ITM501 MoD 3 Case the internet as social media Essay

ITM501 MoD 3 Case the internet as social media - Essay Example Social network is a very useful tool for advertisement in our era. Social media is a virtual network where people can view, create and share different information. For marketers, social media is the most convenient way to reach maximum number of customers at the same time. As people can share their ideas and opinions via social media, the company has an opportunity to get feedback from social media. Social media is different from other traditional media in terms of reach, frequency, performance, immediacy. With the change in lifestyle, social media has gained popularity among individuals, especially among the young, as it is very fast. In our case it will be discussed how far social media is able to provide business with new information. Impact on information availability to business: use of social media The case of Dave Carroll and the incident with his musical instrument, a guitar, during his flight from Toronto to Nebraska with the United Airline brings to our attention the effect iveness of social media in providing useful and new information related to the business houses. The United Airlines, being a Fortune 25 company, did not take heed of the concerns of the young musician, Dave Carroll. The United Airlines ignored his claim that his guitar was damaged and devalued by the United Airlines personnel during the journey as a result of mishandling of his guitar and baggage. In order to make his point and gain support against the airline giant, the slender musician used the social media on the Internet to make a viral response with the support of billions in the community (Al-Deen &   Hendricks, 2011). The social media on the Internet uses its unique features of connectivity as well as immediacy to reach out to millions of members in the community very easily through videos, public messages, etc. Social media has a rippling effect in terms of spreading the message across the communities and making new and useful information available to the companies (Sigala ,  Christou, &  Gretzel, 2012). In this case, the preparation of the video by the musician, which cost hardly $200 helped him to send the message of his dissatisfaction with the customer service provided by the United Airlines (Harvard Business School, 2010). The information spread like a virus, and it easily reached the top of the management of the United Airlines. This information is of extremely high value to the United Airlines as it is publicly available and, along with it, the image and goodwill of the company is affected. Thus the availability of the information in social media creates an impression in the minds of the customers and impacts the interest levels of the consumers to access the services of the company (Kerpen, 2011). In this case, the availability of the information from Dave Carroll and the entire description of the event of breaking of his guitar were displayed by the musician on YouTube. This information reached very easily the management, and this helped the top management to limit the risk of loss of goodwill and the loss of revenues due to reduction in the customer base. There are, however, various other alternatives where the information on the operations, customer service and customer grievance is readily available to the business. This helps the companies to assess the value of brand image in the market and the acceptability of its services