twitter, will comprise 20% of internet advertising in the world” (Sconyers, 2018). Not only are large scale organizations paying big money to place their ads on social media platforms, but they’re paying social media influencers, such as celebrities, Instagram models and YouTubers, to endorse their products to their large sums of followers. Using influencers is an extremely successful way for companies to market their products, because the majority of young fans look up to these influencers and want to be just like them. Companies pay a lot of money for influencers to promote their products, for example, “a celebrity or social media influencer who has between three and seven million followers can charge businesses the following prices: $30,000 per post on Twitter, $75,000 per post on Instagram or Snapchat, $93,750 per post on Facebook and $187,500 per post on YouTube” (Sconyers, 2018). Because of the large amount of money that is paid for celebrities and influencers to promote these products on social media platforms, the FTC has provided clear guidelines on deceptive advertising that could take place on social media. The FTC is the Federal Trade Commission used to regulate businesses using deceptive and unfair practices in commerce that affected the consumer. The agency “would like celebrities and influencers to not only use “#ad,” “#paid #ad,” “#promotion,” “#sponsored,” but it wants celebrities and social media influencers to make it clear whether or not they have been paid for the advertisement” (Sconyers, 2018). When a celebrity doesn’t disclose to their followers that the sponsored post was not an ad, the FTC has to step in. Brands have started to utilize social media marketing as a way to stay engaged with customers as well as increase brand exposure. In turn, consumers aren’t only turning to social media to stay engaged with brands, but are also using it to get tips and tricks from other consumers about specific products. In previous years when “a consumer wanted to learn how to fix a product they would visit the brand’s website or contact technical support, but now many turn to YouTube” (Clow and Baack, 2016). This goes to show that social media isn’t only being used for marketing purposes, but for product tutorials and help guides from other consumers as well. Marketing professionals are starting to recognize the importance of consumer-to-consumer engagement as well as brand-to-consumer engagement. Consumer engagement is extremely crucial when it comes to brands creating a relationship with their consumers. It also allows consumers to become advocates for the brand, which in turn can lead to more advertising and future customers because of positive word of mouth engagement. Consumers appreciate this kind of connection because it allows them to feel like they have their own personalized experience when shopping on their social media page or website.
Whether it be online searches, digital ads, or paid marketing posts, social media has greatly advanced the way in which brands are able to communicate and engage with their consumers. Not only do social media platforms provide a place where consumers can get almost all of their information about a brand, it also allows them to communicate and interact with other consumers who enjoy the brand as well. Being able to interact with the brand in this kind of way helps generate repeat customers, who are willing to come back and try out new products. Overall, social media has greatly helped the way in which businesses and organizations market their products and services. Content published by a digital means can reach its target market much faster than using traditional advertising methods. Social media magnifies a message, allowing the message to be much stronger as well as have a much larger impact. With that being said, social media allows businesses and organizations to reach audiences on a much larger scale. Using social media to promote a product or service allows the company to have leverage in that it can use visuals to showcase and display its products. This mainly takes place by brands paying influencers such as celebrities, Instagram models, or YouTubers to market and promote their products to their followers. While the marketing mix started out with traditional principles, it has changed tremendously with the emergence of social media marketing. The marketing model for social media is constantly changing as new social media platforms and technology are being developed. Regardless of the changes that are happening in social media, consumers are in more control as they now have greater access to information than ever before.