The Impact of Social Media on Business: Financial Applications Report

This report examines the relationship between social media and business operations, focusing on financial applications and digital marketing. It begins with an introduction, followed by an analysis of social media's role in business, including the advantages and disadvantages of social media advertising and its impact on brand popularity and customer relationships. The report then explores the significance of data collected on the retail industry, emphasizing the shift from traditional marketing strategies to social media strategies to enhance customer engagement and brand awareness. The report also provides statistical representations of the impact of social media and the opportunities it presents to the retail sector, including the ability to analyze market trends and consumer preferences. The document concludes with a security declaration of report ownership and includes a list of references.

Running head: FINANCIAL APPLICATIONS AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS 1
Financial Applications and Information Systems
Assignment One
Student’s Name
Students Number
Picture illustrating Report Contents

FINANCIAL APPLICATIONS AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS 2
Financial Applications and Information Systems
Executive Summary
This paper comprises of three major sections. The first section represents the introduction
which briefly explains the contents of the entire report. The second section of the paper presents
the relationship between social media and business operations. In part b of the report, findings on
the modernization of the business sector due to the advancements brought about by the changing
technology, particularly social media, has been exploited. Following the results documented in
section b of the report, social media exhibits both advantages and disadvantages on the firm.
However, the positive aspects have proven to outweigh the negative impacts. Different authors
have explained the benefits of social media on the business. Keran Smith (2017) presents an
article outlining the significance of social media in business. This report ends with section three
of the paper. Smith (2017) argues that the prominence of social media in business has been
increasing periodically with the growing figure of social media users across the globe. Rebecca
Graves (2018) also argues that companies have little to mislay but more to achieve by employing
social media advertisement (Graves, 2018). Part c of this paper provides the advantages likely to
be brought by the collected data on the industry. The article ends with a security declaration of
report ownership.

FINANCIAL APPLICATIONS AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS 3
Contents
List of Figures...............................................................................................................................................3
Introduction................................................................................................................................................4
Social Media and Business..........................................................................................................................4
Data and Business.......................................................................................................................................6
References...................................................................................................................................................8
List of Figures
Figure 1: Social media and business............................................................................................................5
Figure 2: Data and business.........................................................................................................................7

FINANCIAL APPLICATIONS AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS 4
Introduction
This report is question based to explore the liaison between social media and business.
This research is set primarily to display detailed data that will present opportunities for the
prosperity of individual industries. This study made use of qualitative approaches to collect and
analyze the collected data. The project utilized the internet to draw quality data relevant to the
discussion. The big problem about social media is the time wastage related to the learning and
implementation process. Additionally, mistakes made on social media platforms are difficult to
rectify. Furthermore, the positive impact associated with advertisement and interactions on social
media can turn hazardous if the discussion is negative. Social media has been greatly utilized in
digital marketing among organizations which has come along with plenty of benefits to the
firms. The benefits associated with digital marketing have proven to be significant to the
prosperity of the individual industry.
Social Media and Business
Social media is critical in business operations. The key role of social media is business is
expressed through the digital marketing. A typical example of social media advertising is the
utilization of Facebook advertising in the promotion of goods and services in organizations.
Unlike other traditional advertisement mechanisms, social media has proven to be efficient not
only in time-saving but also cost saving (Smith, 2017). Additionally, social media advertisement
creates awareness across a wider range of customers and users, unlike traditional mechanisms
which operate on a narrow area basis. While marketing goods and services using social media,
marketing efforts are diversified in that the company does not reach only one type of crowds but
connects to a versatile customer base. The ideology is vital for brand popularity within the niche
market. Social media platforms contain devices such as the Search Engine Optimization that is

FINANCIAL APPLICATIONS AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS 5
not limited to the company’s website but extends at counting how often tweeter feeds, or
Facebook posts are reviewed to make the company more credible (Graves, 2018). Additionally,
social media helps build a relationship between the company and the customers. Furthermore,
social media links visitors to the customers of the firm. However, it would be irrational to
exclude the adverse effects of social media on the business. Destructive relationships brought
about by digital marketing may be disastrous for the organization (Bhattacharya, 2018). The
return on Investment based on social media is usually difficult to measure thus impossible to
design performance appraisal programs.
The figure below represents the 2018 statistical representation of the impacts of social
media on worldwide marketing
Increased thought leadership
Grow business partnerships
Improved sales
Provided market insight
Generated loyal fans
Increased exposure
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Percentage (%)
Percentage (%)
Figure 1: Social media and business

FINANCIAL APPLICATIONS AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS 6
Data and Business
The data collected from this report is significant to the retail industry. Usually, the retail
industry is concerned with the selling of products from the wholesalers to the final consumers.
The data collected therefore has an impact on the marketing strategy of the industry. It is
important to change from traditional marketing strategies to the implementation of social media
strategies. Social media advertising will help the retail industry to build a more substantial
number of customers by diversifying the marketing efforts. Social media will enhance brand
popularity in the retail industry due to the excellent relationship developed between the company
and the customers. Having indicated the disadvantages of social media, the industry is capable of
looking for the most appropriate strategies for curbing the conditions while maintaining the
importance of the social media platforms. The retail industry is also able to study the external
environment of the market and determine the market trends. The new market trends information
which is essential to the retail industry and viable through the social media platforms include
changes in the price, new marketing strategies in the market and the competition level in the
market. The retail industry is also capable of interacting closely with the customers to recognize
consumer test and preferences. Following the information gathered about the consumers through
the social media platform, there is a likelihood that the entire structure of the retail industry may
change.

FINANCIAL APPLICATIONS AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS 7
The graph below indicates the percentages of the opportunities presented by the data on
the retail industry.
Developed market
strategy Increased number
of customers Increased brand
popularity Developed
industry-customer
relatioonship
Increased market
awareness Change
organizational
structure
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Percentage (%)
Percentage (%)
Figure 2: Data and business

FINANCIAL APPLICATIONS AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS 8
References
Rebecca Graves (2018). 4 Positive Effects of Social Media On Business. Retrieved from:
https://info.thespotonagency.com/4-positive-effects-of-social-media-on-business
Keran Smith (2017). The Importance of Social Media in Business. Retrieved from:
https://www.lyfemarketing.com/blog/importance-social-media-business/
Suvashree Bhattacharya (2018). Seven negative effects of social media that may kill your
business. Retrieved from: https://www.revechat.com/blog/7-negative-effects-social-
media-may-business/