A Comprehensive Analysis of Social Media's Effects on Consumer Power

This essay explores the transformative impact of social media on the relationship between consumers and organizations. Before social media, organizations struggled to connect with consumers, who had limited avenues to voice their opinions. Social media has since empowered consumers, enabling them to share feedback, form groups, and collectively influence brand behavior. The analysis highlights how platforms like Twitter and Facebook have become powerful tools for consumers to voice concerns and demand changes. Organizations now recognize the need to engage with consumers on social media, adapting their strategies to meet consumer demands and protect their brand image. The rise of social media has shifted power dynamics, placing consumers in a position to shape organizational processes and product development, ultimately impacting brand success or failure. Desklib provides a platform for students to access this essay and many other resources for their studies.

Running head: ANALYSIS OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA EFFECTS
ANALYSIS OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA EFFECTS
Name of the Student
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Author Note
Word Count – 1500

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ANALYSIS OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA EFFECTS
Introduction
The organizations were unable to connect with their respective consumers before the
advent of social media in the business environment. The consumers were also not able to
share their opinions regarding particular products with the organizations before the usage of
social media. The consumers of the various organizations therefore did not have much
importance in the old business environment. However, after the advent of social media and
other digital processes of communication the power of consumers have increased to high
levels. The consumers of the organizations belonging to different sectors are now able to
provide their opinions in the various situations (Kim and Johnson, 2016). The levels of the
satisfaction or the dissatisfaction of consumers are easily detected by the organization with
the help of social media.
Analysis of social media and power of consumers
As discussed by, Hollebeek, Glynn and Brodie, (2014), the entry of social media in
the business arena has become a great opportunity for the various customers of the
organizations as they are now able to provide their opinions and suggestions for the products
and services that are offered by the organizations. The brands have also got the opportunity of
understanding their customers in a better manner and design their services accordingly. The
communication levels of the brands and the consumers have also increased and further led to
effective functioning of the business. The brands which have a strong customer base can
further benefit from the direct communication with the consumers.
Social media offers a public platform for the buyers so that they able to voice the
opinions that they have regarding the brands in an open area which is heard by people who
are a part of the same platform. The consumers can build the strength of the opinions that are
provided by them with the help of other people who are a part of the sane forum. This helps

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them in reaching the organizations which have provided them with the service or product.
This can further urge the brands to bring the necessary changes in their products so that the
consumers are satisfied. The famous social media platforms that are able to provide
opportunities to the consumers are, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ (Ashley and Tuten, 2015).
The consumers are able to form groups of people who have opinions that are similar to them
and take actions against the wrong means of the company or the poor quality of the products.
The modern consumers therefore have huge power to raise their voices against the wrong
steps that are taken by the organizations. The brands have also realised the power of the
social media and have been able to create relationships with the consumers. The consumers
are also able to get the optimum levels of information that they require about the various
services and products. The production process and the information related to the products are
shared with the consumers so that they are able to take well-informed decisions (Hajli and
Sims, 2015).
According to, Tiago and Veríssimo, (2014), the advent of social media has caused
huge shift in the relationship between the consumers and the organizations. The social media
has taken the control and power from the hands of various large organizations and the power
has been put in the hands of the consumers. The CEOs and the executives of the companies
have understood the situation and have engaged their operations with the various social
media platforms so that they can connect directly with the consumers. The use of social
media has let the organizations offer various services and products according to the likes of
the consumers. The companies are however keen on getting the opinions of the consumers
regarding the products that are offering. The business organizations are trying to connect with
the consumers which are making the feel more connected. The consumers now feel like they
are a part of the organizations and the various organizational processes (Ioanăs and Stoica,
2014). They also feel as if they have been able to provide their valuable inputs for the

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improvement of the brand. The interaction levels of the consumers on social media have
increased. The consumers also promote their favourite products on the various social media
platforms much more than before. The review that were given by the consumers become
major assets for the future development of the organizations. The consumers always need to
feel valuable for the organizations which helps them in staying two steps ahead from the
others in the market. Social has been effective in changing the marketing related games of the
organizations and they need to take necessary steps for making good use of the power that is
provided by this medium (Holt, 2016).
The entire power is slowly shifting in the hands of the consumers and they have
started taking the drivers’ seat in the various organizational processes. The individual
consumers do not have the power to fight against the large organizations. However, the social
media is able to provide collective power to the consumers so that they are able to provide
their insights. The usage of social media has been successful in empowering the consumers
so that they are able to judge the positive and the negative effects about the services and the
products. The levels of complaints that are made by consumers on the social media platforms
have also risen in the recent times. The consumers have become much more demanding than
before and this become a major challenge for the customer service professionals of the
organizations (Erkan and Evans, 2016). The consumers are now taking the help of social
media to connect with the brands in a rapid manner. This has further increased the levels of
complaints that are made by consumers about the services that are availed by them. The
platforms like Facebook and Twitter have become the best vehicles for the customers to
escalate their issues with the companies. The convenient, cheap and public nature of the
social media has been the major reason for the increase of complaints that are raised by these
platforms. The consumers are however also providing their valuable feedback to the
organizations with the help of various social media platforms. The brands are provided with

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huge opportunities to increase the visibility of the products in the market (Habibi, Laroche
and Richard, 2014).
The online campaigns that are held against the brands have the ability to destroy their
image to such extents where it becomes impossible for them to bring back their names. The
power is now completely in the hands of the consumers to make or break the names of the
brands. The organizations which have their operations in the public domain thereby need to
understand the effects of negative publicity on the names of their brands. The organizations
therefore need to formulate effective strategies to combat this situation and protect the names
of their brands. Social media has the ability to bring out the worst and the best in the people
or the consumers (Felix, Rauschnabel and Hinsch, 2017). The consumers can use their power
to damage the reputation of the organizations or they improve the reputation with the help of
positive and helpful feedback. The consumers have the power to bring discipline in the
operations of the business organizations with the help of social media. The organizations are
sometimes compelled to change their policies to improve the operations.
The use of social media is expected to become much more sophisticated in the future
and this will further provide much more advantages to the consumers. They will be able to
use the social media to formulate groups and define the various objectives that are set to be
achieved by them. This will exert pressure on the consumers regarding the changes that they
need to make in their operations to satisfy their demands (Zhu and Chen, 2015). The
consumers thereby have a huge opportunity to make significant differences in the various
organizational processes and the products that are offered by them. The suggestions and the
reviews that are provided by consumers on the social media are important for the
improvement and the future performance of the organizations. The consumers are able to
control the various organizational processes and they can use the suggestions for their
improvement. They are also providing solutions to the organizations regarding the issues that

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they are facing in their operations in the market. The real power has therefore moved from
the organizations to the consumers and they have received the upper hand in the market. They
hold the power to make or break the organizations within a short span of time (Kumar et al.,
2016).
Conclusion
The analysis in the essay has depicted that the power of the consumers has increased
after the entry of social media in the market. The consumers are now able to improve the
operations of the organizations by providing them with suggestions. The reviews provided by
consumers have the power to increase the reputation of the company and the bad reviews can
tarnish their image in the industry as well. The social media has therefore provided the power
to consumers so that they are able to change the organizations and its processes. The power
of customers has increased to high levels after social media has come into play.

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