The successfulness and need for social media marketing is heavily debated

The successfulness and need for social media marketing is heavily debated. Some claim that it cannot bring in new customers, that it does not work as well as a marketing person, and can potentially alienate customers. Others claim that it helps build relationships, maintains, and grows the brand, outweighing the negative factors that can occur. This study shows that both sides have legitimate arguments, but if used with care, social media marketing can be valuable, and even necessary, for an organization (Whiting, 2014). “Research shows that in 2014 over 90% of marketers use SMM, 70% of marketers expect increases in social media spending, SMM advertising will reach $4.6 billion, and socially-active small and medium-sized businesses will monetarily sustain or expand their social advertising efforts” (Clark & Melancon, 2013; Oney, 2014; Sass, 2013).