Social Media Marketing - Coursework Example

Social Media SOCIAL MEDIA With the advance in technology and easier access to the internet, people have gradually started using internet as a source of being up-to-date with the activities happening around the world rather than using the conventional means like TV, newspaper and radio. Companies have also started using social media to advertize their products online because that is more likely to catch attention of people than advertizing through newspapers or television. Companies basically use either social networks and blogs or cell phones to advertize. There are a number of social networking platforms which are being used by companies for advertisement and marketing. The main social networks being used are Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, Foursquare, LinkedIn and Instagram. Companies use blogging as a marketing tactic as well. I am going to explain how companies use Facebook for marketing and attracting customers. And to top that off, social media marketing is long lasting and multi directional (Powell, G., Groves, S., & Dimos, J. 2011). Q1. Discuss the four components of a legally astute social media marketing manager who utilizes social media outlets for consumer transactions and how each component can mitigate the risk involved in doing business in cyberspace. A social media marketing manager is a person who is in charge of media marketing of a company and is fully trained to gain maximum attention. He must be aware of all marketing tactics and should be able to utilize those tactics in social media marketing. He should know the factors which would drive his marketing tactics. He should be able to think and analyze situations in a strategic manner. The social media marketing manager should be aware of all ins and outs of social media marketing and should be able to scavenge out audience from any hidden dark corner. He should be social in order to be a good social media marketing manager and should be excited at the prospect of interacting with a lot of different people every day and to get to know them. He should be a good conversation starter and should be able to keep it lively. He should be a master in the language and should possess great writing skills. Not expressing one’s intentions correctly may lead to terrible consequences. Brands like Intel, Starbucks, and MTV etc are improving their social media marketing and are on the path to getting even more attention from these platforms by improving these qualities in their social media marketing managers and the chaos is reducing constantly (Lovett, J 2011). Q2. List and analyze methods of alternative dispute resolution and determine which would be most effective in resolving genuine disputes that arise with consumers who may make purchases from businesses that provide links via social media. Alternative dispute resolution or external dispute resolution is basically responsible for settling up disputes collectively through different processes and techniques.  It is an altogether term used to settle disputes with or without the help of a third party. It is distributed, divided or classified into 4 major types’ negotiation, mediation, collaborative law and arbitration. .  In the negotiation process there is no third party involve in the settlement of the dispute between the parties having disagreement with each other. Despite the fact that having a neutral party involved would help in making a neutral decision, this alternative dispute resolution method could end up in a bias decision or with unsettled results.  In the mediator section a third party or mediator is involved in resolving issues between the two parties. The third party has to act neutral, and by listening to all the facts, and figures it has to respond or propose a suggestion which is also known as the mediators proposal. Although the mediator would respond by listening or analyzing the facts which are present but he does not have any kind of authority of making any decision.  Collaborative law both or more parties have an individual attorney hired who facilitates the resolution process within specifically contracted terms. This method if adopted could be expensive, and would consume a lot of time of the parties to come toward any conclusion whereas it would give a very brief and authentic settlement.  Arbitration however is way which in which a third party is involved to settle the disputes and has the authority to impose the decision. This idea could be a matured one as it gives authority to a third party to implement its decision  settle the disputes , whereas it also has bad patch in it ,the decision could become bias if negative tactics are involved by any of the parties .  The links provided in the social media does not hold every aspect of the product as well as description in it. A consumer might suffer problems as practically he cannot analyze the products he wants to purchase; therefore there would always be dispute among both of the parties. Arbitration however could be an unbiased consideration use to solve or settle the disputes between both or more parties  Q3. Since consumer transactions on social media can occur across state lines determine how the federal government can best control these transactions. Since the birth of the social media its awareness has spread everywhere around the globe. Companies, organizations are using it to spread their businesses, products humongous by paying a very small price.  They are achieving their targets, reaching their goals and paying a small price.  This low price setup has generated different fake companies which are registering their selves on the internet, and committing crimes which comes under the cybercrime law .Federal government can take the following measures; initially they should develop a proper check and balance system. All transactions made across the state should be liable to a certain amount of tax which should be paid to the state. If there is a currency change then additional amount of charges should be liable depending on the basic currency difference. Credit and debit cards should only be allowed a certain percentage which can be used for across state transaction through social media. Since there is no proper way to evaluate these transactions, a panel of scholars related to economics and finance should be made who are responsible to outline the perimeters which define transaction through this never ending and reliable platform. State policies might differ depending on the rules of the state and also of the state with which one intends to have his transactions with. This would help develop harmonious relations if there is a proper analysis and policies are sifted and counter checked. Q4. Examine the three branches of government and discuss which can effectuate the most significant impact on regulating consumer transactions via social media outlets. Support your decision. The three branches of government are legislative branch, executive branch and judicial branch. These branches govern and form the structures of any government. These three regulate and propagate every activity related to the state and apparently affect all the areas which are directly or indirectly linked to the state. Personally I think that the legislative branch is responsible for consumer transactions through social media as it is responsible for the law making in a particular state. The laws are voted, discussions occur and after mutual consensus a conclusion is reached. These laws are in black and white. These laws form the basic structure for governance. If consumer transactions are to be made, these have to confront the basic laws made by the state in order to abide by the laws and the state policy. Transactions follow a series of steps and on social media those steps need to be carried in order to confront to the state policy related to it. If these policies are not set by the legislative branch then no proper tract would be there. No rules to govern that are which will apparently lead to no check and balance which can cause great harm to the state. Therefore the laws prescribed by the legislative council therefore play an important role in setting of agenda for the transactions which need to be followed in order to confine to the state laws. Therefore I think that the legislative branch is the most directly responsible for transaction through social media outlets. Q5. Explain the agency relationship that exists on social media sites between the social media provider and businesses that utilize the site for advertizing. Social media has vast influence on businesses that exist. These businesses can be large or even home based, social media provides a broad platform for such entrepreneurs. Today the power of social media is extensive. Many organizations use it in order to propagate their business. Advertising is done through the source of social media. It provides a harmonious relationship between the entrepreneur and the social media provider. It provides a cheap way to communicate easily with the masses having quite drastic impacts on the audience. Usually its seen that big organization now use social media to advertise and various campaigns are set in order to communicate effectively with the masses. The relationship between these two organizations is quite sustainable, healthy and convenient. It provides an easy and approachable way for businesses but apart from this it helps in building understanding of the product to the consumer and also helps in convincing the consumer. Today, many organizations these days have their particular unit which deals with advertisement, queries and campaigns specifically related to social media which keep track and synchronize all activities which are related to social media. Social media and businesses are closely linked to each other these days. Social media marketing has helped greatly in getting audience for companies. By posting ads and making pages more than 250 million users of Facebook around the world can get what they want, and leave comments regarding improvements or demanding new products according to their needs. Every second of the day millions of people can access the company’s webpage and companies who don’t have social media networking platforms are getting left behind (Zarrella, D., & Zarella, A. 2011). References Lovett, J. (2011). Social media metrics secrets do what you never thought possible with social media metrics. Indianapolis, Ind.: Wiley Pub. Powell, G., Groves, S., & Dimos, J. (2011). ROI of Social Media How to Improve the Return on Your Social Marketing Investment.. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Zarrella, D., & Zarella, A. (2011). The Facebook marketing book. Sebastopol, Calif: OReilly. Read More