Social Media as a Marketing Tool: A Review of Existing Literature

Abstract

The importance of social media in business is growing at warp speed. With more and more people joining social media sites and using them regularly/efficiently, the social media industry is bound to become bigger in the coming years based on the available data. Social media has changed the business landscape for almost all businesses. In this study, the researcher reviewed past literatures on the field of social media and the impact it has on business. The definition and concept of social media marketing were all reviewed. The researcher further reviewed social media as social media as a tool for marketing, social media and customer relationship management as well as social media and customer behavior and perception. The works reviewed revealed that social media have significantly influenced businesses in a positive way. Most businesses in recent times do employ social media as a tool for marketing their products and services to their customers whilst at the same time, they do employ it maintaining communications with their customers. On social media and customer behavior and perception, the works reviewed also indicate that businesses do use social media to address any loop-holes in their operations so as to prevent any negative reputation. The researcher believes that social media would offer more opportunities to businesses and customers in the future based on the existing data.

Keywords: Social Media; Social Media Marketing

JEL Classification: M31