Business Communication 2: Digital Resource Analysis Report, MGT502

This report, prepared by Mohammed Janisar Rahman for Torrens University's MGT502 Business Communications course, analyzes the impact of social media on contemporary business practices. The report explores how businesses utilize platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for brand building, customer awareness, and sales growth. It examines the context of social media usage, discussing strategies for attracting and engaging customers, including real-time updates and relationship building. The research question focuses on how social media platforms are used for brand building, customer awareness, and sales. The methodology is qualitative, relying on secondary sources such as scholarly articles. The report highlights successful campaigns and emphasizes the importance of adapting social media strategies to meet customer expectations. The report concludes by underscoring the importance of social media for business growth.

Running Head: BUSINESS COMMUNICATION 1
MGT502 Business Communications
Assignment 1 - Digital Resource Analysis
Student name: Mohammed Janisar Rahman.
Student ID: 00271109T
University Name: Torrens University.

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION 2
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Background................................................................................................................................3
Context.......................................................................................................................................4
Proposal......................................................................................................................................5
Research Question..................................................................................................................5
Research Methodology...........................................................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................7

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Introduction
The purpose of this proposal is to bring into limelight the effects of social media and
its usage in the field of today’s business and economy. Social media is a technology which is
computer based and contains websites and mobile and computer application that can be
accessed with the help of the internet (Safko & Brake, 2009). It allows a computer or
smartphone user to create an information file and share the contents of the same file over the
internet on certain endless social networking media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook,
LinkedIn, Google+, etc. (Macarthy, 2018). These social networking media platforms were
initially developed only to be used by people personally amongst friends and family and for
sharing contents for fun, however, the contemporary business organizations today have
followed the same path of using these platforms since they have massively helped them in
several aspects. The source 1 (Wang, Liu, Mao & Fang, 2015), which was provided, has been
used to do this assignment, which demonstrates and explains the impact of social media over
the contemporary world as well as business organizations.
Background
By undertaking this research assessment, certain evidences of usage of social media in
business organizations have been gathered. Many businesses these days have set up their
shops on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. seeking new
customers (Culnan, McHugh & Zubillaga, 2010). The strategies used by these companies
differ from each other while some of them are extraordinarily successful. These are several
companies at the that are utilizing social media in the most appropriate way. In social media
marketing, often the lead is taken by the business-to-consumer organizations, however, the
social media campaign of Cisco has been a congenial revelation. The focus of their campaign
has been towards the generation of a future related positive outlook. Cisco invited their

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customers for joining into conversations regarding how the world can be made a better place
to live in (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). The technology of Cisco became more tangible due to
the stories highlighted by the company (The Guardian, 2018). Then relevance of the
infrastructure of the information technology increased in the daily lives of their target
audience. There are several more companies who have been a great success in terms of using
the social media platforms for their products and services, that made their businesses climb
the top of the charts. The few other known businesses are Staples, Pampers, Poo-Pourri,
Innocent, JetBlue, Uber, Toys R Us, etc. Such campaigns were great success with the social
media since they were compelling and fit significantly with the context of what their
customers expected. They used the lesson which implies that social media are not merely
platforms for pushing sales messages on, but rather are platforms for business to engage in.
Context
Steering the disposition of the endless social networking platforms can be hectic and
overwhelming. Before an individual starts to use and implement the social networking media,
it is very important to decide the specific platform that would be use by the individual or the
organization for its operations and business. These platforms can apart from playing a
marketing role for the organizations, do a lot more for their day to day operations. New
customers can be attracted and they can be served better with the help of social media. There
is a vast number of opportunities for marketing the good and services of a company by using
the social media. The target market or audience might possibly stop following the
organization if only advertisements are posted by them. Companies have been using
strategies such as providing tips regarding the usage of products or the services, instead of
just hitting the customers with the advertisements. For instance, a clothing retailer can write a
post for a blog demonstrating how a business casual look can be put together. The customers
should be given with reasons to keep reading. One of the biggest advantages of using social

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media in business is that it helps in communicating with the customers at the quickest of
time. For instance, food vending trucks communicate with their customers and regularly keep
them updated regarding where their destination would be on a particular day by using the
platform of Twitter where they give real-time updates and also last-minute changes in their
schedules (Linnekin, Dermer & Geller, 2011). They also use such platforms for letting their
customers know about last minute sale and if they are running out of product. These
companies take into consideration the other particulars and requirements that might be
relevant for their customers to know, in case they get stuck in traffic jams or if other
emergencies occur. Companies these days are using social media platforms widely for
building good relationships with their customers in the context of their business (Malthouse,
Haenlein, Skiera, Wege & Zhang, 2013). They allow customers to freely comment and leave
feedbacks on their posts which helps them to know in a better about what the customers
really want. For instance, owners of pet food stores post pictures of their own pets and also
pictures of their customers along with their pets. Such activities help them in building their
business into a community which increases the chances of regularity and success of their
business. Finally, social media platforms help in knowing and understanding the different
views and opinions of various customers regarding the products and services of an
organization (Kietzmann, Hermkens, McCarthy & Silvestre, 2011). These days, companies
are inviting people for posting open reviews and opinions, and also apologize by posting brief
responses for any faults and mistakes made by them (Syed-Ahmad & Murphy, 2010). They
focus on the requirements of the customers and the things that do not draw their attention.
They regularly consult them regarding their opinions in relation to ideas of business, etc.

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Proposal
Research Question
How social media platforms are used by contemporary business organizations towards brand
building, creating customer awareness, better sales of products and services and leading the
market?
Research Methodology
The methodology that has been used for this research assessment is qualitative research since,
the collection of data has been made from unique case orientations, they are context sensitive
and provide perspective and reflexibility. The data is purposeful and emergent. The data has
been collected from secondary sources such as scholarly journal and articles and books.

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References
Culnan, M. J., McHugh, P. J., & Zubillaga, J. I. (2010). How large US companies can use
Twitter and other social media to gain business value. MIS Quarterly Executive, 9(4).
Kietzmann, J. H., Hermkens, K., McCarthy, I. P., & Silvestre, B. S. (2011). Social media?
Get serious! Understanding the functional building blocks of social media. Business
horizons, 54(3), 241-251.
Linnekin, B. J., Dermer, J., & Geller, M. (2011). The new food truck advocacy: Social media,
mobile food vending associations, truck lots, & litigation in California &
beyond. NEXUS, 17, 35.
Macarthy, A. (2018). 500 Social Media Marketing Tips: Essential Advice, Hints and Strategy
for Business Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn,
and More! CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
Safko, L., & Brake, D. (2009). The social media bible. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Syed-Ahmad, S. F., & Murphy, J. (2010). Social networking as a marketing tool: the case of
a small Australian company. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 19(7),
700-716.
The Guardian. (2018). Networking for networking: how Cisco uses social media marketing.
Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/oct/09/networking-
for-networking-how-cisco-uses-social-media-marketing
Wang, X., Liu, C., Mao, W., & Fang, Z. (2015). The open access advantage considering
citation, article usage and social media attention. Scientometrics, 103(2), 555-564.