Marketing Planning and Strategy (Learning Activity)2 - Assignment Example

Marketing Planning and Strategy: Activity 2 Marketing Planning and Strategy: Activity 2 Introduction In the contemporary global market, many businesses are turning their attention to marketing on social media. With growing popularity of social media, online marketers have shifted their focus to social sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter among others. Despite apparent benefits, social media marketing also has intrinsic disadvantages. This paper focuses on the pros and cons of social media marketing with respect to search engine marketing.

ProsLow cost advertising: Organization can reach target audience via social media advertising, which is cheaper than advertising through search engines. Social media accounts are obtained free of charge.Ease of communication: Social network sites are interactive and viral in nature. Because of its viral nature, a company can easily reach a wider population in a short while by simply posting on its wall.Establishing credibility: constant interaction with potential and existing customer build some trust and thus the audience are likely to develop some credibility on the company, creating opportunity for more business (Barker et al., 2012).Free business promotion: social networking sites offer platforms for free business promotion through facilitation of interactive sessions (Brennan & Schafer, 2010).

ConsAll information is public: because social networking sites are public and viral in nature, a small mistake can easily slip out of control and become a company’s nightmare.Negative publicity: People often express their fury over products and companies they do not like over social media. A company that finds itself on negative publicity end can suffer huge setback (Chaney, 2009).Time consuming: social media advertising demands a lot of time compared to search engine marketing.Products Featuring More on Social Media than Search EnginesFashion products such as watches, jewelry and clothes.

Household items.ConclusionSocial media provides a lucrative opportunity for online marketers in promoting products of their companies. Despite recent attention shift of online marketers to social media marketing owing to its potential benefits, social media also has intrinsic disadvantages that must be taken into consideration.ReferencesBarker, M., Barker, D.I., Bormann, N. & Neher, K. (2012). Social Media Marketing: A Strategic Approach. New York, NY: Cengage Learning.Brennan, B. & Schafer, L. (2010).Branded: How retailers engage consumers with social media and mobility.

Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.Chaney, P. (2009). The Digital Handshake: Seven Proven Strategies to Grow Your Business Using Social Media. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.