Script
Good morning, everyone; today, we will explore whether social media platforms can ruin businesses. I prefer to talk about the BBC news article I recently read and analysed, which is based on “How social media could ruin your business”. The article has identified several facts about social media platforms and their usage for business purposes. The article showed that how social media can steal good names of brands and companies, why planning is crucial, how passwords and posts are targeted and how technologies available in social media sites can be used. We all know that with the emergence of advanced technologies in the digitalised era, the majority of businesses use social media platforms in their marketing processes or other business practices. These media platforms have the potential to share messages to a large number of people at a time, which is also cost-effective in helping companies work within their budgets. Social media platforms can enhance brand recognition and reputation in marketplaces (6). Various businesses generally use these platforms in the areas of promoting their brands, products, and customer services and introducing new products and offerings. However, there are disadvantages to using these media platforms in the areas of business, as media platforms can cause a decline in business profitability.
The author, Jessica Bown, included that negative posts in social media have the potential to cause harm by destroying trust in brands. Breaking of trust can happen due to comments or posts from disgruntle customers, hackers, or others. The news article depicts that usage of social media in the field of business operations might harm business practices and profitability (7). Cyber threats might originate from hackers, other rival companies in market areas, dissatisfied customers, and various sources that ultimately generate business vulnerabilities. On the other hand, negative content on social media sites can minimise trust in brands which lead to losses in business areas (1). This article of Bown, focuses on utilising of social media in business operations and its potential to create a negative influence on business practices and profitability. Companies are vulnerable to misuse of their social media pages and websites through cyber risks, threats from hackers, and other sources. Jessica Bown incorporated literary theory, such as reader-response theory, in this article showing the prioritisation of reactions and responses of readers. The reader-response theory deals with the reaction of audience that is effective for the interpretation of the entire story through the lens of readers which directly links to the critical analysis of literary sources (8). Here, in this article, literary sources are effectively incorporated with the help of literary theory used by the author.
Social media platforms can culturally and financially harm businesses. Fake news spreads at a fast pace through social media platforms that generate negative perceptions about companies and brands (3). Utilising the fact of the fast spreading of news in social media, hackers post fake news and inappropriate content against companies and brands (9). As a result, the reputation of those particular companies decreases and forbids customers to purchase from these companies. On the other hand, the truth about substandard business practices decreases the brand recognition and reputation of businesses, ultimately ruining them. For instance, Bown stated in the article that the market value of Samsung plummeted by nearly 1.5 billion dollars when Elon Musk tweeted that this company continued to work with Panasonic for its upcoming electric vehicles (2).
The negative impact of social media content on businesses is evident, as it directly leads to the creation of an unfavourable reputation for companies and brands (4). In a variety of cases, companies’ posts serve as the primary reason for damaging their image in the market areas. For instance, Chase, a US bank, is accused of “poor shaming” due to the content of its advertisements regarding saving money (2). In addition to this, hackers, as well as rival firms, might exploit the vulnerabilities of businesses on social media platforms to affect their operations detrimentally. Unfavourable comments from prospective or other clients can significantly impact a company’s reputation. Social media refers to a swift and efficient platform for disseminating information or rumours that promote immediate customer reactions (10).
On the other hand, customers also use these platforms to directly connect with companies and get customer services. Consequently, these social media attacks pose a direct threat to the operational management and supply chain management of businesses (5). Ineffective planning for utilising social media platforms is another cause of ruining businesses and their reputations in market areas (11). The key to managing an online reputation effectively is the proper handling of negative reviews and feedback, as well as responding quickly to prevent the rise of a crisis. It is essential for companies to understand whether to respond in the right tone or to avoid a crisis by staying silent.
Consumers perceive social media platforms as channels for engaging with customer services that provide opportunities to seek attention and assistance directly from their preferred companies and brands. Additionally, they share information, whether accurate or not, through social media posts, even without verifying the authenticity of the content. This situation is directly linked to the spreading of rumours through social media posts that eventually ruin businesses. Customers can negatively impact businesses by diminishing their reputation through unfavourable feedback or reviews (1). Dissatisfied customers tend to express their grievances on social media sites through their posts and content, which directly diminish a company’s image (12). It is essential to manage negative reviews carefully to mitigate the risk of damaging the brand recognition and reputation of businesses on social media platforms. Jessica Bown also focuses on employee activity in the field of utilisation of social media platforms in ruining businesses. Cybercriminals tend to use information from social scouts of employees to infiltrate organisations. For instance, cybercriminals email employees a malware link to a lucrative offer that helps them infect the systems of companies through employees’ profiles. Passwords and posts are vulnerable to cyber threats.
As companies cannot monitor the social media accounts of their employees, cybercriminals tend to break passwords to access certain posts that can be used to hamper companies’ reputations and operational practices (13). Fraudsters might put the brand names in vain, which damages companies and brands culturally and socially. Social media sites are vulnerable to cyber hacking, data breaches, and other cyber threats that minimise data security and data privacy. Social media posts and content can include fake information and false accusations against brands and companies to minimise their reputations in market areas. Hackers also search for confidential data and information from companies and brands from the social media content of employees. This information is then used against those companies and brands’ reputations.
On the other hand, companies’ posts can also be used against companies that decline in reputation and ruin their businesses. Unknown customers can also cause damage to companies when other users pick them up. Consumers tend to seek help from companies through social media posts, feedback sections, and query sections. Delays in companies or brands answering customers’ queries and issues generate a negative reputation among customers and other users. Therefore, companies and brands must dissolve any issues or lack from their side as early as possible.
Planning is crucial for companies to handle negative reviews and feedback to minimise the chance of generating negative responses and reputation among customers and other users. Companies or brands must handle reviews and queries with the utmost care and must not overreact while addressing those. Maintaining a suitable tone is crucial for companies while answering negative reviews and feedback from customers. There are several ways to minimise the threats of cybercrime and the risk of ruining businesses through social media platforms. Listening and monitoring tools that are used by the “Application Programming Interface” (APIs) provided by social networking sites to analyse and collect data help companies manage crises and build reputations on social media (2). There are three factors to enhance reputation such as sentiment analysis, real-time results, and flexibility. Sentiment analysis is effective for handling negative mentions, real-time results help in taking steps immediately, and flexibility is effective for excluding irrelevant mentions of company names.
On a concluding note, I must say that social media platforms are considered promotional tools for companies to introduce new products and services as well as offerings. However, they also pose a threat to companies’ reputations and brand recognition, as customers can share grievances and negative reviews that can potentially harm their business. Therefore, it is evident from the analysis that social media can ruin businesses. Companies must handle negative feedback and review effectively to minimise the chance of negative reputations in the market areas. There are various technologies and tools available on social media platforms that are used for monitoring and other activities. Companies or brands might utilise these tools and techniques to manage crises and build a reputation on social media platforms. Companies can plan effectively before incorporating social media platforms into their business activities, which also helps them minimise the risk of ruining their businesses.
References
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