Mediaboss Marketing

by Tracey Sandilands, Demand Media

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announces new features at a news conference.

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Social media is the modern tool for marketers who try every means to get their message out to their target markets. The medium has many advantages and disadvantages, and companies struggle to find the right way to use it. The average business owner does not fully understand the risks, and the field is still so new that it is difficult to evaluate the qualifications of social media experts who offer their services.

Facebook and Twitter are the social media platforms most commonly used for marketing. Facebook offers the option of creating a fan page for a company or product, while Twitter makes use of 140-character posts that users follow. Blogs are online journals written by users, which can be influential in spreading news and information. YouTube is a repository for podcasts and video clips, with a viewership of millions around the globe. Social bookmarking sites such as Del.icio.us and Digg enable users to share links to information with friends and followers. Some sites offer display advertising options, but the majority are simply a method of sharing information with others.

The main advantage of social media marketing is cost-related. The majority of social media sites are free to access, create a profile and post information. The advantage of reaching your targeted market for little or no cash investment is substantial, and the audience wanting your information voluntarily joins or follows you. Pay-per-click advertisements on sites such as Facebook are "geo-targeted" according to specific criteria, to reach the correct audience. The viral nature of social media means that each person who reads your posts has the capability to spread the news farther within his own network, so information can reach a large number of people in a short time.

Related Reading: 9 Most Important Sites for Social Media Marketing

Updating your social media accounts takes time and effort. A senior person with knowledge about the company and products should handle your social media presence, and the cost in time means the media is not completely free. It is ongoing work to find new angles about your products continually and to post and re-post information. The information is only visible for a short time before newer posts replace it. In addition, publishing obvious advertising copy is unacceptable in the social media world, therefore you must present the information in the form of conversation or you will lose followers.

Social media marketing carries several risks. Unless you have someone check your social media accounts several times a day, disgruntled customers or employees can publish negative comments that are not always removable. For example, every post on Twitter is public and you have no control over what people say. Bad news can go viral as easily as good news and can do your business irreparable harm. IT governance group the Information Systems Audit and Control Association released a report in June 2010 ranking viruses and malware, brand hijacking, lack of control over corporate content, unrealistic customer expectations and non-compliance with record management regulations as the top five risks of social media.

Tracey Sandilands has written professionally since 1990, covering business, home ownership and pets. She holds a professional business management qualification, a bachelor's degree in communications and a diploma in public relations and journalism. Sandilands is the former editor of an international property news portal and an experienced dog breeder and trainer.

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Media Marketing ...