Q11-5 What Is Social Media, and What Are the Objectives of Social Media?

Question 1

What is social media’s primary role in the communication process?

Answer 1

Social media supports the creation and sharing of user-generated content, which is publicly available content created by end users.

Question 2

What are the two main activities in the social media process?

Answer 2

Creating and sharing user-generated content.

Question 3

How did social media’s concept emerge?

Answer 3

The term “social media” emerged with platforms like Facebook and Twitter in the late 1990s, focusing on user-generated content.

Question 4

Describe the initial step in the social media process.

Answer 4

The process begins when a user creates content by posting, tweeting, updating a LinkedIn résumé, or another creative act, which is then shared by a social media platform.

Question 5

How significant is social media in people’s lives, based on usage statistics?

Answer 5

3.8 billion people are active social media users, spending an average of 2.5 hours daily on these platforms.

Question 6

List some recent trends in social media platforms.

Answer 6

Trends include emphasis on stories, the rise of key influencers, expanded news, more shopping options, and experimentation with augmented reality.

Question 7

What are common objectives for businesses using social media?

Answer 7

Businesses use social media to promote their brand, serve customers, boost sales, and respond to customer complaints.

Question 8

Why is social media unique compared to other business processes?

Answer 8

Unlike other processes, social media is not fully controlled by businesses and involves other participants like users and platform providers who also have objectives.

Question 9

Who are the main participants in the social media process?

Answer 9

The main participants are users, businesses, and social media app providers.

Question 10

What are the effectiveness objectives of social media participants?

Answer 10

• Users: Belonging and communication

Businesses: Support strategy
App providers: Market share and revenue

Question 11

What is the efficiency objective common to all social media participants?

Answer 11

Time and cost.

Question 12

How do social media and app providers impact businesses?

Answer 12

They enable businesses to reach large audiences, respond to complaints quickly, and build a responsible brand image.

Question 13

Why might businesses find social media challenging?

Answer 13

They share control with app providers and users, meaning they cannot dictate the objectives of the social media process entirely.

Question 14

What are effectiveness objectives in the context of social media?

Answer 14

Effectiveness objectives reflect the goals or needs of each social media participant, which include users, businesses, and app providers.

Question 15

What is the primary effectiveness objective for users on social media?

Answer 15

Belonging and communication. Users seek communities to foster positive self-esteem and have opportunities to express themselves.

Question 16

Describe the primary effectiveness objective for businesses on social media.

Answer 16

To support strategy by improving service, reducing costs, building brand identity, gaining feedback, and reaching potential hires or customers.

Question 17

What is the main effectiveness objective for app providers in the social media process?

Answer 17

Initially to grow market share; later, it shifts to revenue generation as the app matures.

Question 18

What common efficiency objective is shared among users, businesses, and app providers in social media?

Answer 18

Operate within time and cost constraints, though each group’s approach to this objective differs.

Question 19

How do users, businesses, and app providers each interpret the efficiency objective differently?

Answer 19

• Users want free apps that are easy to learn.

Businesses aim to minimize labor costs.
App providers focus on reducing development costs.

Question 20

What is the relationship between social media IS components and business processes?

Answer 20

Social media IS components (hardware, software, data, procedures, people) support the two main social media activities (creating and sharing) that integrate into business processes.

Question 21

What are the two primary social media activities in business processes?

Answer 21

Creating and sharing content.