Social Media
What is social media?
I view social media as a natural progression of people on the internet, most of us are sociable in the real world, whether it be talking to work colleagues, updating the family on what we’ve been doing, showing our friends pictures of the fantastic two weeks we’ve had in the Caribbean etc. These are all things that have always come naturally to human beings in the real world and now they are all things that are starting to come naturally to us online. But why do people choose to spend their time online when socially historically has always been done in the reality? ease of use, no longer do you have to arrange for all of your friends to come over and then set up a slideshow to prove how beautiful your honeymoon was, instead you can take 5 minutes to upload the pictures and your away, now anybody that you would like to share your photographs with has instant access.
As with any community that houses a number of people each exchanging ideas and recommendations, there’ s business available if you know where to look. The buzz that you can create online using social media technology can draw parallels to ‘word of mouth’ in the real world, there is a difference though, whereas tens, hundreds or if you very lucky, thousands of people can be introduced to your company through word of mouth, the correct use of social media can potentially open up a gold mine of millions of untapped minds waiting to be told all about you, your company and how you can make their lives better. You can target people who’s interests fit in exactly with your product, or plant the first seeds of purchase in their minds with a short, unassuming message to an unwitting recipient, you can show them a video demonstrating what they could achieve if they only had your product, or you could ‘educate’ someone who perhaps doesn’t know any better . With all these possibiliies and more is it any wonder that the last 2-3 years have seen an explosion of social media unparalleled in any other business area?
Oh, did I mention that social media is for the most part free?
So without any further ado lets get introduced to the ‘usual suspects’ and find out how they can help us and our businesses