Business Research Reflective Journal: Social Media Networks Analysis

This reflective journal analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of social media networks in a business context, specifically focusing on Woolworths Limited. The author, drawing from previous assessments, explores how social media is used to enhance organizational effectiveness, promote products and services, and gain a competitive edge. The journal discusses the positive aspects, such as increased awareness and customer engagement, as well as the negative aspects, including potential for fraudulent activities, loss of physical presence, and lack of administrative control. The author reflects on the significance of social media in marketing and promotional plans, highlighting its role in achieving organizational goals and expanding business reach. The journal concludes with recommendations for Woolworths Limited to maintain its goodwill by providing quality products, resolving customer queries, and offering exclusive deals, while also suggesting a balanced approach to utilizing both social media and traditional promotional methods. The author references various academic sources to support the analysis.

Running Head: Business Research
Business Research
Advantages and Disadvantages of using social media networks

Business Research 1
Reflective Journal
This reflective journal is based on the research conducted on the advantages and disadvantages
of social network in the business context of Woolworths Limited. From the research conducted
in previous assessments, I leant that social networks are used for increasing the effectiveness of
the organization as well as to spread the awareness amongst the target market. Social networks
are used for promoting the organizational products and the services in the target market. Along
with this, I had also learnt that this strategy is used for gaining the competitive advantage with
the help of aggressive promotional techniques such as social media networks. These networks
are linked in, Facebook, Instagram, etc. users of social media are increasing day by and this is
the there are various positive sides of using this source as the promotional strategy. Along with
the positive sides, I have also experiences that there are lot of negative sides of social media
networks which will be discussed below.
As per my learning experience, most of the business organizations nowadays are using social
networks for increasing the effectiveness of their business in the target market. This strategy
plays vital role in the success of the organization as well as it has an important role in spreading
the awareness amongst the target audience in relation to the organizational products and services.
Social networks are also effective in certain crucial functionalities of the organization i.e.
retention of the potential customers and approaching the new target market with the view to
enhancing the demand for their products and services. While reviewing the previous
assessments, I learnt that the same strategy is being followed by the Woolworths Limited in
order to enhance their market share in the international market. Yet, they are present in most
parts of the globe; still, they had adopted the strategy of utilising the social networks with the

Business Research 2
view to enhance their market share as well as to expand their sales, revenues, and profitability
(Hill, 2008).
I experienced through analysing the prior tasks that Woolworths Limited has adopted this
strategy for providing better services to its users and customers. Woolworths Limited is retail
Chain Company which provides variety of products and services to its customers under one roof.
From the outcomes originated from the execution of research, I learnt that Woolworths is
approaching the other parts of the globe through social media platforms and for the same reason,
they had developed a digital store for approaching the large segment of consumers. This has
helped the organization to increase their revenues and sales which have led them towards
attainment of their desired goals and the objectives (Turban, Bolloju & Liang, 2011).
I have realised that the social networking is a vital element which helps the business enterprises
to increase their effectiveness as well as to spread its business in the international market. Social
media platforms could also be utilised as the effective communication tool. Organization could
increase its effectiveness with this technique along with acquiring the large customer base.
Customers could also share their feedback and the opinions regarding the products and services
of the organization. I understood that this will help the organization to produce the products on
the basis of target customer’s requirements. With the help of digital platforms, organization
could easily approach its customers in relation to resolving their queries with regards to the
products and services of the organization. This increases the trustworthiness amongst the
consumers for organization; it will help them to develop a distinctive image in the target market
(Gronum, Verreynne & Kastelle, 2012).

Business Research 3
Along with the positive impacts of social networking, I learnt that numerous cons exist in
relevance to the social networking. As large numbers of consumers are following the business
enterprises over the digital platforms, thus it may decrease the value of physical presence of the
companies. Physical appearance of the store decreases due to over usage of social networking
and digital platforms. In my learning experience, social networking also leads to various
fraudulent activities through which customer’s secret and confidential data could get leaked out.
Due to this, organizational image may get decreased and this will lead to decline in the efficiency
of the organization as well as the trust build up by the organization will also be affected. Apart
from these negative impacts, one of the major threat that I have detected in relation with social
networking is the lack of administrative control over the business functionalities and this may
decrease the value of the organization along with the decrease in demand of the organizational
products and services. Customer has freedom to share their reviews regarding the organizational
products’, services and regarding any other issue, thus, organizational website will also receive
various negative reviews. This may reduce the customer’s trust over the organization and the
demand for their products and services will also be decreased (Teasdale, 2010). Woolworths
Limited has developed an effective goodwill in the global market with its functionalities and
through its high quality products and services. Thus, on the basis of research conducted, it has
been recommended to the Woolworths Limited to maintain the same sort of goodwill through
providing qualitative products, resolving customer’s queries instantly and providing them
adequate exclusive offers which could help them to attract the large customer segment (Leonardi,
Huysman & Steinfield, 2013).

Business Research 4
I have reviewed the next assessment and it discusses regarding the significance of the social
media in the business enterprises. The major significance of the social networking is quick
responses from the organization which leads to development of an effective image, increasing
the revenues and sales, and the like. With the help of digital platforms, organization has
increased its global presence along with they have acquired a huge competitive advantage in
several areas of the global market. Apart from this, organization could easily communicate with
its target audience in relation to spreading the awareness regarding the products. As per my
opinion, social media and its related platforms help the organization to promote their products
and the services in an appropriate manner and it also helps the organization to develop an
effective position in the target market (Turban, et. al., 2017). This tool plays significant role in
attainment of the organizational desired goals and the objectives.
Apart from these benefits, another crucial significance of the social networking detected by me is
the importance of the marketing and promotional plan of an organization. Every organization
uses promotional strategies in its marketing and promotional plan with the objective to gain the
success in the target market. Traditional promotional techniques include print medium of
advertisement and majorly these are newspaper, magazine, pamphlets, board hoardings, etc. But
nowadays a distinctive position has been developed by the social media networks and the digital
platforms in the marketing and promotional plan (Lacho & Marinello, 2010). These strategies are
capable enough to gain effective results along with fulfilling the objective of using marketing
and promotional plan. It helps the organization to expand their business in the target market in an
effective manner along with the development of an important position. This helps the
organization to gain its desired goals and the objectives and it helps them to enhance their

Business Research 5
efficiency along with expanding their business in the international market (Wang & Altinay,
2012).
I have realised that social networking platforms are capable enough to promote the products and
with these strategies, organization could communicate with a large part of the market in
comparison with the other modes of promotion. These strategies have the ability to compete in
an effective manner in the competitive business environment and it also helps the customers to
get the enhanced qualitative products same at the cheapest prices (Di Domenico, Haugh &
Tracey, 2010). In order to compete with each other, organizations adopt certain strategies such as
effective pricing policies, effective strategies for differentiating their products. This helps the
consumers to get the best product and their options also increase for selecting on the basis of
their suitability and requirements (Harris & Rae, 2011).
From the discussion executed in the above reflective journal, I have realised that the social media
networking and its related techniques have various aspects. This reflective essay is a combination
of first two assessments which are made over the advantages & disadvantages and the
significance & role of social networking techniques in the context of Woolworths Limited. It can
be concluded that these techniques should be sued but to a limited extent in order to avoid the
negative results related to the social networking tools. Thus, the marketing team of the
organization is responsible to determine the requirement of the organization so that appropriate
plan could be developed with the appropriate combination of the print medium as well as social
networking tools for the purpose of promotion.

Business Research 6
References
Di Domenico, M., Haugh, H., and Tracey, P., 2010. Social bricolage: Theorizing social value
creation in social enterprises. Entrepreneurship theory and practice, 34(4), pp.681-703.
Gronum, S., Verreynne, M.L. and Kastelle, T., 2012. The role of networks in small and medium‐
sized enterprise innovation and firm performance. Journal of Small Business
Management, 50(2), pp.257-282.
Harris, L. and Rae, A., 2011. Building a personal brand through social networking. Journal of
Business Strategy, 32(5), pp.14-21.
Hill, C., 2008. International business: Competing in the global market place. Strategic
Direction, 24(9).
Lacho, K.J. and Marinello, C., 2010. How small business owners can use social networking to
promote their business. The Entrepreneurial Executive, 15, p.127.
Leonardi, P.M., Huysman, M. and Steinfield, C., 2013. Enterprise social media: Definition,
history, and prospects for the study of social technologies in organizations. Journal of Computer-
Mediated Communication, 19(1), pp.1-19.
Teasdale, S., 2010. How can social enterprise address disadvantage? Evidence from an inner city
community. Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing, 22(2), pp.89-107.

Business Research 7
Turban, E., Bolloju, N. and Liang, T.P., 2011. Enterprise social networking: Opportunities,
adoption, and risk mitigation. Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic
Commerce, 21(3), pp.202-220.
Turban, E., Outland, J., King, D., Lee, J.K., Liang, T.P. and Turban, D.C., 2017. Electronic
Commerce 2018: A Managerial and Social Networks Perspective. Springer.
Wang, C.L. and Altinay, L., 2012. Social embeddedness, entrepreneurial orientation and firm
growth in ethnic minority small businesses in the UK. International Small Business
Journal, 30(1), pp.3-23.