Real Impact of Social Media

What is social media marketing?

We, Humans, are essentially social animals. Communication and interaction are vital for Human society. Social media marketing is a phenomenon and this is a medium that no marketing organization can afford to ignore or be absent from. Look at any individual’s lifestyle today. Most often you will find people spending over two to three hours every evening on the internet chatting with friends and communicating with likeminded people. People of all ages tend to find social networking sites that deal with the subject of their interest and follow the conversations happening there. Internet being a global phenomenon, you will find people from all over the world coming together to talk and share information about their particular topic of interest. It had never been easier than this to make friends and socializing over the internet.

When we talk of social networking we are not just referring to the chatting and other blogs and forums where people discuss certain topics. We seem to be using social media for sharing videos, movies, music, photos and all of the information that one would want to share. Millions of viewers log into YouTube to view the latest movies, clippings, etc. every minute. Similarly, millions are logging into facebook searching for friends online and sharing information about self with friends all the time. 

People will always love to socialize and interact with one another. Internet technology has changed the way people communicate in the last few years. Gone are the days when we use to write a letter or make a telephone call to speak to a friend or relative. Today technology enables one to be in touch with friends and family across the globe instantaneously. I don’t know a single person who would say that they didn’t enjoy receiving a letter through the post. There’s something very special about knowing that someone has taken time to write a letter to you. It feels so much more personal to receive just one letter from someone than to receive numerous texts every week.

With the captive audience being available, marketing companies can reach out to prospective customers and help build an opinion about their products and services as well as initiate a discussion about their products with the help of those who are interested as well as those who have been customers of the company. Marketers can learn a lot and get real feedback about their product and experiences from the customers online and besides initiate interest in others who are watching and following the topic.

Social Media Network and the different channels have caught on the fancy of young and adults alike and this phenomenon has spread all over the globe. Every minute there are thousands of people logging into the internet and engaging in a conversation using one or the other channels of online communication. Similarly, there are millions of users of social media networks in one form or the other. To a marketing professional or company, this can only mean one thing, that even if half of them were to be interested in their product, they have a huge business opportunity on hand.

Businesses are held to a higher standard of quality on social media than individuals are. Your hotel doesn’t have baby photos for relatives to gush over, no one used to date your hotel and wants to keep tabs on what you’re up to, and none of your followers have signed on to stay on top of your weekend antics. The business-to-customer relationship is not why people sign up for social media accounts, but it can work.

The three things to focus on when making this call are quality, shared values, and utility for the customer.

In more detail those mean:

Social Media Marketing is the latest game in marketing. Whether you have a product or a service to market, you have no option but to be present in various social media channels for this is where your existing and prospective customers are. More importantly, your customers are talking and sharing their ideas, experiences, and information that includes a reference to your products and services too.

Social media is such a fickle thing. We are drawn to it like moths to a flame — and often we get burned by it just the same. And let's face it, it has become a time suck. I'm not one to shy away from controversial topics, and I have never "hidden" anyone on social media even if their stance on a particular topic didn't align with my own, but I will admit that the level of negativity coming at me on social media began to feel overwhelming. Even people with whom I agreed on various positions were slinging mud so hard in their posts that I felt dirty just reading them.

This may seem obvious, but the next 2 paras will really hit home, and will immediately set out to change the way you will use social media. Do this in two ways. First, begin to hide and unfollow groups and accounts that were not adding something positive to your life.  Continue to follow people whose opinions on various topics differ from your own. But remember when these folks post about controversial issues, they do so respectfully, and the conversation that follows is usually equally interesting, open-minded and civil.

The second way is to limit your interaction on social media unless you have something to say. A study found that passive use of social media has a detrimental effect on mood, whereas active use — sharing thoughts and commenting on others' posts — improved mood. In other words, mindless scrolling through my feed was likely bumming me out. But sharing pics and links and commenting on my friends' posts made my interactions more positive.