Semarang – The Doctoral Management Program at Universitas Dian Nuswantoro once again hosted a public lecture, with the topic being ‘The Utilization of Social Media to Improve Businesses.’ The lecture was held online using the Zoom Meeting platform on Saturday, September 14th, 2024.

The public lecture was opened by Prof. Dr. Amron., SE., M.M., who informed the importance of understanding the role of digital media in rolling the business wheel in the current era of technology. According to him, in the current age of technological advancements, students must understand how digital media works.

“Particularly social media, as it is the most effective way to success in one’s business. Hopefully, this public lecture will allow students of the Doctoral Management Program to get information and knowledge to be used in the future,” he explained.

The public lecture featured Prof. Dr. Pulung Nurtantio Andono, ST., M.Kom., the Vice Chancellor IV at Udinus, as the main speaker. As stated by Prof. Amron, Prof. Pulung discussed the importance of social media in developing a business at the public lecture.

“Social media currently has a relatively significant impact on consumers’ attitudes. Social media platforms in general also allow manufacturers to directly interact with consumers through feedback to evaluate,” Prof. Pulung explained.

He added that consumption patterns among the public were heavily influenced by social media. In this day and age, customers tend to purchase by seeing reviews from other users, testimonies, and content associated with the product.

“Buying decision is not only based on formal advertisement but also content uploaded by other customers. Testimonies from other users hold a powerful impact in creating a perception of an individual toward certain products,” said the professor majoring in computer science.

Furthermore, Prof. Pulung explained that customers’ expectations of marketing also saw an increase as social media platforms began to develop. Customers want marketing relevant to their necessity as individuals with different preferences.

“Personal marketing is more favored as it delves into customers in a new depth and aligns with customers’ necessity,” he added.

Prof. Pulung highlighted several benefits of using social media to strategize business marketing. One of the most apparent ones is the increase in brand awareness. With a brand’s presence in various social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, a brand will be able to reach a wider audience and keep appearing on its social media account.

“Brand awareness is an initial step to make your brand grow in popularity. Social media platforms allow businesses or brands to keep being present before their customers in their social media accounts,” Prof. Pulung uttered.

In addition, social media also plays a bigger role in improving customer engagement or involvement. The involvement can be comments, reviews, and content sharing. This will allow customers to be more informed about the brand.

“Setting up social media platforms helps businesses communicate with their customers both in terms of feedback or providing a better service,” he added.

Another benefit of using social media platforms as a means of marketing is cost efficiency. With paid promotion features, the brand can target its audience specifically per the demography, interest, and customers’ attitudes. This allows businesses to effectively reduce promotion costs.

“Advertisements on social media can also be adjusted to only be seen by a select few people who happen to be your target market. By doing so, the promotion budget can be more efficiently spent,” he explained.

Prof. Pulung provided several examples of how even a small business could utilize social media platforms effectively to expand its marketing reach. One of which is a business in the form of a coffee shop, relying on online marketing using social media.

 “By using social media, their activity does not only encompass selling products but also directly interacting with their customers, responding to their questions, providing information concerning their fast and precise services,” he concluded. (Humas Udinus/Alex. Foto: Humas Udinus)