Web 2.0 and Social Media: The impact to Businesses
Good Day All,
Let me first introduce myself
and my experiences to better understand my perception of this topic. I have spent many years within Financial
Services, working for corporations as well as being a business owner. I have
held/hold many professional licenses within that segment, but an opportunity
came along that I couldn’t resist, that would allow me to use multiple of the
things I enjoy doing. My education
background consists of a BA in Finance from UF, and I am currently pursuing a
Bachelors in IT Management, as my new path has me as a Client Delivery Manager
for an IT managed service provider. I
have always enjoyed people, entrepreneur endeavors, and have always been
gadget/technology geek.
The majority of the world
uses Web 2.0 technology and Social Media on a personal level, but how do
businesses use it? Is it impactful for
businesses? And Consumers?
Let me do some word
association with some known Web 2.0 and Social Media Applications:
You Tube
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
Many consumers are very
familiar with these, and understand how they use them, but how do Businesses
incorporate these into growing and changing their business models?
Back Ground of Web 2.0:
Social
Media/Web 2.0 technologies are defined as social networking systems that
utilize software allowing a user to create profiles, to interact, and share
information. Web 2.0 was founded through a variety of internet based
applications that integrated the highly interactive service platform.
Business
Advantages: How are Businesses
empowering themselves?
Social
Media/Web 2.0 services are becoming prominent in businesses worldwide. The use
of social media has allowed businesses to create profiles, and to share and
interact information with clients from different realms of life instantly. The use of this technology is allowing
businesses to be much more agile, and pointed in their marketing endeavors.
Utilizing this interaction provides immediate feedback to businesses to make
impact decisions to align with consumers.
This provides competitive advantages to those organizations that are
using Social Media applications and Web 2.0 to reach consumers and assist with
consumer perception. The ability to
reach the masses and record the data associated, provides direct incite to
consumers. The battle of perception is
also aided with the use of these technologies, as marketing campaigns can be established
to make consumers aware of all the goodwill that many organizations participate
in. Social Media, aligns with Big Data and IoT as a leaders in changing how
businesses are conducting business and communicating with consumers. Social
media is a built application with technological and ideological practicalities
of Web 2.0.
Consumer
Advantages: How consumers gain?
From
the customer’s perspective, it was disclosed that clients find it easier to
convey their wishes on products and services. Furthermore, clients can
communicate directly with the management leading to the satisfaction of wants.
Besides, the quick responses experienced by customers while using social
media/web 2.0 tools enabled the immediate gratification of needs and enhanced
good customer relations.
Conclusion: Why Businesses need Web 2.0 and Social Media?
On
the business side, companies are able to align their products consistently with
the demands of the market and thus compete amicably with competitors. This
means that firms that use these technologies have a competitive advantage over
their rivals in the market. The research concludes that the use of Web 2.0 and
Social Media greatly benefits preexisting businesses as well as ones that have
been opened in the digital era. The
benefits are overwhelming, and those businesses that are slow to adopt and
adapt will lose competitive advantages and loyalty will continue to diminish as
each digital generation grows. It is
recommended that businesses should have a special social media team that
uniquely addresses the demands of a specific market through web-based
applications.
The choice is yours, but as a consumer, business owner, or large corporation empower yourself and those around you to know the heartbeat using Web 2.0 and Social Media.
Mike
