In the recent era of technological advancement, social media in business is slowly being appreciated by organizations globally. This is because of the fact that the internet is viewed as the new frontier for doing business. It provides a platform where organizations can get a wider audience and bypassing various difficulties like time, availability, accessibility and distance of reach. The sector is growing at a phenomenal rate. Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Tweeter and other social media play an essential role in how online users discover, research, and share information about brands and new product business. An online survey reported that around 60 percent of consumers who research products online, learned about a specific retailer or brand through social networking sites. Active social media users are more likely to read product reviews online to learn more about the product and to get to know the credibility, reputation and history of the company before purchase. Another essential use of social media for any business is to keep track of organizations’ competitive position providing vital market information and statistics around an industry as a whole. Social media also fosters the exchange of knowledge and expertise thus speeding up innovation and development of new products based on the feedback of suggestions and recommendation of consumers. Finally, social media holds a number of real benefits for business with few negative impacts in business development. The data would be analyzed to find out the advantages and disadvantages of social media applications in business organizations. This paper discusses the impact of social media in business organizations by highlighting the competitive advantage on organizations’ engagement in social media. It aims to identify the factors why business prefers social media as marketing and communication tools over other available methods. An in-depth analysis of the advantages and disadvantages together with the risks of social media on business is further presented in the paper. Some success stories of organizations that used social media as part of their marketing campaign have been included here in this paper. This paper also attempts to figure out widely used social media applications in business. This research is qualitative in nature, which is done through literature review, observations, and interview forms mailed to business development managers.

Business performance e-business social media business marketing innovation in business