Analyzing Social Media's Impact on Business Growth

This report examines the multifaceted impact of social media on businesses. It begins by acknowledging the widespread adoption of social media platforms and their role in facilitating global communication and business growth. The report highlights the advantages of social media, such as cost-effective marketing, enhanced customer relationships, increased brand awareness, and improved communication channels. It also discusses the disadvantages, including security risks like hacking, the potential for negative publicity from employee actions, addiction, and cyberbullying. The research methodology involves a qualitative approach, employing questionnaires to gather data from a sample of 200 participants. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of businesses carefully considering the pros and cons of social media to make informed decisions about its integration into their operations, ultimately determining whether and how it can be constructively used for business advancement.

RUNNING HEADER: Pros and Cons of Social Media
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Pros and Cons of Social Media in Business
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Pros and Cons of Social Media 2
1. Introduction
In the contemporary world, social media is one of the essential parts of every individual since it
provides a platform for people to communicate with millions of people across the world. The
spread of social media systems has been made possible through the spread of internet
technologies. Thus, the barriers to social media are very limited. Social media has provided a
platform through which businesses can flourish and grow progressively. Some of the companies
which have used social media to expand all over the world include Titan, Adidas, and Toyota
among others (Aral, Dellarocas & Godes, 2013, p.5). However, there are debates from various
factions on whether social media is improving or hand capping businesses. The following
research aims to determine the rewards and the drawbacks of social media networking for a
business to grow. The following research will take aim at exploring how social media and
networking strengthens or weakens a firm in the business environment. The research will focus
on the advantages and the disadvantages of social media. The scope of the research will provide
a basis for establishing and elaborating on the benefits of social media.
2. Project Objective
Social media has become a necessary component in the growth of the business. The research
will aim at examining the advantages and disadvantages of social media networking in the
business environment. For a firm, business or organization to expand, the company needs to
leverage on social media in order to get competitive advantages through constant interactions
with its customers and clients.
3. Project scope

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In this study, the data will be collected from random people. As a result, the conclusions
from the data analysis will be associated with the opinions of random people. Moreover, the
research will target a total of 200 participants.
4. Literature Review
The platform of social media is considered as a new trend. It is a quickly progressing
platform in which businesses are able to target customers in the easiest manner. The social
media network is assisting various companies to promote their products and services. Marketing
through the social media is a division of online marketing which aims at accomplishing a
required target over and above newsletters, e-mails, and online advertising campaigns.
According to Smith et al. (2012, p.105), there exist a variety of social media sites which have
various forms and features. For example, one of the most popular social media platforms is
Facebook which was introduced in February 2004. From a current evaluation, Facebook
currently has more than 900 million users who are active. The second largest social media site is
Twitter, which uses a combination of microblogging and social networks (Borges, 2009, p.11).
Through Twitter, its users are given a platform in which they are able to share real-time
experiences. Facebook and Twitter are among the most valuable social media sites since they are
used by many people. Such benefits are derived from the ability of social media to convey
messages to a large number of people at one time (Teece, 2010, p.174).
a. Pros of social media networking
Businesses across the world are finding social media very beneficial. Companies are able
to attract customer, promote their products and services in the market, and build their market
position (Hajli, 2014, p.408). Social media provides the ability to market goods and services for

Pros and Cons of Social Media 4
free, unlike traditional marketing campaigns which spend millions of dollars. Thus, social media
enables a business to run with little or a minimum budget (Hudson &Thal, 2013, p.172).
On the other hand, social media offer marketers with the ability to target audiences and
customers on the basis of the personal interest of site users leading to cost efficiency, better
customer relationship, expansion of customers, brand awareness, and enhancing of the exposure
of the company (Jain, Joshi & Shashi, 2014, p.1). According to Dron et al., (2014, p.23), social
media networking allows customers to give feedback to the company regarding their services
and products thereby giving the company an opportunity to improve their products. Through a
provision of the medium of interaction, social media assist in executing both internal as well as
external communication platforms (Nadeem, et. al., 2015, p.437). Enhanced communication
assist in improving decision making, and amplification of business contacts.
Analysis made show that the shopping market is flourishing through the efficient players
of online business. There are numerous business and companies which have leveraged their
operations on online businesses. According to Haythornthwaite (2005, p.127), Amazon is the
largest online business market in the world as it sells more than 26 billion items on a peak day.
Amazon provides a platform for customers to select a vast variety of items at the comfort of their
homes.
b. Cons of social media networking
On the negative side, social media networking has a huge range of negative risks. The
risks range from cyber attacking, security issues to hacking. According to the paper by Nadaraja
& Yazdanifard (2013, p.32), social networking augment the possibilities of hacking and
increases security costs through the adaption of firewalls to avoid hacking. Huge numbers of

Pros and Cons of Social Media 5
companies are becoming victims of hacking the contemporary world thereby necessitating for
other companies to adopt prevention measures. Hacking grabs information from companies
which include bank information, personal data, and passwords (Sachs, 2016, p.23).
Another disadvantage of social media is inside risk since unsatisfied employees may post
unfavorable feeds on social media sites which are not easy to remove. Wilsem (2013, p.440),
claims that inside risk poses a high chance of hacking since it is done by an inside person. In an
organization, the role of social media strategy cannot be underestimated since one mistake may
lead to an adverse effect on the company (Talpau, 2014, p.53).
On the other hand, social media has led to an addiction since many people spend most of
their time on the social network sites. As a result, it impacts the performance. Boyd (2014, p.6)
claims that more than ninety percent of the people are hooked to social media sites. As a result,
they were a countless time in scrolling up and down on Twitter, Facebook, and many other sites.
On the other hand, employees may become victims of cyberbullying. Cyberbullying has been
known to lead to harassment, suicide, and depression.
5. Research Question
a. Primary Question
i. Is social media a threat or a helping hand in the business environment?
b. Secondary Question
i. Should a business leverage its operation in social media?
ii. Can social media be used constructively on the business front?
6. Research Design and Methodology

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The aim of this study is to examine the pros and cons of social media. The research will
employ a qualitative approach in facilitating a well-conceptualized research process.
1. Approaches to validity and validity
Validity points out to the point at which an apparatus calculates the examination of a
construct. For an instrument to be classified as a valid, the entity that will be chosen and
incorporated must be appropriate to the gap or need to be ascertained.
2. Data collection method
The data to be used for the study will be derived from a survey of selected participants.
Questionnaires will be used in asking questions regarding the pros and cons of social media.
Once the data has been obtained, the data will go through tests to determine their reliability
before analysis will be performed on them to get the desired information.
3. Sample size
To observe accurately and up to date data, the researcher will conduct a mini-survey
which will include 200 participants between the ages of 15 and 35 years. The survey will collect
data using telephone interviewing, paper distribution and email.
4. Data analysis
The study will use qualitative data for analysis. The data will be analyzed using simple
statistical methods such as tables, graphs, and percentages. On the other hand, the tables will be
utilized to summarize data. The generated qualitative data from the interviews will be classified
in themes with regards to the research objectives and will be accounted for in the narrative form.

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7. Research limitations
The study will adopt the use of primary data so as to establish the pros and cons of social
media in business. The methods to be used for information collection will be questionnaires. It is
expected that some of the interviewees will be uncooperative since some of the facts may seem
to be sensitive. They may also be unwilling in filling in the questionnaires, and some may
hesitate to give candid responses to subtle issues. The researcher will, therefore, have to try to
curb this restriction by reassuring them discretion.
8. Time Schedule
The following section aims to develop a week wise task list of the research. The schedule
will be followed completely though there will be expected some unwanted delays. When
unexpected delays occur, time will be allocated or deducted from other tasks. When time
expected to run the research runs short, the researcher will have to start some of the tasks parallel
with another.
Time Activity
Week 1  Writing of the research proposal and the literature review
Week 2  Completing the literature review and conducting a pilot study
Week 3  Collecting the main
Week 4 o Completing data collection
Week 5 o Analyzing the data
Week 6 o Writing a dissertation plan and beginning the first draft
Week 7 o Completing the first draft
Week 8 o Discussing the draft with the supervisor
Week 9 o Beginning the second draft
Week 10 o Proofing reading and checking
9. Conclusion

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The role of social media networking cannot be underlooked in the contemporary business
world as it has been used in establishing links everywhere. Businesses are able to expand
globally through the adaptation of social media. However, such a blessing brings with it various
negative situations and mindsets which may impact the company negatively. The following
research will, therefore, prove whether social media assists in the business environment putting
into consideration its pros and cons. Therefore, a business or a firm will get to decide if it should
leverage its operation in social media and how the social media can be used constructively on the
business front.

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Reference list
Aral, S., Dellarocas, C. and Godes, D., 2013. Introduction to the special issue—social media and
business transformation: a framework for research. Information Systems Research, 24(1),
pp.3-13.
Borges, B., 2009. Marketing 2.0: Bridging the gap between seller and buyer through social
media marketing. Wheatmark, Inc..
Boyd, D., 2014. It's complicated: The social lives of networked teens. Yale University Press.
Dron, J. and Anderson, T., 2014. Teaching crowds: Learning and social media. Athabasca
University Press.
Hajli, M.N., 2014. A study of the impact of social media on consumers. International Journal of
Market Research, 56(3), pp.387-404.
Haythornthwaite, C., 2005. Social networks and Internet connectivity effects. Information,
Community & Society, 8(2), pp.125-147.
Hudson, S. and Thal, K., 2013. The impact of social media on the consumer decision process:
Implications for tourism marketing. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 30(1-2),
pp.156-160.
Jain, M.S., Joshi, M.P. and Shashi, M., 2014.Impact of social media on business. target, 1, p.1.
Nadaraja, R. and Yazdanifard, R., 2013. Social media marketing: advantages and
disadvantages. Center of Southern New Hempshire University.

Pros and Cons of Social Media 10
Nadeem, W., Andreini, D., Salo, J. and Laukkanen, T., 2015. Engaging consumers online
through websites and social media: A gender study of Italian Generation Y clothing
consumers. International Journal of Information Management, 35(4), pp.432-442.
Sachs, W., 2016. Black Hamlet. Read Books Ltd.
Smith, A.N., Fischer, E. and Yongjian, C., 2012. How does brand-related user-generated content
differ across YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter?. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 26(2),
pp.102-113.
Talpau, A., 2014. The marketing mix in the online environment. Bulletin of the Transilvania
University of Brasov.Economic Sciences. Series V, 7(2), p.53.
Teece, D.J., 2010. Business models, business strategy and innovation. Long range
planning, 43(2), pp.172-194.
Wilsem, J.V., 2013. Hacking and harassment—Do they have something in common? Comparing
risk factors for online victimization. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 29(4),
pp.437-453.

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Appendix
Questionnaire: Survey on Social Media
1. Do you use social media/networks?
o Yes o No
2. How many social networks do you use?
o 1
o 3
o 2
o More than 3
3. How many hours do you spend on social networks per day?
o Less than 1
o 2
o More than 3
o 1
o 3
4. What benefits do you gain from social networks?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
5. What benefits do you think are disadvantages of social networks?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

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6. Do advantages outweigh disadvantages?
o Yes o No
7. Do you enjoy using social networks?
o Yes o No