Introduction
With the development and widespread use of the communication technologies and the Internet, social media becomes an extremely influential source of information. For example, the events of the Arab Spring (2010-2012) were largely stimulated by the social media since some participants of protests had high levels of the Internet usage, which allowed them to share information, organize demonstrations, and raise public awareness (Rane and Salem 99). In addition, almost every organization creates accounts on social media to reach its target audience and spread information rapidly. In this connection, this paper aims to explore the potential of social media to replace traditional media, focusing on the perceptions of users, information credibility, journalists’ behaviors, and access to media.
Growing Social Media Presence, Behaviors of Journalists, and Access to Information
Many organizations shift to an online environment as it provides them with various marketing opportunities. Companies become closer to customers by offering them to share their opinions about products and services through Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms. The social media landscape allows learning more about brands and their mission, which leads to greater customer loyalty. Bruhn et al. mention that $1.54 billion was invested in supporting the presentation of organizations in social media, and this number was expected to triple by 2013 (771). In 2019, this investment increased by $17 billion, and the expenditures will only grow in the future (“Social Media Marketing Penetration in the U.S. 2013-2022”). According to the data by the Statista Research Department, the social media marketing usage rate increased from 86.2% in 2013 to 91.7% in 2020 in the US (“Social Media Marketing Penetration in the U.S. 2013-2022”). These figures demonstrate that companies consider it important to work with online platforms to connect with customers.
While traditional media is associated with a strong brand awareness, social media significantly impacts a company’s brand equity. A hedonic brand image creation and support are the key benefits of accessing information through Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and other resources (Bruhn et al. 781). Such an impact is caused by the positive statements about brands and electronic word-of-mouth stimulations, when some customers confess their love to a product, and others read it and make purchases. The strategies that are used by organizations to motivate customers include weblogs on official websites, regular updates about discounts and new collections, and appealing brand profiles (Bruhn et al. 783). However, it should also be stressed that online media have a limited impact on customers’ perceptions regarding the reliability and trustworthiness of products.
For businesses engaged in social media marketing, it can be difficult to hide customers’ dissatisfaction. Customers writing negative posts can damage a company’s reputation, which requires additional efforts from organizations to monitor the social media and respond timely to such comments. Another point refers to duteous and long-term work in social media to introduce the company and adjust its interaction with clients. Considering that the specifics of social media may be different, depending on its purpose, it requires an entire team to contribute to the social media presence. For example, YouTube needs short yet exciting videos, but Instagram provides the opportunity to post high-quality pictures and communicate with customers directly and in comments. Accordingly, social media may be ineffective in attracting customers, if this marketing area is not developed.
Online journalism becomes a prevalent direction of digital media, which delivers easily accessible and free information. It should be emphasized that not only the way customers read news changes, but also the environment in which they are created tend to be different. According to Laor and Galily, journalists increasingly use social media to express their opinions, which promotes discussions of various topics (1). For example, one of the journalists participating in the study reported: “There was this story about a woman whose HMO refused to cover the cost of a medicine that was in the Drug Basket… I posted it on FB and it created a public outcry” (Laor and Galily 4). This example shows that journalists operating online can help people in resolving their problems by increasing public awareness and sensitivity to injustice. One more issue that attracts viewers is the ability to return to the topics that were mentioned previously, thus ensuring that newsreaders remain engaged. In turn, feedback from people, which is provided through comments or direct interaction, motivates journalists to continue their work in public awareness increase.
The compromised credibility of online posts is the key disadvantage of digital media as such a promotional work does not pass any trustworthiness standards. Compared to traditional media that are predominantly controlled by governments and / or businesses, online media raises concerns about the extent, to which people can trust it. In the recent study by Li and Zhang, who focus on Chinese social media, it is stated that 90% of Chinese users refer to social media daily to access the required information (79). The analysis of social media clarifies that users consider it quite unbiased and fair, but the accuracy is assessed as low (Li and Zhang 86). In addition, they admit that a more conscious approach is needed to gathering information from digital media since reasonable doubting seems to be important. Even though the quality of data is not yet currently guaranteed, it is possible to expect that social media sources would improve it in the future. Since Chinese society is collectivist, its results cannot be generalized to the Western world with its democratic and individualistic views, which means that further research is critical.
The advancements of the 21st century made it possible to access a wide variety of information by clicking only several buttons on one’s computer or smartphone. People get used to receiving the information they need quickly, which seems to be convenient and easy. In comparison to traditional media that requires buying a magazine or watching TV, social media offers more comfortable options. The reading times become shorter as online resources provide brief news, understanding the desires of customers. All this leads to the growing consumption of online news instead of traditional media. As reported by Shu et al., “68% of Americans get some of their news on social media in 2018” (171). A characteristic feature of social media is that users compose networks to share their interests or learn about some issues, which creates certain environments and movements.
The quick access to information is achieved at the expense of its reliability. The concept of fake news includes a number of the most diverse phenomena in the media environment. Namely, fake texts, as well as photo, video, or audio recordings, the popularity of a person, work, project, and fake accounts artificially created at the request of the customers, “likes”, and posting approving comments can be noted (Shu et al. 183). During the last US presidential campaign, Facebook, Google, and Twitter were criticized for actively spreading fake news about the candidates, both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Considering news journalism as a journalistic genre, one can confidently state that fake news is extensively present. The abundance of fake news camouflaged as news has reached a critical level in recent years, and this phenomenon points to the need for thoughtful scientific research. Nevertheless, some measures are already taken to increase the reliability of online news. Facebook decided to involve journalists in resolving the problem (Shu et al. 186). The company will work with newsrooms and organize a campaign to educate users on distinguishing between real and fake news.
Conclusion
To conclude, social media provides such benefits as the rapid and convenient access to information, creating networks, interacting with others, and promoting public awareness. However, compared to traditional media, it lacks reliability and credibility, while an overabundance of fake news becomes a striking feature of digital media. The journalistic community and organizations require not only an adequate approach to broadcasting news in social environments, but also a discerning readership that has mastered the basics of media literacy. The fake news epidemic challenges the social media to regain the trust of its audience, which increasingly prefers to receive information through this type of media. In a long-term perspective, there is a tendency towards the replacement of traditional media by social media, but it seems to be possible only in case of improving the trustworthiness of the latter.
Works Cited
Bruhn, Manfred et al. “Are Social Media Replacing Traditional Media in Terms of Brand Equity Creation?: MRN”, Management Research Review, vol. 35, no. 9, 2012, pp. 770-790.
Laor, Tal, and Yair Galily. “Offline VS Online: Attitude and Behavior of Journalists in Social Media Era”, Technology in Society, vol. 61, 2020, pp. 1-9.
Li, Xiaojing, and Guoliang Zhang. “Perceived Credibility of Chinese Social Media: Toward an Integrated Approach”, International Journal of Public Opinion Research, vol. 30, no.1, 2018, pp. 79-101.
Rane, Halim, and Sumra Salem. “Social Media, Social Movements and the Diffusion of Ideas in the Arab Uprisings.” Journal of International Communication, vol. 18, no. 1, 2012, pp. 97-111.
“Social Media Marketing Penetration in the U.S. 2013-2022.” Statista, Web.
Shu, Kai, et al. “Fakenewsnet: A Data Repository with News Content, Social Context, and Spatiotemporal Information for Studying Fake News on Social Media”, Big Data, vol. 8, no.3, 2020, pp. 171-188.