Introduction
The word marketing is developed from the state of buying the products physical to purchasing everything online with the help of smartphone and internet. Many marketing strategies are raised to interact with peoples. Earlier, social media is used to purchase the things but now it is developed with advanced technology and marketing tools to promote the brands. Its advertising them to grasp the attention of people on their products. With the help of advanced social media, people might communicate to the management easily by providing feedback about the product. Its by calling to customer care if they face any issues. Many business organizations are using this technology to satisfy the customer needs and reach their target.
Social media marketing is the recent trend and still evolving with its new features. Many online networking apps creating social media platforms. People use social media to share videos, photos, and links, as well as to communicate and make friends. Users implemented the foundation of social media marketing in Early’s 1979 with the help of Usenet’s (User Networks), allowing them to post news but not make friends. (In active voice, the users are the ones performing the action.)
The early of 20th century, African- American website called Black Planet and another site Latino developed a feature to make profiles and friends. In 2002, Apple company came up with Friendster social network and have million of Customers. Additionally, many social networks like Myspace. People widely introduced and developed Orkut and LinkedIn all over the world. Furthermore, in 2004, Facebook was introduced to compete with other social networks. Today, social media is still growing without conditions and obligations(Ravi & Kumar, 2021).
Importance of Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing is important to the peoples and for the organizations. In this busiest world, people are working continuously to succeed in career and built their future bright. People don’t have time to eat and think it is waste of time to purchase the products by walk. Social media marketing helpsthem to buy and sell the products through online platforms at home only. The process is simple, easy and secure. Organizations may promote their brands and create awareness about their products using social media marketing as much as fast to target the customers and used to originate leads and built the relationship with them. In addition, marketers should aware about the marketing techniques to protect and build their trade connection strong between customers.
Marketing done in many ways to reach out the customers. Social media marketing has different platforms for different activities.For Example: If a person wants to share the image which is click it from nature,he/she may use the Pinterest platform. Because, many users downloading the images from Pinterest to set their phone wallpapers and for profile pictures to their Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp accounts rather than using google due its picture quality.
The future of social media marketing is bright. Organizations which are investing this technology may reach their goal and success rate. Social media is further developing with new features as internet users are increasing. India is the second largest- online marketing country with its users of social media marketing(Ravi & Kumar, 2021).
Advantages of Social Media Marketing (SMM)
Social media marketing is also known as Digital Marketing or Online Marketing. The impact of social media on society is high.Today, social media marketing is evolving effectively with its impressive benefits. Let’s find some of advantages are:
Cost-effective
The key benefit of social media marketing is low cost. Most of the social marketing platforms are free to access no need to pay any amount to create an account and to post any information about thething they want to sell. Peoples may search any product with free of costand reduce the travelling expenses of physical purchasing. If a company or an organization wants to arrange the social media campaignit may run on limited budget. Social media have lots of users, People who look into the product may share it to their friendsmight have chances to reaches the information of product to many peoples within the network itreducesthe investment of brand promotion.
Improving the Social Interconnection
Majority of people spent their valuable time on social media by scrolling the reels for relaxationand searching the product on online shopping apps and also to communicate with others. In this Era, a day starts with social media by uploading status on WhatsApp and ends with same. Social media helps to connect with many peoples either by business or by own purposedeveloping social interaction between them to experience the meaning of life and improves voluntary behavior towards peoples. It helps to interact with social activities and survivein this modern lifestyle and also used to increase the image of people or an organization.
Enhanced Consumer Service
Improving Customer service is another major advantage of social media marketing. In Advanced marketing strategy, marketers providing many services to reach out the customers. Providing fastest delivery systems, Exchange and return policies if a product is not goodand the loyalty behavior towards customersincreasing the business to customer relationship and developing leads.
Target Marketing
Aiming marketing or target marketing is essential for every business to fulfill the consumer goods. Social media marketers following target marketing based on customer interest upon the products. Additionally, marketers have to predict the nature of product towards the customers and target the audiences and achieve them with personal connection. It was done in two ways: marketers have ability to check the product and aware about to whom the product is useful and make them as target audienceas sending product link with existing offers and another way of knowing the customer interest by their behavior. For Example: If a person spending most of the time on one product and put it on their Wishlist, marketers catch their interest and providing varieties of the product(Arsath, 2018).
Social media marketing helps to organizers who conducting aquiz program or a contest may collaborate with marketers to displaying the ads or advertisementsabout their contest, quiz program in between using social media platforms helps people to aware about it. Interested people may participate and win the prize and it may useful in future. Organizers may get profit if it gets success.
Challenges and threats of social media marketing
Certainly,Social media marketing technology increasing all over the world with its significant benefits but it also faces many challenges which stops for future development. Few of them are:
Trust Issues
It is the one of the major challenges that the social media platforms face today. For suppose, if a person wants to buy an item or dressat online shopping apps while purchasing it looks good but after delivery customer receives the product with less quality or received another product than the order one and sometimes it may break or teared. Coming to quantity, if a person order five dress but the customer receives only four and may receive an empty box with no product. So, it may result to loss of money and periodically, these scenarios may break the trust upon the platform.
Transporting and Packing issues
Another important challenge of social media marketing is transportation issues. Once order is confirmed it shows particular date when the product will reach but sometimes it may deliver earlier or may delay and cross the deadline. For Example: If a person wants to attend a function on 23rd June, he/she ordered the item or a dress on 19th and it shows it will reach on 22nd of June but the product reached on 24th June. So, it might get disappointment and result to decrease the customer relationship.
No Refund policy and No Response
If a customer wants to know much information about the product that they see in Instagram account and wants to refund hismoney, the response is late and fuzzy. In some online apps, there is no refund policy if he/she receives any breakable product wants to refund. It creates negative impact and result to stops the usage of online marketing or social media marketing.
Not recording payment and extra charges
Using online platforms to purchase a product, payment confirmation is not clear and sometimes money was debited from bank account but it shows waiting for payment. The extra amount is added to the product’s value when you click the buy option. This includes amounts for delivery and tax. So, it results to double loss of money and changing people’s mindset to buy the product physically.
Internet connectivity
Social media marketing or Online marketing depends upon the internet. Major challenge of SMM is Internet connection. So, if there is a slow internet or no internet, it is difficult to use social media platforms in such conditions. Furthermore, sometimes it is not working properly, showing blurry visionon image and it takes much time to load the image. Peoples should aware about the internet connection while using social medial platforms.
Marketers should aware to take the review of a product from customers which helps to develop the product to satisfy their needs and improve the service and take care about the challenges to overcome it and maintain the track record of social media marketing high(Shajitha & Jesintha, 2022).
References
Arsath, A. (2018). Social Media Marketing:Advantages and Disadvantages. Shanlax International Journal of Management, 6(1), 152-158.
Ravi, B., & Kumar, S. S. (2021). Socail Media Marketing: A Conceptual Study. International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews(IJRAR), 8(1), 63-71.
Shajitha, K., & Jesintha, P. (2022). Problems faced by consumers on social media marketing. International Journal of Food and Nutritional Sciences( IJFANS), 11(3), 3986 – 3991.
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