If you ever ask anyone whether they’re using digital marketing, they’re likely to say they’re using social media as one of their digital marketing tools. Digital marketing is by far the most popular approach compared to other marketing methods, notably on social media platforms.
As social media was first introduced, nobody was aware of the effect it would have on the society. Unexpectedly there are now millions of users on social media platforms, companies have found a way to promote their products and services using the networks in almost the same manner as regular users. Nowadays, there are many other platforms in place that allow businesses to connect, share content and promote their brand.
There’s no doubt that the use of social media platforms allow businesses to reach out to a significant number of customers. Technology has enhanced data collection and evaluation over the years and enhanced targeting for demographics. Furthermore, social media platforms such as Facebook involve 3rd-party providers specialized in data segmentation applications and services, and businesses that use the data enjoy the benefit that their targeted audiences see in their social media marketing advertisements.
Limitations of Social Media
It’s been a steep learning curve for anyone utilizing social media and inevitably, a bunch of negative implications have occurred throughout the years ever since the emergence of social media.
Requires qualified & specialized personnel
It is important to hire competent personnel to manage your account and keeping the traffic under control to concentrate on key business issues. This suggests that businesses really need to invest in both the systems and also wages, in order to have a better outcome.
Protection of user’s privacy limits data collection
Although social media may seem like a rather open space, social media networks themselves restrict the amount and the scope of data businesses can acquire to safeguard users’ privacy. Social media users also expect a certain degree of privacy.
Negative feedback make new customers have bad impressions
Feedback is certainly a great way to improve your company however negative feedback serves the contrary intention. When a piece of negative information appears on social media sites, the public will get the opportunity to express their frustration and disappointment. This will damage the reputation of your company and discourage potential customers from establishing relationships and also partnering with the company.
In conclusion, the above are the limitations of social media marketing which may impact businesses if it’s not properly handled.
I believe that social media marketing is still a great tool despite the disadvantages mention above. Everything will have its own pros and cons and there is certainly nothing perfect or flawless out there. For marketers, therefore, it is especially important to always plan well before selecting the right approaches for the business, so it can achieve the best impact.
So what’s your opinion about this issue? Feel free to leave a comment down below!
XinRui's Blog 
Hi Xinrui, another informative post! I do agree with you regarding the negative feedback. Most people like to take everything online and when i open my facebook, i will definitely pass by at least one post complaining and sharing negative words about someone or something. Because social media is becoming really powerful, when a company make a mistake and someone decided to post it online, if the company does not take immediate actions it can cause them great harm! Losing business because of how fast the message is being spread across, people may boycott them! Personally, i feel that the disadvantages outweighs the advantages but what do you think?
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Thanks for commenting! I actually disagree with you that the disadvantages outweighs the advantages of social media. Like what I mentioned above, it is especially important for marketers to always plan well before selecting the right approaches for the business, so it can achieve the best impact. Therefore, within a successful strategy, businesses also need a strong content plan.
However, it’s true that social media has the potential to drive business growth but that doesn’t mean it’s effective for every company. You need to be acknowledged as one in an industry that depends on social media to connect and within that you need to use the appropriate social media platform. If you can’t connect with people and exchange information in a public site, then social media is unlikely to work for your company.
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Hi Xinrui! A lot of people will always remember the bad things that happened and not the good ones. I really agree with that using social media requires a qualified and specialised personnel to handle it. But still we can’t prevent from strangers or even customer giving negative comments and people will remember it forever. I think that social media has more disadvantage compare to advantage if something negative happened. Let’s say if you have a company, would you still use social media to do you digital marketing?
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Thanks for commenting! I believe that social media might be one of the greatest ways to promote brand awareness, but it can be extremely detrimental if the platforms are not properly managed and established in accordance with a specific marketing strategy. The social media environment is essentially very sensitive, so it’s crucial for businesses to start by putting extra effort into selecting the right people to lead the online profiles of your company. Therefore, it’s important for marketers to plan well before choosing the right approaches for the business, in order to achieve the best impact.
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I believe over the last few years, social media marketing has become an indispensable part of online business marketing. It has become a tool to keep people connected to family and friends. It has also become a tool that can ultimately greatly affect the online marketing activities of an organization. It’s crucial for social media companies to recognize the many positive things social media offers to businesses, and also the negative ones marketers need to monitor.
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Thanks for commenting! Yes I certainly agree with you that social media marketing has become an indispensable part for online businesses as technology evolves. There’s definitely other digital marketing tools out there that also help businesses to reach out to their consumers. However, I feel that hardly any marketing tool or strategy plays a significant role than social media in shaping the view of the brand. Interacting with followers on a regular basis will increase your profile, enhance your reputation and also help to maximize profit.
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That’s a short and sweet post you have here, gxinrui! I do agree that though social media brought a lot of benefits in our life, it still does has its own limitations. However, I feel that social media marketing has been increasing nowadays because it is the cheaper alternatives. Do you think that despite the limitations, social media marketing will still grow bigger in the future?
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Thanks for commenting! Pertaining to your question, I believe that social media marketing will still grow bigger in the future despite the limitations. That’s because social media enables people to connect openly with each other, and provides marketers with many opportunities to reach out and interact with customers.
Social media’s role in marketing is promising but still unpredictable. Therefore, it is important that businesses fully comprehend social media because it has become highly culturally relevant, a prevalent tool of communication and a significant form of media used by marketers.
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What a short and sweet post you have here, Xinrui! I do agree that social media has its own advantages and its disadvantages. Especially when I first started using social media, everything was so fresh and new! I could easily connect with my friends and at the same time connect with the brands/company I like. However, these days I felt that social media has more power to influence an individual more than anybody out there, which could be negative at times. What do you think a brand/company should do to stay relevant at the same time influencing positivity to the consumers?
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Thanks for commenting! There are four key factors that influence consumer buying behaviour- Psychological, Personal, Social and Cultural. Therefore it’s essential for companies to explore how their marketing campaign can utilise these factors to deliver a successful campaign and influence the behaviour of consumers.
Alternatively, you can visit https://www.sodexoengage.com/blog/consumer-promotions/four-ways-you-can-influence-consumer-behaviour-with-your-next-promotion?hs_amp=true for more information!
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