Unit V Research Report | EssayIvy.com

Running head: FACEBOOK AS A MARKETING TOOL 1

Facebook as a Marketing tool

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FACEBOOK AS A MARKETING TOOL 2

Facebook is a social networking giant that connects people all over the world, making the

earth a global village. Originally designed to facilitate communication of university students,

Facebook was created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and his friends. Today, Facebook is the

largest social networking site with more than one billion users all over the world. Facebook

stands out as a unique platform compared to other ways of communication such as email and

instant messaging because of its ability to connect with and share information with people you

care about at the same time. Facebook allows a user to send messages to keep in touch with

family, friends, and groups. Also, the user can post status updates and share different contents

such as links, photos, and videos. Unlike instant messaging and email which have a relative

degree of privacy, the information shared on Facebook is more public. Hence they are usually

viewed by many people. Facebook is designed to be more open and social than other traditional

communication tools. However, Facebook offers privacy tools so that a user can limit the

information sent and restrict the audience.

With the birth of Facebook came many opportunities for marketing. For many firms,

Facebook has proved to be an indispensable marketing tool especially because of the broad

audience it commands. With more one billion users and adding more every day, Facebook has

become the preferred choice for marketers who are choosing to outsmart their competitors at all

fronts. On the downside, there have been concerns that the stream of ads that has become

characteristic of Facebook today hinders from achieving a seamless experience when

communicating with their families and friends. According to a survey conducted, users asserted

that they want to see less promotional content in their newsfeed and more chats and posts from

friends and family. It is common for overly promotional ads to pop up in users’ timelines,

something which has not augured well with most of them. To make matters worse, most of these

FACEBOOK AS A MARKETING TOOL 3

ads are unpaid and lack creativity. In light of these two concerns, Facebook has vowed to crack

down on unpaid ads appearing in users’ timelines. If this move is implemented, brands will be

forced to buy an add to bubble up into feeds. Firms that have previously relied heavily on the

platform for their marketing campaigns will be the most affected by this directive from

Facebook. In response, some firms such as Bacardi have re-oriented their online marketing

strategies to fully exploit Facebook’s tools. This renewed strategy ensures that firms engage with

Facebook from a paid perspective since the social platform is no longer earned media. Social

media marketing has always relied on organic reach and the discovery of content. Unfortunately,

with Facebook’s algorithm, a marketer can only access a couple of hundreds of the fan base.

These were the concerns of Sonia Carter, Mondelez’ Europe head of social and digital media.

She advocates for brands to move from “a funnel to the megaphone” which essentially means

accessing as many people as possible.

Facebook has built a solid foundation for marketing on its social network. However

marketers sometimes fail to exploit the full potential of this platforms. Marketers stand a better

chance of communicating with their fans directly through their inbox since it is difficult to catch

the attention of fans in the newsfeeds. Also, when marketers fail to respond to fans’ posts and

messages, they stand to cast a bad light on themselves which may have an adverse effect on their

firm’s reputation. In marketing, the first impression is always as important as any other

marketing initiatives. A cover photo of products sold on the firm’s Facebook marketing page can

be very useful in creating a robust and lasting impression of the firm to its fans. What’s more, a

branded cover photo that is representative and corresponds to the store or business may help to

drum up more support for the brand. Adhering to the tips above will undoubtedly help a firm to

maximize the benefits accrued from using Facebook as a marketing tool.

FACEBOOK AS A MARKETING TOOL 4

Facebook offers a fantastic targeted advertising platform. Firms can create ads targeting

specific geographic areas, levels of education, age and even the types of devices used for access.

These ads may be in the form of short informative videos. While some firms use Facebook

groups, which are similar to discussion forums, they can be very time consuming to create.

Facebook pages provide the simplest and easiest way to market on Facebook. They are flexible

and relatively easy to set up. Other tools used for marketing are profile photos and cover photos.

The profile photo is usually the firm’s logo whereas the cover image can by any relevant photo

ranging from fancy artwork to photos of employees as long as the picture enhances the page and

draws the attention of the fans.

Email marketing and social marketing have the same goals, to keep your business in front

of customers and stay ahead of the competition. Integrating email and Facebook creates a better

chance of getting seen in your customers’ inbox, which is less “noisy” compared to their

newsfeeds. Emailing customers on a regular basis enables customers to remember you the next

time they need to make a purchase. Using email enables firms to have a closer interaction with

their customers. Liking a page on Facebook takes little commitment. However, subscribing to an

email list is a much bigger commitment-customers must be interested in your information to

readily provide their email addresses and allow a firm to send them emails regularly (Kaur,

2016). Firms usually establish their unique fan base by posting information about their email list

in their status updates.

Facebook has transformed the way businesses interact with their customers. But as

always seems to be the case, every good thing has a downside. This double-edged sword comes

with a plethora of security risks and is a source of major concern for businesses. One study

revealed that small businesses had been compromised at least once by workers using social

FACEBOOK AS A MARKETING TOOL 5

media sites. Another threat to any business is the infection of systems by malware. This often

happens through clicking of malicious links, which can lead to downloading of malicious sites.

At the same time, business data can be compromised through the recent rise of malicious

applications for mobile devices (Geho & Dangelo, 2012). A multilayered security is vital to

preventing a new wave of cyber-attacks and breaches. In this model, the firm uses advanced

security at multiple points throughout the network. In the contemporary online landscape,

additional security measures such as host-based software that monitor malicious behavior on the

network have also proved to be indispensable in enhancing internet security.

FACEBOOK AS A MARKETING TOOL 6

References

Kaur, J. (2016). Facebook-as a marketing tool. ACADEMICIA: An International

Multidisciplinary Research Journal, 6(4), 215-221.

Geho, P. R., & Dangelo, J. (2012). The evolution of social media as a marketing tool for

entrepreneurs. The Entrepreneurial Executive, 17, 61.

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