Social Media in E-Commerce
June 12, 2011
COMM/470
Krystal Hall

Introduction The presentation by team C last week was a PowerPoint presentation on communication consultants. The slides in the presentation show support of the new technology for e-commerce businesses and how the team- oriented projects become more effective and efficient. The executives viewing the presentation thought it was a success and would now like to proceed with launching an e-commerce unit. In this paper the team will discuss how social media tools can distribute messages to consumers and the clients. The team will analyze the best tools to use in specific situations and the ethical values behind them. The analysis will include security and privacy issues. The credibility and the reputation will be in the analysis also.
Social Media in E-Commerce
When using social media one should be aware of the ethical issues that surround it. Social tools help to relay messages to consumers and clients. Companies are able to communicate in various types of social communication. Not all social tools are appropriate for every business transaction or communication. Developing the knowledge of choosing the right one will benefit the company and help to increase the profits. There are many issues to observe when using social media and a business together. Identity theft is one of the biggest concerns for the consumer. Making sure that the site is secure will ease the customer who is already hesitant about shopping online. Social medial can change the consumer into the producer.
Social Medias can contribute messages to consumers and clients. Social networks tools such as face book, Skype, twitter, and My Space are examples of communication. Blogging is another form. The popularity of such Social Medias has made some businesses very wealthy. Advertising and marketing on social sites are in big demand. It is cost effective and relays messages to consumer and clients in a matter of seconds. The future will bring more technology in relaying messages in ways that are not thought of yet. In e-commerce being able to communicate is a challenge but a must to be successful. Free marketing tools are readily available on the Internet for companies to relay messages to consumers. Google space is a great site for advertising. The challenge for new e-commerce businesses is having the knowledge to navigate on the Internet to sites that can increase sales. Social media and business relationships have come a long way. Businesses create links on the social media sites and consumers are in direct contact with the company. Pop-ups are another tool that social Medias allow businesses to attach to the site. As technology advances, so will the tools that a business and a consumer integrate with communicating. An endless amount of opportunities are available through the social media sites. As one site advances, another one is created. It is an area of business that is necessary for success of e-commerce. It is another piece of the puzzle in growing a company on the Internet. Social media makes successful businesses.
Best Tools to Use in Specific Situations
There are many tools available to through social media for many situations. One situation which social media can use tools is to advertise and build business. Through the social media advertisement tools that are used to find great candidates for a company is LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a social media that employer used to find potential employees or candidates to learn about the person they are working for. Another tool for social media is Facebook which will be a great tool to advertise for company. Basecamp is a social media tool which is used for company to manage products. Basecamp cab managed projects and used a form of communication by shared files from one company to another which could help with advertisement. Social media can use as one of the newest tool to communicate over the internet twitter. Twitter is a social media which can create discover and share idea with people. These are just some of the way some situation such as advertisement can use social media as tools.
Ethical Issues Involved in Social Media Use With the expansion of the internet and technology, many e-businesses are turning to social media to promote and advertise products and services to the consumer. When using such sites, the e-business should keep in mind ethical issues such as security, credibility, and privacy of the consumer. Social media is a great way for a business to reach millions of people throughout the world. If used properly the business can make significant contact with many consumers and in turn increase business to maximize profit.
Security concerns are extremely important to the consumer. The consumer needs to know that when conducting business on the internet that private information such as personal information and payment will not be breeched. Identity theft has always been a concern for many consumers who choose to purchase products and services online. The business must know that the social media site that they are using has privacy settings to keep the consumers information private. Failure to do so, will hinder the relationship between the consumer and the business. It would be unethical to assure the consumer that information such as a social security number or credit card information is secure when using the site, if it is really not. Relationships between an e-business and a consumer can be based upon trust, if the consumer trusts a website or a business; they will be more likely to conduct businesses with these individuals. A breach of trust will result in a failed business relationship. (Turban, King, McKay, Marshall, Lee, & Viehland, 2008)
Credibility of a business is also important to the consumer. The consumer expects to receive goods or services that are promised by the e-business that they are purchasing from. If the consumer receives a good or service that does not live up to their expectations, they may feel as if they have been cheated by the business. When looking to purchase online consumers may research companies through the use of social media websites. If businesses are not living up to the expectations of the consumer, these sites can hurt the business. The consumers would not want to purchase from a business that cannot provide what they are guaranteeing. This can be damaging to a business in terms of profit. E-businesses should always deliver to the consumer what they are promising by backing up the goods or services they sell. It is also important for the business to be aware of websites that may discredit the business not based on factual information. (Turban, King, et. al., 2008)
Privacy is another factor that plays an important role to the consumer. Some social media sites that are used by e-businesses may share or sell information to other businesses or websites. From a business standpoint, it is important to know if a social media site that one is using shares or sells consumer information. If the e-business does choose to use a social media site that shares or sells information, it should be made known to the consumer. It would be unethical to allow a social media website to do this without the consumer having knowledge. (Turban, King, et. al., 2008)
Formal Documents
To start an e-commerce business there are some requirements and forms same as a traditional business. For financial back up there will be more forms to fill out and information and documentation to present to the bank or financial institute you are doing business with. You will need financial plan, business plan, operation plan, outsources demographic study of the area in mind, domain name, copyrights forms for your protection and a lot more detailed information and description of the product or service offered. To setup you online business, a few items needed to have on hand or develop. The products, full accurate descriptions, images and any information needed by the customer about the product. One you have the setup done we move to the functionality of the site and then you ask the how, who, where and when questions in regards to the distraction and hosting of the site. When we talk web site hosting, it will all vary if you are an individual, or business or a business with an IT group. Usually individuals go with online hosting services but will not get all the features like a business account, and if you business have IT support then you might chose to go with in-house hosting. For in house hosting your team will need to insure the system being utilized have the most recent updates, security should be in place to protect customer personal information and you internet connection and how you going to rout the traffic through the network. When all this in place then we moves to the customer needs and requirements. Every business traditional or online strives for excellent customer service to build that loyal relation with the customers. Now we have everything in place, the domain name, the product or service, the customer study, then we move to the site design. The design and how orders or customer requests will flow through the site to fulfill the customer needs. Process should be in place to insure how handle every order or request from the time it gets sent in to the time you ship the product or provide the service. Keep in mind the customer relations. Everything the customer looking for should be found with ease, it helps the customer feel a lot more comfortable coming back to your site than others. Most of the big companies or big names online have a very simple look, good website structure.
As any business the needed forms will vary between states, but most likely what you will need will be
• Tax forms: Tax id, state tax id
• Licenses: depends on the business type and what is required by state and federal law.
• Online forms and apps: domain name registration to get your .com name.
• Business forms: it will vary due to the fact; it’s different between individuals, corporations, incorporations, and LLC’s.
After all to start your e-commerce business could be done with ease, if you do your research and studying and have everything ready upon starting.

References
EBOOK COLLECTION: Turban, E., King, D., McKay, J., Marshall, P., Lee, J., & Viehland, D. (2008).
Electronic commerce 2008: A managerial perspective (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Retrieved June 24, 2011