New Media and Consumer Behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

New Media and Consumer Behaviour - Essay Example The different kinds of social media that can be used to market products include social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, badoo, MySpace, blogs, and others. In understanding the use of social media for marketing purposes, there are several terms that must be understood. Such terms include the term social media itself. Social media can be defined as the usage of mobile and web based technologies to communicate and maintain dialogue. Social media usually allows interactions to take place across multiple platforms. Social content on the other hand refers to material such as blogs and micro blogs that form part of the social networking experience (Zarrella 2009, p. 1). The increased use of social media has had a huge impact on the way that consumers relate with the marketers and how they relate with the different products. The impact of social media on the relationship has mostly been a positive one where a higher level of interaction has been achieved. There have however been s ome negative impacts on the dependence on social media on the relationship between customers and brands. It has for example been suggested that the use of social media has led to a decrease in brand loyalty among consumers. The positive benefits of the use of social media however outweigh the negative impacts and it is therefore important for the marketers to understand the power and the potential of the social media on their products (Tuten 2008, p. 10). The change or shift in consumer behavior has made it necessary for marketers to adopt the new strategies to market their products. Most consumers have adopted online shopping as opposed to physically visiting the stores. This means that there is a large group of potential clients that are easily reached through the use of the social media. There has also been an increase in the amount of online activity by the potential shoppers which has made it necessary for marketers to venture online to reach more customers. This has therefore made it easier for the marketers to reach the potential clients. The increase in the number of social networking sites that are available have also meant that more consumers can be found in the social networking sites. It has indeed been stated that the social networking sites are responsible for the revolution that has been see in the consumer behavior. The social networking sites provide the consumers and the marketers a means to interact without being limited by geographical or time boundaries. It also provides the marketer a means to interact with the consumer without being limited by their budget (Kabani & Brogan 2010, p. 8). The social media has also improved the relationship between the clients or consumers and the different companies in that is more usable than the traditional means of interaction between the consumers and the clients. The technology that is used in the social media simplifies the process of interaction and is generally more user friendly. This mean that peo ple can use, simplify and even reinvent communications and the messages that are being communicated. The accessibility of the social media or social networking sites also improve the relationship between the consumers and the product. most of the social networking sites such as facebook and twitter are accessible via many means including through the use of internet enabled mobile phones. This means that they are widely accessible thus interaction will be more efficient. For