UTILIZATION OF SOCIAL MEDIA AS A MARKETING STRATEGY IN ENTREPRENEURIAL BUSINESS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

For the past few years, the power of internet has brought a lot of possibilities to the world, making it easier for business owners to bring their products and services accessible to the public. When people saw the potential of internet, new approaches were developed and companies started to create websites to communicate with their customers online. Now, acquiring a social media account, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, blog sites and various company websites, has been the latest trend in the market despite of some marketing risk that may arises. Social media marketing is the use of social media platforms and websites to promote a product or service. It is a new phenomenon that has changed how the business environment operates and helps businesses gain access to resources that were otherwise not available to them (Jagongo, A. et. al, 2013). This first chapter provides the reader the background of what the research study is all about. It will give you a closer look of the topic specifically on the effectiveness of social media marketing as marketing strategy or tool. It will also provide a general insight of the problem that will be addressed in this study. Direct marketing is the most common method of advertising products and services. These include personal selling, TV commercials, radio announcements, and print advertisements in magazines or newspapers as well as billboard ads. However, this type of marketing is considered as the most expensive way of promoting a company’s products and services. There are still business owners who conduct direct marketing, a traditional method of selling and promoting products and services to existing and potential customers. Some even rent an office or stall in malls where they can display their products and so people can see and notice them. Today, online marketing has become increasingly important to small businesses of all types. In the past, marketing online was something that local bricks-and-mortar businesses could justifiably ignore. It didn't make sense to waste time and money on online marketing when all your business was local. With online marketing and direct marketing, there can be seen great advantages for companies. Online marketing can spread a vast range of information to customers, but also has disadvantages due to unsecured online transactions and presence of online fraud. Meanwhile, direct marketing is the most expensive and time consuming method of promoting product and services.