“Tag me on Facebook”. “Follow me on Twitter”. “Like my photo on Instagram”. “Reblog my post”. “Subscribe to my YouTube channel”. “Repin my photo on Pinterest”.
You’ve surely heard of the phrases above. And, most likely, you’ve heard of the loosely used term Social Media. Originally, it referred to the series of “conversations” that people have online. Now, it encompasses more than just conversations, it includes almost every online activity in existence—bookmarking, networking, sharing, posting, uploading, tagging, commenting, chatting, blogging, etc.
In fact, their membership alone should be enough to tell you that social media has indeed risen to new heights. Facebook, for example, has amassed over 900+ million members, with prospects to reach 1 billion registered users before this year ends. Twitter, not to be forgotten, has over 500+ million members, making it the second largest social network. Pinterest, Instagram, Google+, and LinkedIn are also rising to the top of the social media ladder.
Here are further statistics to convince you…
• Over a million websites have integrated with Facebook
• 34% of online marketers have generated leads using Twitter
• Over 5 million photos are uploaded each hour on Instagram
• 80% of users prefer to connect with brands via Facebook
• About 625,000 people join Google+ each day
• Sites that use the +1 button increase their Page traffic by 350%
• 78% of businesses are using Twitter, 75% on Facebook, 30% on LinkedIn
• 50% of interaction with customers happens on Twitter, 47% on Facebook, and 3% with other social networks.
If these figures aren’t enough to convince you of the merits of social media, then perhaps these explanations will…
There’s no power like “Word of Mouth”
Let’s not skirt around the issue—social media is changing the world as we know it. Before, all we knew was how to take pictures, how to dial a number over the phone, and how to send someone a letter from another continent.
Today, communication happens in the blink of an eye. You can send someone a message or a text via chatrooms and mobile apps. You can call someone from a different time zone and talk to them for hours. You can tag someone on your photos, share albums, create descriptions, like, or retweet people you’ve never even met, and, yes, even stalk someone online.
These are just some of the good and bad implications of using the Internet. But the great thing about it is its effectiveness in “spreading a buzz”.
If you have a new line of products, tweet about it. If your company hosted an important event, upload an album on Facebook or write a blog entry. If your e-commerce site is sporting a new navigation feature, invite your Fans to check it out.
Social media encourages what I like to call “healthy gossip”. At first, only 5 people are aware of the issue, then it becomes 30, and the next thing you know, your post has gone viral.
And, obviously, if your business is highly visible in cyberspace, it means only one thing—sales.
It takes two to tango
Or, in the case of social media, it takes millions to tango. Let me explain…
There is absolutely no harm in advertising your brand using conventional non-Internet methods, like TV broadcasts, posters, radio shows, and even product launching events. Despite the effectiveness of these marketing strategies, the interaction flows only from a single direction—yours.
This is where Social Media comes in
Comments, feedback, likes, dislikes, even lash-outs; you’ll get all kinds of reactions from your audience when you use social networks, like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+, for your marketing campaigns. The more responses you get, the better chance your social media profiles have of being noticed. And even if it is getting negative feedback, as long as you know how to interact professionally with your audience, i.e. be a sport when there are “negative” comments, you will soon reap the benefits of having an active social media presence.
Final thoughts
So is social media really effective in attracting attention for your business brand?
Definitely.
And will it still be effective in the coming months?
Absolutely.
Everything posted, shared, or talked about online is found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, etc. So if you want to get updates on the latest, and BE the latest BUZZ online, then social media is the place to be.
About the Author:
Jonny Lis is a Digital Marketing Specialist at Smart Traffic, which is a private company based in Bristol offering SEO services in Australia, in the UK, and in other countries. He oversees SEO strategies for Smart Traffic’s 300+ campaigns.