Social media is an extremely hot buzzword in the business world today. However, it is not just a buzzword. According to Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein, social media is "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content." (Kaplan, 2010, p. 53) As this paper will demonstrate, social media has had a tremendous impact on the business world particularly in the areas of marketing and public relations.

Marketing

Social media is revolutionary is that it relies on consumer-to-consumer communications, whereas most marketing operations rely on business-to-consumer communications. (Mangold, 2009, p. 358) Consumer-to-consumer communications are much more natural and comfortable for the average person than listening to a sales pitch or an infomercial. With social media, consumers can learn about a company's product in an informal, interactive, and pressure-free environment.

Another key element that...
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