Social networks are popular places for people of
all different backgrounds and experiences to meet.
Furthermore, they can be powerful tools for
businesses to establish brand presence, build
brand awareness, as well as save advertising costs
in economically dismal times. There are
opportunities for businesses to grow public
awareness and get involved in the communities,
as well as continue to research for other ways to
advertise on social platforms, such as incorporate
mobile handset devices into the marketing model.
However, businesses must also be wary of ethical
issues such as intruding user privacy, aggressive
advertising, and spamming, in addition to legal
pitfalls and data mining issues. Moreover, the
businesses must have a strategic e-commerce
plan, as social networks are not quite up to par on
e-commerce transactions. Protecting user privacy
and securing the user’s personal data has become
one of the most imperative goals of today’s
society. It is particularly important in the age of
rapid expansion and tremendous popularity of
social networking sites.
In conclusion, social network advertising is
flourishing in the era of Web 2.0 end-user
interaction. Therefore, it is advisable that
businesses not ignore the opportunities to jump in
and expand their customer base.