Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 5

Summary - Essay Example Even in the early twenty first century there was only a minimal use of the internet and that was usually through advertisements and manipulation of simple search processes. These methods had the advantage of being familiar to everyone, and they could easily be monitored to produce hard facts and figures which allowed companies to measure the effectiveness of their marketing and their ratings with the public. It is widely reported that all of this has changed now that social media have taken over the world. The authors observe that traditional media like television are still popular, but they are being affected by the time that consumers spend on more interactive media such as twitter. The size of the shift towards social media is very large, but even more striking is the speed with which this change has happened. Even within the last two or three years there have been massive changes in the percentage share of traditional and social media when it comes to attracting consumer attentio n. Paradoxically the authors see in these modern trends a return to one of the basic truths about marketing, namely that word of mouth sells products more effectively than big budget advertising. Social media open up a new channel in which old fashioned word of mouth can flourish once more. This is an exciting reality for many companies and it is clear that Name: ID engaging in dialogue with customers online is going to be an essential ingredient in marketing in the future. There are a few words of warning from the two authors, however. The first caveat to mention is the fact that social media cannot achieve all of the same things that traditional marketing campaigns used to do. For a start it is difficult to predict how a conversation with the public will go, because of the interactive nature of the communication. A company can control very tightly all of the images and texts which are published with the company logo in magazines or on television. This is not so in social media, be cause the consumers may react well or badly to a product, and they can turn the tables on a marketing professional by engaging in campaigns of their own. This can work in the company’s favor if the message is positive, but it can cause untold reputational damage if the consumers criticise or ridicule the product. The problem with social media is one of control: a company cannot exercise very much control about what is said about their products. Another point to remember is that social media has not replaced more traditional avenues for marketing. It is an additional channel, and it lends itself to particular segments of the market. The speed of its implementation can also offer companies an opportunity to step in and influence the way that a press story or marketing campaign is going. Some people have argued that it social media are free to use, and that this means a word of mouth campaign can be a cost effective option. In reality, however there are quite significant hidden costs in the operation of marketing activities online, such as the need to have sustained and knowledgeable staff input around the clock. Word of mouth can have an immediate and significant effect on sales. This sounds attractive, but it must be remembered that the sales can go down or up, depending on the kind of messages that are being sent Name: ID across the internet. The authors point out also that there are some