The Use of Social Networking Technologies in Business Environments:
Through The Usage of Blogs in Marketing

The business world has been transformed by the usage of new technologies in more ways than one. With the usage of the social media sites such as twitter, blogs, LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube just to name a few it has taken the marketing schematic of business to all new heightened levels. Anyone from anywhere that have an Internet or Wi-Fi connection get in on the latest social media that is being put out there in real time. This has taken the business world into entirely different forms and levels to being about to market ones good and or service. A company is now able to market their brand to a massive amount of individuals that are always connected to the Web. A company “must use the internet to effectively communicate their own message” to their customers and potential customers (Denove and Power IV, 2006, p.217). Now with the several different forms of social media that is out there they can target each specific demographic by what they are blogging, posting, and tweeting about at any given time. Blogging allows a company to stay connected with there audiences, to communicate and allow the users to stay creative with the company, allowing the organizations to know their personal opinions of the goods and services. Blogging allows for information to be filtered on interests alone. Hence being a continuing ongoing open line of communication that allows the company to be a readily contactable entity to their bloggers. In which what the customers are wanting. Blogging has changed the rules of marketing and public relations within the business environment in the form of the technological advances, the rules that are to be played by, and the overall communication of business to it customers and perspective customers.
The technological advancements have changed how we do business in so many fascists it is just phenomenal. With those advancements they have drastically changed how marketing is done within the business world. This is giving the corporate business world no choice but to change with technology on a daily basis. According to The New Rule of Marketing and PR, Scott (2007) states the basics of old rules in which a company saw the aspects of marketing. Marketing was once just seen as being another advertisement of the company’s goods that are being sold as well as the marketing schematic should be appeasing to all. The gimmick of advertising was just one sided basically information from the company being told to the customer. Along with the marketing schematic of advertising was just a campaign that was short lived for the moment. Forth it was crucial for the advertising agency to win recognition for their work behind the creativity (p.12). When it comes to public relations, technological advancements have also transformed new rules in this sector within the business environment. The old rules in public relation of marketing ranged from only being able to justify a press release by having a subsequent amount of information to put out in the media. Also individual companies once only conversed with the journalist through a press release, and those press releases only being seen by a selected few. The media had to write up stories in order for customers and perspective customers to know of their existence.
Scott (2007) stated:
Prior to the Web, organizations had only two significant choices to attract attention: Buy expensive advertising or get third-party ink from the media. But the Web has changed the rules. The Web is not TV. Organizations that understand the New Rules of Marketing and PR develop relationships directly with customers like you and me. (p. 5)
The broadly above stated rules n hold no truths anymore within the marketing and public relations world of business dues to the technology advances that have been made via the internet. Organization must now relate to the customers whose voices are not being heard and allow them to become a voice within the company. All things now must now be appease the targeted demographic of customers demand. “It is about understanding the keywords and phrases that our buyer are using and then deploying micro-campaigns to drive buyers to pages replete with the content that they seek” (Scott, 2007, p.20). Organizations must reinvent themselves to maintain their competitive advantage in the business environment via the web (Scott, 2007, p. 182). Marketing is no longer about the advertising company winning many awards and accolades they must now give the organization the notion of winning loyalty of customers to winning business. Marketing via the web, organizations must capture their audiences attention by what is trending. An organization must “offer customers something new and interesting to say – to chat about, blog about, tweet about , and spread the word about in all media, new and old and in between” (Kramer, 2010, p. 95). Social networking has drastically increased within the business environment. With utilizing social media for marketing it cannot be measured as successful until it gets the customers to spark fire to filtrate communication waves via the web. By the use of social networking sites, blogs, podcasts, ebooks, and news releases an organization can market themselves in an entirely different level. With the technology advancement and cultural changes the rules of marketing within the business world has changed also. Customers are now setting the tone of the pros and cons of an organizations reputation. “Bloggers are providing instantaneous and unsolicited comments on the organizations services and products (Scott, 2007, p. 52). Marketing today is about getting the information out to the audience at the exact moment the individuals are requesting it. The door of the communication has now been knocked down and transformed to allow organizations to communicate on a different level in which customers are appreciative of. Organizations now sell the content of the brand by allowing the created content via blog telling the: who, what, when, where, why, and how of the good and or service that is being sought after. Blogs have become “the” communication tool within the business environment of social media marketing. In order to keep the bloggers coming back for more it is imperative that a company brands themselves in order to have a reputable online presence. An organizations blog should not be to try and sell their good and product only. They should allow the customers to work that angle for them, hence allowing the company to gear the opinions and ideas of the customers to be the topics of discussion. This allows customers to feel appreciated and heard with their needs being met by the organization. The company’s blog should be in course to solving any issues or answering their questions in which the customers and perspective customers may write about.
The usage of social networks has become the entire rave in today’s business environment. According to Atkins, social network is a set of discrete social entities and the collection of times between them. Social networking has drastically increased within the business environment. It has contributed to increasing the exposure on one’s business to broaden a better targeted customer base along with increasing the sign up rate at which customers and potential customers subscribe. With the hope of helping of obtain new business. Lastly, the usage of blogs overall decrease the expenses for an organization with marketing. In today’s technology filled society everyone is connected via the internet by some sort of device: personal computer, phone, mp3, television or gaming console just to name a few. Being so easily connected to the internet anyone at anytime can blog to stay informed, writing their opinions and ideas candidly with others. With that being said organizations can brand themselves to share their goals to sell themselves to the customers. According to Kramer, an organization can increase “value and company loyalty by becoming a reliable, trustworthy curator or by creating gathering place for conversations that your audiences trust” (p. 52). The business environment with the usage of blogs have bow opened up new wavelengths that includes the customer. Blogs increase an organizations credibility of their good and or service that they are providing. When an organization has an open forum styled blog it provides up close and personal evaluations of the good. With blogs organizations will be able to dissect the pros and cons given by the customers to entice them to become loyal customers. The customers must stay enticed in order to keep their business with a specific organization. Organization can keep their audiences enticed on their blogs by keeping updated information of the demanding goods and services allowing the bloggers to feel that their opinions are valued and needed by the organization. An organization branding schematic is being formed by utilizing a blog for the customer’s usage. By an organization having a blog it is giving customers open communication to the company, as well as the organization having open communication with their buyers. A blog would allow potential customers to view others post so that they can conceptualize were the company stand as far as quality, service, and value. And allowing the organization the opportunity to see and respond to the opinions and insight form the customers and potential customers. Maintaining the competitive advantage is crucial when it comes to marketing. It is the “marketers [that] are increasingly interested in how customers use products and brands to build and maintain a social identity” (Douglas and Isherwood, 1979, p. 216).
The usage of blogs overall is a lowest-cost effective marketing tool that allows an organization to market their good and or service, beside the great tool of the word of mouth. When an organization utilizes blogs they are promoting their good and or services, thus allowing customers to subscribe to the company’s blog. When customers and perspective customers connect and subscribe to the blog the company can connect links from their home site with daily updated information so that they will continue to come back over and over again. Blogging increases the traffic for their company by discussing topics that are in demand to be discussed by their audience. An organizations web site must catch and keep the attention of their customers. A blog for a company serves the purpose of helping the types of customers who are “seeking quick access to basic information, and those who want to take a deep dive into everything you do (Denove and Power IV, 2006, p.221). At the same time doing it cost effectively. Blogs have many benefits such as a way to express new ideas, a means of getting information out quickly and a new resourceful approach to communicating with a company. Blogs allow for the doors of communication to remain open because individuals are able to see within the company through their forums of what they are posting and blogging about.
The new technology advancement has allowed blogs to crack the domination of the distribution of information form the media. With the utilization of blogs they allow a company to be found much easier when individuals are searching with in search engines. With blogs information is always being posted making the information (new posts) in real-time. A company can show its personality to customers and perspective customers. So that they would be willing to ask questions without being intimidated or having the feeling of being obligated to make a purchase. Blogging gives anyone who is someone with an internet connection to be in some form of a “publisher, journalist, and critic” per say. The company’s blog must reach that specific demographic to give them what the demand that is being requested. Marketing with the new technological advancements allows for the business to customer direct line of communication- in a sense there is no more middle man. Marketing and public relations are now one in about the same. The line that was drawn between them is now hazed over and has a common goal, gaining customer loyalty to achieve their business. An organization that has a blog enhances their customers experience because the communication has bow become two-sided. The customers must have an incredible online experience to keep them loyal to continue doing business. One can share thoughts of their personal views and opinions. With these individuals sharing their thoughts and ideas that may have otherwise would not have been heard regardless of their age, gender, or profession. An organization expectation of communication has changed within the business world when it comes to marketing to their customers. Through the use of blogs communication has a since of closeness with the personal opinions holding organizations accountable. Communication within the business world will not be the same. Blogs have become the trend of being undeniably irresistible and irreplaceable helping organizations increase their visibility, credibility, and profitability. References
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