We are all beginners at one time or another. The biggest obstacle for beginners is understanding the benefits and drawbacks of social media. We will be discussing the Social Media Advantages and Disadvantages. Small business owners are not taking advantage of social media in order to grow their businesses. Social media has been essential for communicating the right messages and keeping in touch. To get the best out of this platform here are some tips and guidance for the beginners to know.
First of all some facts and figures of social media sites:
- One in every nine people on earth is on Facebook
- Twitter is adding nearly 500,000 users everyday
- One in four Americans watches a video online everyday
- During the second half of 2010, LinkedIn membership base grew, on average, by 1 million new members every ten days
Connect: Facebook helps you connect and share with people in your life. Think about your life prior to Facebook. Did it feel more relaxed, exciting, monotonous, or difficult? Facebook allows us to create our own profile and add friends. We can also exchange messages. LinkedIn allows us to network with professional across the world. It doesn’t matter if you use it to grow your personal network or expand your business. You can also connect with other business-minded individuals. Twitter is amazing, Twitter allows you to keep up with the most recent news, ideas and events in 140 characters. It gives you an opportunity to know what’s happening around the world in 140 characters long tweet!
Interact: With your connections Facebook gives you an opportunity to let people know about you. Facebook allows you to share photos and stories, as well as create a fan page. Facebook pages can be a great way for businesses to get feedback about their products and services. LinkedIn allows you to interact with professional users on one platform. There are many ways to interact with professionals on LinkedIn. You can share business information, resource ideas and learning opportunities. Tweets can be text-based messages of up to 140 characters that are displayed on the profile page of the author and sent to their followers. Personally, Twitters allow you to connect with your family and friends. On business level it connects your current & potential customers with your product & service.
Exchange: With the use of Facebook, we exchange joy, fun, sorrows, help and many more things at one place! Facebook is slowly becoming an email-like tool. This is one cost-effective way to stay connected. LinkedIn allows us to exchange expertise and useful information, which ultimately enhances our professional reputation. LinkedIn also allows us to exchange business ideas and strengthen our professional networks. It allows us to share feedback and comments that eventually leads to increased business. It can help you with personal growth. Twitter is a powerful tool for exchanging information and news as Twitter user often link to useful sites or articles & can be source of alternative news.
Disadvantages: As we discussed the Advantages of Social Media but we cannot ignore the Disadvantages just to be more secure on online platform.
Think about the viral potential of media. Negative and unfavorable news will have the same effect on a brand. Social media can make it difficult to manage damage control. You might lose your name in a matter of hours. MacDonald’s tweet promotion is the best. Mail Online news article: Mac Fail! MacDonald’s tweet promotion goes sour as Twitter users hash tag MacD stories and share horror stories about fast food. The burger chain was accused of making customers vomit and serving pork meat from gestation boxes. They also served burgers with a fingernail. Fake ID and profile threats are another disadvantage. One of Facebook’s biggest drawbacks is fake profiles and ID. Fake profiles are often used to harass or insult someone. A Facebook addict can have a negative effect on a student’s grades. Privacy breaches are one of the biggest risks associated with social networking. This site collects a lot of personal information. Email addresses are one of the most important pieces. These social networks can also reduce compassion. It is possible to check Twitter from any phone, and you can send messages anywhere. Negative or anti-social messages can be spread by social networking sites. There are many advantages and disadvantages to social networking. It is entirely up to each individual to decide how they want to use Social Media platforms. We are all subject to both good and poor choices in life. It is up to us, the individual, to decide what we wish.