Facebook-as a marketing tool

Social media has changed the way organizations do business online over the past few years and as a consequence, social media marketing has created its own niche in the business world. The new media have redefined the very concept of marketing. Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have transformed the way some businesses think about advertising. Some businesses direct customers toward their social network pages more than they direct them to their own websites. The most visited online social network is Facebook, founded in 2004 and with over 600 million users and presence in over 70 countries. Because Facebook is becoming a new marketing tool for companies to enhance their brand awareness they need to adopt new marketing policies and strategies that are different from the traditional ones. Facebook does not replace the traditional marketing tools but can be used as a complement to existing traditional promotional tools. The paper discusses some case studies of businesses creatively using Facebook to highlight their success stories. The cases illustrate strategies employed by organizations to gain greater competitive advantage in the market place. Finally the paper points to future trends in social media marketing and suggests strategies how organizations can deal with them to their best advantage.