Social Media Tools in E-Commerce
The Internet allows individuals, companies, and entire organizations the ability to interact and socialize. Typically individuals are consumers on the web, looking for information, researching, and purchasing products. Through social media, consumers are advancing from content consumers to content producers. Instead of researching, people can post their ideas, their personal or business information online on websites such as Face-book, twitter, My-space, blogging, and video marketing on You Tube.
One of the largest consumers of social media is the Business to Business marketing that is currently ahead of the curve. “Marketing researchers at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth have released the results of a survey, showing that U.S. companies overwhelmingly use at least one social media tool in their marketing efforts” (Komarketing, 2009, p. 3). The research also pointed out that 62% of executives surveyed reported using or being familiar with Twitter. The report also showed that over half of the 500 companies were already using the popular micro blogging service as a part of their online marketing campaigns. An overwhelming 80% of the companies surveyed in the report use social media networks (Komarketing, 2009).
Tools for Effective Messaging
An analyst of social media, Jordan Julien who wrote the article the Social Media Achilles Heel, suggests that when blogging or marketing through any social media there are two important concepts to consider when sending consumer a message. First it is important to Know Yourself. Create content the employee knows about and focus on genuine & interesting subject matter. People will be responsive to the content, as long as it's authentic. Sending a message is similar to starting a brand name. The blogger should learn to know the audience.
The Second tool is to know the audience. It is essential to provide content that is interesting to the audience. If the blogger knows what subjects or people interest the audience, it is a huge marketing tool to have them or a spokesperson from a related company give advice on the blog. Use tools to pull the interest of the company’s target market, which will lead to effective communication between the social media user and the consumer or client.
Tools for specific situations
Many different social media outlets exist to choose from, knowing which one and what for, will not only decrease the company costs in advertising but will also increase the amount of sales. The company Internet site can have questionnaires for customers to fill out on service, links to the other company sites, information on company, most commonly asked questions page, search bar, sales/products, user-friendly with iPods/blackberries/cell phones, and have a blog in which employees can answer questions; this feature will decrease customer calls saving time for other projects. The intranet part of the company website allows employees to work in sync with one another on all projects at same time, has address book, basic e-mail, Internet access, instant messaging, teleconferencing/videoconferencing, reports, and memos; company will be almost paperless.
The company can also put videos on company Internet site about how to do something and customer referral; the same video can be used in marketing on video sites such as viddler or You Tube, and on social networking sites; further cutting marketing costs. Open social networking account on Facebook, My Space, and twitter to reach out to even more customers. All accounts have a link to company website. The accounts are free web-based sales and marketing tools that will drive customers to the company website, reaching far more customers than any local commercial outlet ever will.
Analyzed ethical issues in social media
Many ethical issues involve the use of social media devices. Social media refers to the electronic structures and apparatus that employees use to distribute opinions and experiences. Social media devices connects friends, business partners, and others with particular interests by giving at no cost services such as text, images, audio, audio clips, music, photos, videos, perceptions, and insights with each other. Some of the most popular social media devices are blogs, wikis, RSS, twitter, and podcasting. The delivery mechanisms for these social media devices include connecting to the Internet using computers, cell-phones, and PDAs. Social marketplaces harness the muscle of people’s social networks for the prologue of purchasing and selling of goods, services, and resources. Social networks have a focus on individual members; not companies. “As defined by Supreme Court Justice Potter Steward, ethics is knowing the difference between what you have the right to do and what is the right thing to do” (Roebuck, 2006, p. 419). Ethics is being aware that an option will create the most good and do the least damage, and which options respects the rights and self-esteem of all the stakeholders. Ethics include two types. Descriptive ethics reflects details about the moral belief of an employee or group. Normative ethics involves the formulating and defining moral beliefs. Business ethics deals with how people should act within the commerce arrangement and also expand to customers, business partners, suppliers, and shareholders. According to Harshman, E. & Harshman, C. (1999) an ethical outline is good for everyone to review when the employees face an ethical decision.
When using social media tools many issues come to mind. Credibility and ability to maintain trust and honestly within advertising, marketing, and product reviews are important. Some sites come with delay timers that enable sending messages when a person is not at the computer. This would allow a person to be playing on the beach although management believes she is working on the computer. Businesses consider this fraud to be theft of the employer’s time. It’s possible to operate computers remotely, which could be used to deceive an employer.
Social media tools leads management to have security concerns. Identity theft scares many e-commerce businesspersons. Sometimes thieves will pretend to be someone else. The thieves pretend to be bankers, medical professionals, or a human resources employee. They ask for a person’s Social Security number and date of birth. Many times people freely give this information.
Maintaining an e-commerce businesses reputation is important. Most employees know that using personal social media sites during company time can be a violation of the employee’s trust. Non-work related use of the Internet may be seen as wasting company’s time and may be an unethical practice. Business computing equipment belongs to the company. Employers can be held responsible for employee’s use of computing equipment to harass another employee, participate in illegal gambling, or distribute child pornography. These are reasons for deterrents and enforceability laws.
Managers are aware that some employers may disclose company trade secrets. Management sometimes investigates an employee’s computer habits. Employers sometimes monitor their employees computing patterns. Employers as well as hackers can use spyware, key stoke loggers, use cookies, wire tapping wireless communication lines, or read individual blogs and postings. Hackers can use cookies to enable sites to keep track of users and to collect detailed information about a user’s preferences, interests, and surfing habits. These items as well as spyware are major violations of computer user’s privacy.
Other issues concerning maintaining a business reputation deals with defamation, negligence, and nuisance. Defamation is a tort. When someone defames another person on a social media site, the defamer can be held accountable. If the site is a business site or the employee accessed a site during work hours, it’s possible the employer can be held liable. Negligence is a tort also. If a company fails to follow reasonable security practices that result in the compromise of personal or financial information, they can be sued. An example of a nuisance could be if someone picked a social media site name that was similar to another. The result could be many people going to the wrong site. This could cause a loss of customers and business.
Many organizations have ethic offices that look at information about misconduct. Many companies have ethic training. Ethical behavior pleases workers and consumers. Companies should cultivate a two-way communication plan in which employees deem they can give feedback when they believe management or other’s values are straying from the ethical trail. Code of ethics, which outline suitable actions, can lead to mutual trust, honesty, respect, and honest communication among coworkers, clientele, and suppliers. Code of ethics makes the worker accountable for her actions and makes for a safe working setting. An ethical communication system builds integrity and trust with employees. This communication must be comprehensible, pertinent, constructive, well-timed, and delivered at the proper level. Anything less could be unethical. Collaborative communication with management is best.

E-commerce companies deal with global issues and must play by international rules. Employees must learn about the ethics of other nations. These ethics may be contradictory to the ethics employees are taught in America. Setting unrealistic deadlines may encourage employees to behave unethically, via cutting corners.
E-Commerce Unit
With this new unit the Executive Committee would need to review the following before implementation:
• Annual budget that includes; operating budget, capital budgets, major maintenance expense budgets, cash flow budgets, and overhead budgets.
• Submit quarterly operating results against budget each quarter: May, August, November, and January.
• Any incentive compensation/bonus plan.
• Establishment of and subsequent changes in the policies that govern the operations of new unit.
The unit will offer the most technologically advanced product for the customers, encouraging the team to supply the guest/customers with nicer and more considerate examination than is obtainable from other sources. The company will market high superior products from the buildings and equipment that is second to none. Be moderately and competitively priced on every products and services. Employees treat the guest/customers as the employees want to be treated.
Create an operationally sound unit starting with quality people; the key to the unit’s success will be the team assembled to market and develop this unit. The company requires high standards for team performance, with this comes a very big company pays very high competitive wages coupled with a bonus potential on growth and profits. Each team member will share in the proceeds with an aggressive compensation package.
Financial planning is critical as we have outlined with the executive committees guidelines on operational structure for this new unit. Part of the cost is associated with the marketing plan and growth cost as well as the continual research surrounding staying competitive. We want affirmative and energetic thinkers because the company distinguishes that the employees live in a point of unvarying change. Financially this unit’s success works on its ability to provide the most sought-after products and service in the industry, investment in the company’s people.
As this unit’s product and service ability become unleashed in the e-commerce industry there will be many copy cats. With the cutting edge technology we offer it is imperative to provide the best service. Many companies offer a product but those who stand behind the product with awesome service stay in business. As a result, our management offers an environment in our organization which suggests enhancements and unreservedly evaluates, exchanges, and acts upon. Management must take hold of and develop every new prospect. The work completes in a more constructive and proficient way.
Management looks forward to absolute candor and allegiance to the company, and management anticipates all group members to subsist by the policies and regulations of the organization. A sense of personal honor makes employees believe in ethical and honest behavior. Personal honesty is one of the most important assets that a team member can own. If any group member has an inquiry about a path of action, the respond should unconsciously be: Do what is morally right and honorably proper. Dishonestly is not a first-rate worker attribute. Dishonesty tolerated at any echelon or in any liaison with guest/customers, trader or other team member will result in discipline.
Some of the greatest companies in each industry have learned from their competitors. A crucial fact in this industry is to monitor the competition consistently, making the necessary changes daily is necessary to keep a competitive edge.
In conclusion, a variety of social media tools discussed in this paper, such as facebook, twitter, and fiddler are a part of the new electronic commerce. Which tools and how these tools are used are the corner stone for web-based sales and marketing. Ethical issues involving using the social media tools and addressing the issues. Security risks involved. Maintaining the company’s reputation, credibility, and maintain trust with customers but still keeping a competitive edge over the competition.
References
Harshman, E. and Harshman, C. (1999, March). Communicating with employees: building on an ethical foundation, Journal of business ethics, 19(1), pp 3-19.
Julien, J.,(2009) The Social Media Achilles Heel, Content Generation, Easy to get wrong. Retrieved on December 7, 2009. From http://www.socialmediatoday.com/
Komarketing Associates.(2009). Social media the pre-eminent new B2B marketing tool, study says. Retrieved on December 6, 2009. From http://www.komarketingassociates.com/industrynews/social-media-the-pre-eminent-new-b2b-marketing-tool-study-says$333.htm Roebuck, D. B. (2006). Improving business communication skills (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall
Turban, E., King, D., McKay, J., Marshall, P., Lee, J., & Viehland, D. (2008). Electronic commerce 2008: A managerial perspective (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.