Social Media for Business: Types of Platforms and Link to E-commerce

This article explores the potential of social media for businesses, focusing on the different types of platforms available and their link to e-commerce. It discusses how Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, and Google+ can be leveraged for marketing and customer interaction, and how businesses can benefit from having a social media presence. The article also highlights the importance of creating quality content and generating an emotional response from viewers.

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Part 2
Social media for business
Research indicates that there is an increased adoption of social media and that it is shifting
the way businesses operates. Currently what matters in business is not whether one should
employ social media for marketing; the question is how to do it and what the best platform is.
Social media is an expansive word employed to define the diverse virtual technology tools
that allow individuals to connect through the internet by sharing information and resources.
Sharing on social media takes different shapes including blog posts, posting photos and
videos, audio files, links, and status updates. Furthermore, the various platforms also offer
feedback mechanisms to make them more of an interactive forum. Initially, the aim was to
have social media as a platforms where family and friends could share information, however
with time social media has outgrown its initial purpose to become a tool that businesses can
use to interact with their customers, interactions amongst employees, and interactions
between the management and the employees (Media 2010).
The online community has become a culture on its own an effective and prolific innovator as
well. In marketing, the online community has altered the rules of branding in terms of the
kind of techniques that work and those that do not. The business community cannot
underestimate the potential of social media as it has transcended from being just a want to
become a need. Data collected in January 2018 indicated that there are 4.02 billion internet
users representing almost 53% of the world population. The active users account for 42%,
which is about 3.2 billion active users. The numbers alone are a manifestation of the potential
held by social media and its ability to grow even further(Authors 2013).
With such massive potential, it is impossible to ignore its potential especially in the
marketing world. The massive adoption of social media and its promising potential for

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continued growth has become a treasure mine for businesses especially with increased
competition and the need to continuously engage and interact with consumers. Print media
and radio advertisement are slowly losing their relevance and social media aggressively
replacing their roles in advertisement and consumer interaction platform (Success 2011).
Types of social media platforms
The potential of growth offered by social media means that businesses ought to leverage
appropriate social media networks for effective use. The aim is not just becoming a member
of the various social media platforms available but it is because the target audience is most
likely to be found in the various platforms. Purposefully consumers continuously interact
with their preferred products on diverse levels. Having a social media presence increases the
chances of the business to generate increased revenue and to better associate and interact with
consumers on a whole new level (Reports et al. 2009).
Facebook
It is the most recognized social media platform globally with over a billion users worldwide
with an approximate 50% being active users of the platform. The platform is used to stay
connected with friends and family, used for discovering new things as well as sharing things
that matter. it offers a podium that can be used to connect with different people(Media &
Sites 2010).
Facebook offers businesses an opportunity to have real-time interactions with customers and
potential customers. Being free it allows businesses to receive real-time feedback and to
engage with other potential clients (Hoffmann & Novak, 2012). Google often spot Facebook
business pages offering businesses an opportunity to reach its customers. Moreover, for
purposes of networking, internal and external communication, planning, and tracking events,
and the promotion of products and services companies can use Facebook. As consumers

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spend more time on social media, the platform becomes a go-to source for products and brand
information. Research indicates that posts relating to brand on Facebook attract 10.7% more
subscribers than the brand existing subscribers. It was also revealed that 4.2% of all Facebook
users who see a Facebook Page’s post engage with it differently; be it by reading a status,
liking a post, watching a video or clicking a link(Title, 2012).
Twitter
This social media platform allows subscribers to send and read a maximum of 140 characters
messages commonly referred to as tweets. It has a limited number of characters that when
properly utilized become powerful messaging tools. Twitter has approximately a billion
registered users(Twitter 2011).
Twitter can be used by businesses to share brief information relating to their products or
services. More so, twitter has proved to be an effective tool to quickly address emerging
issues and issuing company position on certain social issues. The messages are brief and are
easily understood.
YouTube
Founded in 2006, YouTube allows its users to discover, watch, and to share videos. Through
YouTube, people are able to connect, inform, and inspire others through videos. Furthermore
it has become a distribution platform for advertisement content. It is the most sought after
platform for video marketing. It is also used to share instructive videos on how to do certain
things or how to perform certain tasks (YouTube , 2018).
Businesses can therefore get exposure by making interesting yet informative videos attracting
many views. However, it is not enough to make a video; the video should be interesting,
tasteful, and captivating (Hoffmann & Novak, 2012). The video should capture the viewers’
attention by invoking an emotional response from the viewer. It has gained its relevance in

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the business community because the content shared have a direct effect on the human
experiences (Hoffmann & Novak, 2012). The key to having effective videos is making the
viewing process to generate an emotional response(Media 2016).
LinkedIn
It is the largest professional network with over 300 million subscribers in more than 200
countries. It is more of a platform meant for professionals by allowing them to connect, share
insightful information regarding various professions, receiving updates on jobs, news, and
people. The main purpose is for professionals to network and connect with other
professionals in the same field or in different fields(Linkedln 2016).
The networks and the connections can help build and boost the relationship base of a
business. Connections are significant because they open up new possibilities of other
connections that can be tapped for business ventures. Members find jobs and pursue job
opportunities but also get recommendations from their connections (Hoffmann & Novak, 2012).
However, its nature requires users to have a professional profile as it offers an opportunity to
make a first impression(United Business Media 2008).
Instagram
It is an online photo-sharing and video sharing platform. Owned by Facebook, Instagram has
over 150 million active users on a monthly basis. Images on Instagram can also be linked to
Facebook and Twitter. People can comment on the shared pictures, it makes marketing
relatively easier by generating a conversation. For example, customers or brand ambassadors
especially those employing celebrity advertisements can have them post pictures using a
product or a service and hashtagging the company in question(Instagram 2016).
Pinterest

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Mainly used by users to source inspirations or generate ideas for various projects or interests.
A majority of its users are mainly female. It has gained prominence through its unique
approach in beauty of digital collections(Delo 2012). The idea behind it is for users to share
beautiful and captivating images for others to admire. Users mainly use it for inspiration on
photography, recipes, and unique ideas, amongst others. Businesses can use this to become a
curator of a product, driving traffic back to their main website(Lee 2016).
Google+
In as much as Google+ has not established its place in the social media world, it offers its
users quite distinct advantage compared to other social media sites in that it is owned by
Google, the leading search engine. The advantage offered lies in the search engine
optimization, Google favours content from its own members over and above other platforms.
Having a business on Google+ can be rewarding when talking about search results and an
account can definitely favour the outcomes. Another advantage is Google+ Hangout a live
video messaging platform that allows users to send emails to other user’s even without
knowing the users email address(McCracken 2005).
Blogs and podcasts
Blogs are simple websites used for posting information relating to particular topics or
governed by various themes. Podcasts are audio files covering a wide range of issues;
recently professionals use podcasts to state their own opinions. The greatest advantage
offered by the blog is its capacity for interactions within the comment section. Blogging and
podcasts allows the user to express ideas and opinions(Rifkin, 2010).
Blogs can be used by companies for internal communications and to offer content that can be
read by its customers. The main challenge with blogging facing companies lies in creating

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quality content. The content found in blogs should not only be informative but also creative
and should entice the reader to come back for more(Institute of Business Ethics 2011).
Link between e-commerce and social media
Approximately 17% of the world’s population purchases item, pay bills, or book for hotels or
events online. Advanced economics such as the US, UK, South Korea, Sweden, Germany
among others have the highest penetration of e-commerce and a majority of the population is
increasingly making purchases or seeking services online. The highest users in these
categories are aged between 18-34, interestingly this is the same category with a presence on
various social media platforms. As such they are likely to make purchases with the influence
of social media. A recent study done by Twitter revealed that one in every four new vehicles
bought in the US were influenced by other Twitter users(Andriole 2010).
Conclusion
Through social media, businesses can create a multitude of ideas and theories with wide
ranging effects. Social media is megatrend whose tentacles reach everywhere in all sectors of
the economy. The continuous growth of social media bears both positive and negative
impacts. Kaplan and Haenlein in their research indicate that information technology increases
the user’s online social networking and information sharing behaviors. The internet
influences how businesses are conducted and the interaction between the business and
consumers. Social media is among the most popular internet services in the world(Title,
2012). Today industry players embrace the role of social media as a communication tool for
marketing and strategic decision. Social media influences how a company interacts with the
consumer and how consumers interact with other consumers, which is very instrumental in
decision-making process (Hoffmann & Novak, 2012).

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