Social Media Research Paper
bigd250
SocialMediaPlatformsFEEDBACK.docSOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS
SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS 2
Social Media Platforms
Jaz’Mine Coleman
La Roche University
Abstract
This paper explores social media platforms in terms of their models of operation, data security, usability and the influence they have on the overall society. It also investigated the differences between the platforms with emphasis on how they impact users and the society differently. The paper further investigates the marketing options made available by the sites .
Table of Contents
2 Abstract
4 Types of Social Media Platforms
5 Facebook
6 Twitter
6 LinkedIn
7 Differences between Social Media Platforms
10 Conclusion
11 References
Social Media Platforms
What is Social Media?
Fundamentally, social media refer to collective online communications channels that are dedicated to community-based inputs and outputs, collaboration, and content sharing. There are numerous websites dedicated to microblogging, forums, social networking, and social curation among others. The advent of the internet in the late 20th century led to creation of communication channels where internet users could now communicate in real time and share information rapidly. This is the scenario with the popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and YouTube among others (Knoll, 2016). Users need to sign up and will freely start interacting with other users. The platforms have an algorithm for ensuring that a user is able to interact and connect with people from a particular demographic that he or she can identify with. For instance, upon joining Facebook, the site will provide one with suggestions on who to connect with based on the information provided by the users.
Social media platforms have been applauded for the influence they have brought in the last decade. Users can now mobilize each other and call for radical change in the society. For instance, the famous Arab Uprising was facilitated on the platforms where people could interact and plan for activities (Knoll, 2016). Other s such as presidential campaigns and social movements has also utilized the platforms for meeting specific objectives. In this light, the platforms are increasingly becoming important especially when it comes to social mobilization.
Types of Social Media Platforms
As reiterated above, there are numerous social media platforms which function slightly different from each other. Actually, even usability is different facebook being the most usable site when compared to the others as can be seen in figure one.
Figure 1: The sites’ % total of all internet users.
Facebook was incepted at the turn of the Millennium by a Harvard Student, Mark Zuckerberg. Upon being founded, the site was limited for Ivy League schools but has since expanded to a global level and has accumulated for 1.7 billion active users (Voorveld, Van Noort, Muntinga & Bronner, 2018). It is the platform with the most users where millions of people log into the site every day to link with friends and family and also learn about their lives. As earlier noted, it is practically easy for photos and videos to be uploaded and shared and also interactions between friends are easily attained. With a basic proficiency in internet use, a user is able to interact on Facebook and share content. It is imperative to note that the site has undergone a myriad of change where today more functions are enabled. For instance, live videos can be streamed, products can be advertised, information can be hidden and stored, and groups can be created and managed.
Founded in March 2006, Twitter is a social media platform known for enabling exchange of quick and frequent messages known as tweets. Users were only able to compose a tweet of 140 characters, but the company increased the limit to 280 starting last year. It has over 800 million users who carry out microblogging which is about posting short entries and updates. On the site one has what is referred to as followers (Voorveld et al., 2018). These are the people who can read one’s tweets and send direct messages. On the other hand, the site has what is referred to as a Hashtag where any number of people can contribute to a particular topic and the tweets will be read even by people who are not someone’s followers. The site is popular for hashtags which have led to great social mobilizations such as the #MeToo Movement.
Founded in October 2010, Instagram is mostly a photo and video sharing site that is owned by Facebook after acquiring it from Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom. It is imperative to note that the application normally allows users to edit uploads with filters which are organized with tags as well as location information. Like Twitter, the shared photos and videos can be seen and reacted to by a preapproved population of users. It has rapidly grown and is now having over 900 million users since it was founded (Voorveld et al., 2018). It has also undergone changes where it has added messaging features and including multiple videos and images.
Founded in 2002 and launched in 2003, LinkedIn may be said to be employment-oriented where users use it for professional networking and job posting. It is known for employers posting jobs and job seekers posting their resumes. It has an algorithm for enabling a user connects with individuals with whom they share career paths and prospects (Voorveld et al., 2018). The number of users has grown to over 570 million by the close of 2018 and the site has continued to introduce newer functions such as enabling users to easily connect and send messages.
Differences between Social Media Platforms
The listed platforms have key differences as follows. First, as earlier highlighted, the sites have a varying user population with facebook leading with over 1.5 billion users and LinkedIn having the least population. It is a major difference that a marketer needs to consider when deciding on the platform to utilize when aiming at reaching out for a larger number of users. Also, when it comes to monthly users as shown in the chart below, It can be seen that there are major differences.
Figure 2: Total number of Monthly Users as a percentage of total social media users.
When it comes to usability, it is imperative to note that Facebook is the most usable due to its user-friendly platform. A user can easily interact with various functions without any challenges. This has been seen as the major reason why the site continues to attract more and more monthly users (Voorveld et al., 2018). Others such as LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter are not user friendly which explains why users have been found to spend more time on Facebook than all other sites.
LinkedIn is not primarily a photo or image-based platform but a professional one where individuals can connect with employers, mentors, and career coaches among other users. As earlier noted, the site is about finding career prospects hence limited photo and video postings. This is one of the differences that stems from model of operation. While Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram see millions of images and videos uploaded each day, LinkedIn is about professionalism and enabling people connect with career paths and prospects.
When it comes to marketing, it is imperative to note that there are performance differences that can be seen. Instagram and Facebook are much effective in promoting brands than Twitter and LinkedIn. Instagram leads , and Facebook follows. It is worth noting that promoting of brands is mainly about image and video postings where Facebook and Instagram are two platforms renowned for uploading photos and videos (Voorveld et al., 2018). In this light, a marketer needs to focus on the two when in need of promoting a particular brand.
Privacy and Data Security
The listed social media platforms are required by law to safeguard user information and the data cannot be shared to any third parties. More so, no third parties should be allowed to access the user data without their consent. Facebook is one platform that has seen backlash from the public after it was learnt that it was purposely allowing third parties to access user information and act on it without their consent. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn have put in place measures for upholding data security. For instance, Facebook has created strong firewalls and has decentralized data as a means of reducing the risk in the event of a breach (Fuduric & Mandelli, 2014). It has also put in place a computer incident response team that is supposed to monitor the activities in the system to ensure that there are no any threats to the confidentiality of data. These are some of the measures taken by the companies in ensuring that data integrity is upheld in line with the applicable laws.
Influence on Community
The influence on community is mainly based on the number of users. Facebook has the greatest influence explaining why it has faced numerous data scandals. A message on the site spreads fast as users spend more time on the site than they spend on other sites such as LinkedIn and Twitter. The site has been responsible for social mobilizations such as the spread of Black Lives Matter Movement . On the other hand, it is imperative to note that Twitter’s hashtags have also become great influencers of the community. The society can follow up hashtags and learn about the views and concerns of the people (Knoll, 2016). Actually, influences have been happening concurrently on Twitter and on Facebook which explains why they carry a huge influence on the community. Instagram and LinkedIn do not have much influence due to their model of operations.
Marketing Strategy
When it comes to marketing strategy, it is imperative to note that the sites employ near similar models where products and services are paid for and the sites makes them available for a particular targeted market. For instance, when a user pays for an ad on Facebook, it is promoted and made popular across the identified demographics. This is a model that is also employed by Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn (Castronovo & Huang, 2012). The sites will make the ad popular based on the payment made as the sites have different categories of ad charges. The sites are quickly becoming an option for marketers as they are cheaper and more effective than the conventional models.
Conclusion
Social media platforms have become increasingly popular and have registered users raking billions making them important contributors to social mobilization. Though the sites have varying usability, users continue to use them for various functions such as connecting with friends keeping up with developments, connecting with the employers, and marketing. Additionally, though the sites have implemented data security and integrity measures, it is imperative that more is done so as to avoid losing users’ data to third parties which may act on it maliciously.
References
Castronovo, C., & Huang, L. (2012). Social Media in an Alternative Marketing Communication Model. Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness; West Palm Beach 6(1), 117-134.
Fuduric, M., & Mandelli, A. (2014). Communicating social media policies: evaluation of current practices. Journal of Communication Management 18(2), 158-175.
Knoll, J. (2016). Advertising in social media: a review of empirical evidence. International Journal of Advertising 35(2), 266-300.
Voorveld, H., Van Noort, G., Muntinga, D. G., & Bronner, F. (2018). Engagement with Social Media and Social Media Advertising: The Differentiating Role of Platform Type. Journal of Advertising 47(1), 38-54.
�Nice Abstract! Clear and concise.
�Should be others
�
�Should be differently
�Should have a semicolon after different and a comma after Facebook which should be capitalized here.
�Capitalize Figure
�Center Chart on Page
�Not sure why you chose this word. Please select an alternative.
�Accumulated is also a wrong word choice here. Not sure if you are using a direct quote here or trying to paraphrase. Please consider rewriting this sentence.
�Delete this word. Not needed here.
�Should be changes
�Capitalize Facebook
�Should be it not capitalized
�Center chart on page
�Insert the
�Insert to
�You are over using the word imperative in this paper. Choose a synonym instead.
�Insert more
�Delete comma
�Should be and not &
& is used in the Bibliography. And is used in the body of the writing according to APA guidelines.
�Cite your source
�See prior note
�Delete up
�What kind/type of influences are you referring to here?
�The conclusion should be longer than 3 sentences based on the prior research you have documented in the paper. How did do this research increase your understanding of the topic etc. Again do not use “I” but rather guide your reader in understanding why this topic is important etc.
�Why this word choice
�See prior note
