Ethical Issues Involved with Social Media Use in Business

There are many important ethical issues involved in social media use in business. Social media is a very important and efficient way to improve many businesses, but there are ethical issues to consider. This article will discuss the ethical issues involved with social media use in business and how to address these issues.

An ethical issue involved in social media use is credibility, maintaining trust and honesty in marketing and advertising. Social media opens up a world of opportunities in marketing and advertising, but credibility, trust, and honesty must be considered when using social media as this type of tool.

Product Reviews and comments are an easy way for consumers to rate a product, but they can also cause some ethical concerns in any business. Product reviews are also areas where honesty, trust, and credibility can come into play. Product reviews detail how a consumer feels about a product, and they can easily have a positive and negative impact on the popularity of a product. Comments are a common social media tool that allows users to share their thoughts on websites, companies, services, and products.

To maintain trust, honesty, and credibility while using social media several issues must be addressed. Spam, pop-ups, and other deceptive means of marketing and advertising that should be avoided if a company wants to remain credible, honest, and trustworthiness in the eyes of the consumer ( Turban, King, McKay, Marshall, Lee, & Viehland, 2008, Ch 17 ).

Product reviews can have a negative impact on a company, but if these reviews are addressed in a professional, timely and positive manner the negative impact can be lessened and honesty can be built. Comments are a means of feedback and can lead to establish or deter credibility and trust. Comments can be dealt with similar to product reviews with responsive customer service. Response to comments instead of deletion of comments will show respect for the customer, dedication to customer service and improving the company, and honest business practices.

These factors impact the way a company appears to a consumer, and they provide ethical issues to a company. These ethical issues are important to address when social media use is present in a business because it can determine the success of a company. The view of a company, in the eyes of a consumer, can make or break any business or organization.

Reference:

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.