Social Networking
Tutorial – E101
Group 6 – Stefani Turza, Roland
Wing, Ignacio Sutherland, and Kat Smirnova
Social
networks, we use them everyday; whether its checking our Facebook page, to
tweeting about how our day is going, social networking is everywhere we
are. But what is social
networking? Social networking is
defined as, “the use of web sites or other online technologies to communicate
with people and share information, resources, etc.”. In other words, how we connect to other people about what we
feel is important, needed, or wanted, via the internet. Though we feel as if it has been in our
society as a whole forever, social networking is a rather new concept, starting
in the late part of 2005, though quickly expanding after that.
The project that began this
massive uprising was called the BBS- Online Bulletin Boards. A BBS was an online meeting place,
where independently produced code allowed users to communicate via a central
system. The capabilities were that
of downloading file, games, or even posting messages to other users. Beginning as only local only affairs,
soon expanded into local in person gatherings, and this is where the concept
truly took off. When the internet
became even more popular, this only strengthened the gatherings of these
systems, and this is how social networking really made its entrance into
popularity. Some common examples
of the popular social networking sites would now be, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn,
Pinterest, among many others.
Social networking provides a voice to the everyday people, and that is
why it is such a good tool for firms to utilize.
There are so many advantages to
using social media in a firm, for both the workers themselves, as well as
getting their business’s message to consumers. First off, social networking is very cheap. Every firm wishes to stretch their
dollar to the absolute limit, and by using social networking for marketing or
selling purposes, they are definitely maximizing their utility. The cost
calculations are simple, CPC, or CPM.
CPC is cost per click. One just pays a limited amount anytime someone
clicks on your site, via the social networking site. CPM is paying per view. Instead of paying for every click on
your site, you only must pay for every one thousand views. Based on this, if
you are a site that makes direct sales through your website, you would want a
CPC, but if you are simply looking for exposure to your site and views, CPM is
the way to go. So you get to set your own budget, and pay the amount you want
to pay essentially, making it as inexpensive as you want it to be.
As well as it
being cheap, it is also effective, which is another advantage. A company can reach their target market
efficiently and easily, by simply posting their website on a certain social
media page, that their target market frequently visits. For example, a “Ms Teen Canada”
application web link on Facebook.
Teens are the ones who spend majority of their time on Facebook, so that
is simply the best place for them to advertise to get them to apply. Also, on a site like that, there will
be a high frequency of views. Even if their link was not clicked, the company
will still gain exposure, and the person who was not interested and did not
click, could be refers someone they know who is. This also replacing any soliciting
e-mails or telephone calls you may send out, that no one listens to anyway, and
frankly annoys consumers. If you
post on a social networking site, only the people interested (your real market)
will go to your site, and therefore, make everyone happy.
With
anything though, there are always disadvantages that go along with
something. Wasting time and not
being straight to the point is the number one waste of social networking. If the business manager is not
effective at how he displays his information on these sites, than it is just as
ineffective as any other type of marketing. Not only defective displaying is a
problem, rouge sites with no security is also a very high risk. Being hacked is the number one downfall
of using social networking. Untrue
information can be posted if someone breaches your site, as well as insider
information can be obtained. It is very dangerous putting information on the Internet
if you do not have proper security.
Though many companies have
mastered the art of using social networking to their advantage, safely and
effectively. Some main examples
would be, Mircosoft, Apple, Telus, and SFU itself. All have created viral videos that spark interest of their
products to viewers, as well as being on many of the side tabs of Facebook and
LinkedIn, promoting their brand even further. They also reach out with forum boards if customers/students
have questions, which makes them feel more integrated and as if their
opinion/question truly matters.
Managing a good site is key to being a good social network, and all
these companies demonstrate that through and through.
So with that in mind, the future
of social networking is bright. As
the internet only further improves, and information systems along with it,
social networking is the future of marketing, and all business facilities. The only barriers to adoption are
technological, but with prices decreasing, and processors only becoming
increasingly better, this barrier is easy to overcome. Computers and technology to access
social networks is only becoming more prevalent, not less, and this will only
continue to extend out into the future.
The only real question is, to how far it will go, considering it is so
powerful already? But as for now,
the future of social networking is only becoming more promising day by day, and
will continue to be a vital part of society long after today.
