ABSTRACT
Social media has expedited unparalleled growth in human interaction in modern times. This new media has caught the attention of organisations, communities and individuals through their ability to facilitate the collaboration of virtual communities and to provide a productive environment for mutual sharing and interaction. The adoption of social media for advertising by corporations worldwide is on the rise. Many corporations today have official Facebook pages, Twitter accounts as well as corporate blogs. All these are signs that social media has become a vital part of consumers‟ daily lives as well as the day-to-day operations of corporate organisations. The purpose of this conceptual paper is to examine the various tools that companies may use in their advertising aspect to increase their service and quality for their customers and increase profit. This study also seeks to provide insights on the social media use of Generation Y consumers in Malaysia.
INTRODUCTION
Social media has expedited unparalleled development in human association in contemporary times. In particular, it has changed consumers‟ way of thinking (Mir and Zaheer, 2012). This new media serves as a general stage for individuals worldwide to relate with one another and offer information and experiences identified with products, activities and issues (Heinrichs et al., 2011). Attracted by the rapid penetration of social media into society, companies are dynamically using them as part of their advertising and brand building activities (Gallaugher and Ransbotham, 2010; Georgios and Sergios, 2014). Without a doubt, social media allows companies to interact with customers using richer media with greater reach (Thackeray et al., 2008). The interactive method of social media not only allows advertisers to share and exchange information with their customers, but it allows customers to share and exchange information with one another as well. Companies have the opportunity to move relationship with customers from dialog to trialogue, in which customers partake in noteworthy relationship with one another and with the companies (Lipsman et al., 2012; Mangold and Faulds, 2009). Using social media, companies have had the ability to build relationships with existing as well as new customers and form communities that interactively collaborate to identify problems and develop solutions for them.
CONCLUSION
The Malaysian advertising industry is fast developing into a very competitive market with both foreign and local players competing for customer patronage. Whilst social media has not yet reached the position of a strong, robust advertising tool in Malaysia, this study proposes that there is significant scope for advertisers to embrace the concept in this way, developing strategy which can potentially have powerful impact within this rapidly changing consumer environment. This research presented a conceptual underpinning of the different tools that businesses may use in their advertising aspect to boost their service and quality for their customers. Furthermore, this review reveals advantages and issues related to each type of social media. This research can conclude that there are tools that corporations can use to distribute their advertising massages and create awareness for their customers.
