Introduction
Different people have mixed reactions about globalization. While there are those who view this as the best thing that has ever happened to humans, others see it as a path of progression for all bad things that can be associated with modern technology. However, no matter these contrasting views, the benefits that globalization has brought into our lives far outweigh the disadvantages.
One of the major characteristics of modern era is the transformation of almost every aspect of our lives as a result of the rapid globalization taking place in the world. Modern forms of technology have transformed our lives in many ways, ranging from the way we do things to the way we interact with each other. As an increasingly significant aspect of modern life, technology has dramatically changed the way business is conducted by making advertisement easier, cheaper, and effective (Chaney, 2009).
Background to the topic with my point of view
Modern aspects of technology have become entrenched in almost every sector of the contemporary world. The business world is arguably one of those areas that have benefited greatly from modern technological aspects. The trend has continued to play a vital role in changing the way we do business through e-Marketing and online advertising (Tuten, 2008).
No wonder, the advancement of social media recently has given entrepreneurs and marketers a wonderful opportunity to address their rapidly growing needs in today’s ever-changing society. The use of social networking sites is a common trend in the world nowadays, and therefore, advertising on the sites comes with immense benefits to both marketers and the targeted audiences. Based on this observation, there is no doubt that the use of social media for advertising is a good approach.
Argument from the perspective of the chosen view
Great developmental milestones have been realised in today’s business world owing to modern aspects of technology, thanks to the rapid globalisation. Modern entrepreneurs and marketers have found relief on the internet, where they can easily advertise and market their products (Waters et al., 2009). This strategic focus has recently shifted to the social media, probably owing to the high number of visitors associated with social media websites.
For the few years it has been on use, social media advertising has proved to be a good approach. The benefits of targeting consumers through social media networks are many. For example, this helps businesses draw a pool of customers to their products and services easily while at the same time giving the consumers a direct opportunity to understand the products better before they can purchase them.
More importantly, this gives the users the skill and power of choice which is essential when it comes to wise decision-making when it comes to buying.
There is an ever-growing diversity of online use through social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Twitter, MySpace, and YouTube, among others. All these sites form the list of the most popular social networking sites and they serve as popular avenues that can present marketers with the potential of having a major impact on consumers through advertisement. Popular social networking sites such Facebook and Twitter draws an estimated value of 900 million and 300 million visitors monthly, respectively (Qualman, 2012).
By creating awareness through such effective sites, marketers can be assured of drawing great benefits to their businesses. Apart from informing people about the products, the platforms also provide an opportunity for consumers to give their views about the products (Andzulis, Panagopoulos & Rapp, 2012). This opens a room for further understanding of the products through interactive discussions between the targeted audience and the marketers, thus helping to increase the brand awareness.
The other great reason why it is good to use social media for advertising is that it is less costly compared with other effective communication channels that can be used for business promotion. Advertising on social media websites is likely to reach out to large masses at relatively low costs (Mangold & Faulds, 2009). This is a crucial aspect in the contemporary business environment where profit maximisation under the minimum cost remains the focus of every entrepreneur.
Social media advertising is also good, since it helps to create awareness on issues that are of great importance to specific groups of people in the society. For example, it is obvious that the biggest number of social media users in the world comprises of the youth. In this regard, social networking sites are the best ways to expose this category of people to products and services meant for them.
Brief overview of the opposing side of view
No matter the immense benefits that can be associated with advertising on social networks, there are other people who consider the approach unfit due to a number of reasons. As it would be observed, most claims against social media advertisement are based on religious and cultural beliefs. Media is very powerful nowadays, and therefore, advertisement on social media networks can be a bad idea to the young people who cannot differentiate between what is right and what is wrong (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010).
In this sense, there have been heightening concerns about the possible impacts that this form of advertising can bring on the physical and mental wellbeing of young people. Another claim that has been raised is that social media advertisement is a very powerful tool and the same way it can be used to build a business, it can also destroy it just as quickly. This way, it is easy for people with malicious intentions to take advantage of your advertisements on social media and use them to bring you down.
However, these claims are wrong, since there are control measures that can be applied to ensure that advertisements on social media serve their intended purpose without raising any harm to the society. For example, children can be guided on positive use of social media to ensure that the content is useful to them. In the context of the approach being a powerful tool that can be used for destructive purposes, marketers can device new ways of managing social media to ensure that it serves them better.
Conclusion
As it is shown in this report, both marketers and social media users can benefit greatly from advertisement in social media networks. Indeed, technology has manifested its power in the business sector through the aspect of online advertisement which seems to be the culture of today’s corporate world. Advertisement on social networks has a strong positive impact on people’s lives, and therefore, it should be viewed as a good approach that can be used to change the world.
References
Andzulis, J., Panagopoulos, N., & Rapp, A. (2012). A review of social media and implications for the sales process. Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 12(3), 305-316.
Chaney, P. (2009). The digital handshake: seven proven strategies to grow your business using social media. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Kaplan, A., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media. Business Horizons, 53(1), 59-68.
Mangold, W. G., & Faulds, D. J. (2009). Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix. Business Horizons, 52(4), 357-365.
Qualman, E. (2012). Socialnomics: How social media transforms the way we live and do business. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Tuten, T. L. (2008). Advertising 2.0: social media marketing in a web 2.0 world. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group.
Waters, R., Burnett, E., Lamm, A., & Lucas, J. (2009). Engaging stakeholders through social networking: How nonprofit organizations are using Facebook. Public Relations Review, 35(2), 102-106.