Social Media Usage and Impact

This assignment delves into the extensive use of social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn. It examines trends in user behavior, highlighting how these platforms are used for various purposes, including watching videos, connecting with others, and accessing information. The research emphasizes the influence of social media on consumer engagement and relationships, discussing its role in shaping brand communities and driving customer relationship management (CRM) strategies. Additionally, it analyzes the impact of social media on marketing communications and explores how businesses leverage these platforms to reach their target audiences.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Social
Networks in Business

Table of Contents
1. Introduction............................................................................................................................3
2. Project Objective....................................................................................................................3
3. Project Scope..........................................................................................................................4
4. Literature Review...................................................................................................................4
Summary of Literature Review..............................................................................................4
Problem statement..................................................................................................................6
Research Gap.........................................................................................................................7
5. Research Questions................................................................................................................7
Primary Question...................................................................................................................7
How the social media is impacting the activities of business organizations?........................7
Secondary Questions..............................................................................................................7
6. Research Design and Methodology.......................................................................................7
Qualitative Research..............................................................................................................7
Reliability and Validity of Data.............................................................................................8
Sampling and Sample Size.....................................................................................................8
Data Collection Method.........................................................................................................8
Variables Specifications.........................................................................................................9
7. Research Limitations..............................................................................................................9
8. Time Schedule........................................................................................................................9
9. Conclusion............................................................................................................................10
10. References..........................................................................................................................11
Appendix..................................................................................................................................14

1. Introduction
Social media has really altered the modern day world and it has played a vital role in
enhancing the people to people contacts across the world. The social media platforms takes a
vital part in creating the world a small area by bringing people from different cultural
backgrounds and nationalities much closer to each other. The social media platforms have
had an important impact in the world of business as well. It has improved the communication
pattern and understanding among the various brands and their consumers in the marketplace
and this has allowed the business establishments to foster a strong bonding and association
with their customers in the market. According to Kietzmann et al., (2011), the social
networking websites like Facebook has played a very crucial role in assisting the business
establishments to engage and communicate with their consumers in the market. The majority
of the companies these days are utilising social media to further their business goals and
objectives in the market. Social media has become an important share of their recruitment,
communication and marketing strategies (Aral et al., 2013). With the help of social media,
the business establishments have been able to take feedbacks and opinions from their
customers in the market regarding the type of products that they want to use and how much
satisfied they are presently with the goods and facilities given by the company. Smith &
Zook, (2011) has stated that the business creations are able to understand the present
consumer trends in the marketplace and this enables them to develop and cater appropriate
goods and facilities to their consumers in the marketplace which fosters consumer fulfilment
and customer loyalty in the marketplace. This research will invariably try to give more light
on the advantages and disadvantages of using social networking sites in business and how it
is contributing to the future growth and success of an organisation.
2. Project Objective
The main aim of this project is to know the importance and contribution of social networks in
the corporate sector. This research will provide a detailed explanation about the advantages
and disadvantages of utilising social networks in a business. This would help in the effective
understanding of the implications and consequences which are related with the use of social
networks in business. The investigation objectives have been stated below:
 To evaluate the advantages of utilising social networks in modern day business.

 To assess the disadvantages and implications of utilising social networks in business
 To develop research recommendations in terms of advocating an effective social
media strategy for modern day businesses
3. Project Scope
The scope of this research project includes the business establishments which are presently
utilising social media platforms in their business. According to Fuchs, (2017) there are
different kinds of social media platforms (or social networking sites) which are being utilised
by different business establishments and they include Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and
LinkedIn. The social media platforms have been effective business platforms which enables
the business formations to communicate and join with their consumers in the market place
(Edosomwan et al., 2011). They are able to realize and identify the wants and likings of their
consumer. By utilising the social media platforms, business formations are able to popularise
and promote their goods and facilities among the people in an effective manner and this helps
them to increase the market demand for their goods and facilities (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011).
This research will mainly focus on providing a detailed understanding about the utilisation of
the social networking sites by the business organizations and evaluating their drawbacks and
benefits in an effective manner.
4. Literature Review
Summary of Literature Review
Social media enables an organisation to ensure greater engagement and association with their
employees. It has facilitated in the process of internal communication which was considered
to be a challenging task till a few years back. In the view of Heller Baird & Parasnis, (2011)
the social media has helped the employees of the organisation to communicate with each
other in an effective manner and this has allowed them to remain updated with all the latest
happenings taking place in their business. By utilising social networking sites organisation
have been able to facilitate knowledge sharing between their seasoned and new employees
and this eventually helped them to improve and enhance the performance of their newly
inducted staffs (Kim et al., 2010). The business establishments monitored the activities and
performance of their employees and provided their feedbacks about their performance on the

social networking sites and this played a very important role in fostering a renewed sense of
motivation and inspiration among their staffs.
Social networking websites have played a very important role in increasing the people to
people contact. It has transformed the manner in which people communicated and connected
with each other by bringing people closer to one another and removing the physical
boundaries of distance which exist between them. Hewitt Associates are a strong advocate of
social media as the organisation relies a lot on Facebook-styled communication within their
business (Leonardi et al., 2013). The organisation has been utilising the social media
platforms for recruiting new candidates and as a result their internal referrals have also
witnessed a significant increase as compared to the last few years when the process of
recruitment was conducted without the help of the social media platforms
Social networks have become an effective business model which allows the corporate
formations to make revenues from their commercial actions in the marketplace. In the words
of Kim et al., (2010) by embracing the social media tools business establishments have been
able to share experiences and expertise easily with their end users in the market. The users
have been able to share their personal interests and preferences in the form of wiki-like
information and this allowed the business establishments to identify the personal tastes and
likings of their consumers in an effective manner. According to Okazaki & Taylor, (2013) the
social media facilitates audio and video communications and these are used by many
companies to share videos, wikis and blogs on demand which invariably become the daily
point of contact of the employees. Social media has enabled business establishments to
improve their organizational efficiency and business productivity by helping them to cut
down on the costs associated with advertising and marketing campaigns. Safko, (2010) has
described that the social media has itself become the biggest marketing platform which
allows the business creations to popularise their goods and facilities. They have been able to
showcase their products and services to a greater number of people which transcends even the
geographical barriers. This has allowed the business establishments to attract more customers
from the market and they have been able to generate more profits and revenues from their
business (Smith & Zook, 2011).
Social media is extremely popular across the world. Business establishments have been able
to capitalise on the popularity and wide spread of the social media stages in order to expand
their presence around the globe. They have been able to spread customer awareness about

their goods and facilities in different portions of the world where they even do not have any
presence in the market.
The fact that social media platforms are free of cost and can be utilised by anyone who is
willing to connect and communicate with others has provided immense benefit to the small
and medium business enterprises. The small and medium businesses have been able to gather
the necessary exposure in the market with the help of the social networking platforms and
this has allowed them to create a turnaround in their business fortunes (Fuchs, 2017).
In the words of Denzin & Lincoln, (2011) the main drawback and disadvantage which are
associated with social networking websites is the security of the information which they are
giving to their consumers in the market. The social media platforms are highly susceptible to
external threats from the internet. There is a constant risk regarding the security and privacy
of information that are being provided on the social media platforms. Hackers are constantly
on the lookout for technical glitches in the websites that allows them easy and unauthorised
access to the sensitive data and information about the organisation and their users. This can
really compromise the security and privacy of the users and this is considered to be the main
risk or disadvantage which is associated with the social networking platforms. Thus, it is
always advised to use social media in a responsible and intelligent manner (Kim et al., 2010).
Another drawback of the social media platforms is the easily availability of information
which can either make or break a business. Leonardi et al., (2013) has stated that customers
using social media platforms share both positive as well as negative feedbacks regarding the
products and services of an organisation. If the organisation does not monitor and maintain
any control regarding what type of information and opinions are being shared by the
consumers, then it could have a negative repercussion on the organisation. Falsified
information which are deliberately shared by unscrupulous individuals for the purpose of
spreading rumours against the organisation will invariably tarnish their brand reputation in
the market.
Problem statement
There have been a lot of studies that seek to give light on the impact of social media on the
business activities of an organisation. The social media platforms have largely been the
results of the rapid advancements made in the world of technology and computing. It has
turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the business establishments and has enabled them
to expand their business in an effective manner. Business establishments on their part must

showcase a lot of caution and restraint while utilising the social media platforms in their
business otherwise this blessing could soon turn into a curse for them (Solomon, 2014). This
is the main motive why the researcher has undertaken this research as they wanted to find out
the advantages as well as the disadvantages of the social media platforms and what
consequences they would have on the business prospects of an organisation.
Research Gap
The studies conducted in this field mainly included the perspective of the consumers when it
originated to the impact of the social media platforms. There is little or no research which
takes into account the perspectives of the global business entities when it came to making the
proper and effective usage of the social media platforms for furthering their business
ambitions in the market. The researcher in this research tried to provide the viewpoints and
perceptions from the context of the business establishments in regarding to the advantages
and disadvantages of utilising social media platforms in their business, but lack of proper and
quality information regarding this aspect prevented him from realising this purpose. This is
one of the main gaps which could be identified from this research (Qualman, 2010).
5. Research Questions
Primary Question
How the social media is impacting the activities of business organizations?
Secondary Questions
1) What are the advantages of utilising social networking platforms by the business
establishments?
2) What are the drawbacks of using social media platforms for the business establishments?
3) How can business establishments incorporate a successful social media strategy for
realising their business goals and objectives in the market?

6. Research Design and Methodology
Qualitative Research
The researcher has undertaken a mixed research in order to gather an enhanced understanding
about the impacts of social media on the activities of the modern day business establishments.
The researcher has made use of secondary data that has been gathered from diverse online
and offline sources. The online sources included peer reviewed journals and articles that are
published online, industry reports, business websites and news articles. The offline sources
included the academic research papers, books and journals which are available in the library
(Marshall & Rossman, 2014). Apart from this, the researcher has made use of primary
qualitative data which they have gathered first hand during the course of this research. He has
conducted a face to face interview with 3 market and industry experts in order obtain their
valuable insights and understanding regarding the research topic that have been selected in
this particular research.
Reliability and Validity of Data
The data gathered by the researcher during the course of this research has been collected in an
ethical and responsible manner. The researcher has selected 3 industry experts who belong to
different industry sectors and interviewed them personally in order to obtain a complete
considerate and viewpoint regarding the impact of social networking websites on the global
corporate sector. The researcher has asked a wide variety of open-ended questions to the
market experts which enabled him to gather a detailed understanding regarding the
advantages and drawbacks of social networks in business (Taylor et al., 2015).
Sampling and Sample Size
The researcher has utilised a non-probabilistic convenience sampling wherein he had
conducted a face-to-face interview with 3 market experts who belong to three different
industry sectors. The industry experts had an extremely busy work schedules and that is why
the researcher has made use of the convenience sampling technique as it allowed him/her to
make prior appointments by finding out a suitable and convenient time when the experts will
be able to provide their views and opinions to the researcher. The sample size of the research
was 3 individuals (Silverman, 2016).

Data Collection Method
The primary data pertaining to this research has been collected by conducting a face-to-face
interview with the industry experts. The secondary data has been assembled from both online
and offline sources which included peer reviewed journals, academic research work, online
articles, books and websites of business establishments.
Variables Specifications
In this present research, the researcher has tried to analyse the impact of social
networking/media platforms on the business activities of an company. The independent
variable in this study is the social media platforms whereas the dependent variables in the
research are the benefits and drawbacks of the social media platforms on the business
activities of an organisation (Smith & Zook, 2011).
7. Research Limitations
The researcher has faced a lot of challenges while conducting this research and they has
shown a strong resolve and determination from their end which eventually allowed them to
complete their research in an effective manner. The main limitations handled by the
investigator during the course of this research were time restraint and monetary constraints.
Both these aspects played an essential part in dejection the complete accuracy and
trustworthiness of this study (Savin-Baden & Major, 2013). Apart from these challenges, the
researcher had to undergo a lot of difficulty while selecting the market experts and taking
their approval and permission for conducting the face-to-face interview round. The market
experts initially refused to participate in the interview process but after a lot of persistent
request on the part of the researcher they finally agreed to participate in the interview by
finding out a time according to their convenience. This further delayed the research process
(Liamputtong, 2013).

8. Time Schedule
During the 1st week, the researcher concentrated their efforts on the collection to study the
matter and collecting the data from the secondary sources of information. During the next
three weeks (2nd, 3rd and 4th week) the literature review was being analysed in a thorough
manner. During the 3rd and 4th week, the researcher designed the methodology plan following
which they would carry out the research process. During the 4th and 5th week the researcher
would identify appropriate research techniques which would be utilised in this research. The
Data gathering and analysis took place during the 5th and the 6th week. The findings from the
data were evaluated during the 6th week and the recommendations were also provided in the
same week. The research reached its conclusion during the 6th and 7th week.
9. Conclusion
The above discussions clearly point to the fact that the researcher has undertaken this
research for analyzing the benefits and drawbacks of social media for business organizations
and how these business establishments are using the platform of social media for attaining
their desired business aims and objectives in the market.

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Appendix
(Picture 1)

(Picture 2)
(Picture 3)

(Picture 4)
Assessment of attach pictures Revaluation
Picture 1 It is depicted that Twitter, YouTube and
LinkedIn usage has enhanced.
Picture 2 By analysing this picture it is seen that 62 per
cent of the adults who just use the social
networking site to watch videos.
Picture 3 By considering the picture it is seen that there
are more users of the Facebook as compared
to other sites. People are spending their half
of the time using Facebook.
Picture 4 By analysing the last picture it gives the
proper idea of the percentage of total time
spend on the social media sites.