Social Media as a Marketing Tool

 

The social media is an online platform where you get together, share ideas, exchange information with people all over the world. It is a place to be social. Compared to the social gatherings and evening tea parties, the internet has created a wave of virtual world, which is much preferred by the new generation. It is more convenient in the rat race age, where time is never enough.

 

A dash of History

 

Communication dates back to the earliest signs of life. Various species developed and bonded relationships among themselves and with other creatures through communication. It forms the base of our life. 

 

The early stages of human communications were signs and symbols. We see various examples in historical artifacts and discoveries. They are spread through various forms like pictograms, petro glyphs, ideograms and hieroglyphs. With the advancement in brain structure, came speech. A mutation of the FOXP2 gene, which occurred in humans about 200,000 years ago, was likely responsible for this change.

 

Speech facilitated the creation of exchanging information, forming theories and belief system and creating conditions for the growth of our environment. With further brain development humans invented writing. Further across the communication timelines, we see development of telephones, mobile phones, the World Wide Web and so no. The latest human invention is the social media, which connects people from all over the world. But what is social media exactly and how is it used in marketing business?

 

Social Media

 

One of the biggest strength of social media is connectivity. There are several platforms which promotes the social media networking. Some of the popular social media sites are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Tumbler and many more. From the year 2006, social media took the world by storm. This has been the most visited human interaction platforms after porn sites.

 

Social media sites are extensively used for connectivity. In earlier times, you would wait for letters from your friends and relatives to know how they were or what was going on in their lives. With the commencement of social media, you can now have your own private network of friends and family. With just a few clicks you can upload photos, share life experiences, talk to your friends and participate in group discussions. Media platforms like Facebook are the most popular. You can connect on a daily basis to a friend or family member living on the other side of the world.

 

Other platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Skype lets you video call any person on real time. Someone sitting in India can call their friend in Norway and see the Northern Lights together! If this is not development, what is! 10 years back no one even could think of it.

 

 

 

Social Media Marketing

 

Having said this, we can all see that the world is nothing but one giant family, thanks to our social media. This can be a huge advantage in marketing. If you want to promote your product or business, you can have the whole world at your fingertips; literally. Social media gives abundance of marketing opportunities. An ample number of audiences and customers can be reached as opposed to the traditional methods of TV advertising or paper advertising.

 

Just like Hollywood, social media has its own media stars with huge fan followers. They impact consumers in respect to their purchasing power, opinions and popularizing a concept or a product. The biggest trick in a social media influencer is humanization of a brand or a product. The moment an influencer recommends a brand over the media, their numerous followers takes them into consideration, uses them and often becomes loyal to the brand. It is said that 53% Americans who follow brands on social media are more to them than those who do not. The entire relationship is based on trust and feelings. Social media has the power to humanize any concept, so that it is more reachable to the customers. China is currently the top country to use social media influencer.

 

Social media helps in spreading awareness. Whether it is a good product or a bad restaurant, you get to know. Consumers nowadays are much more educated and aware of the products and brands available in the market. This gives a challenge to all business owners to improve their quality and maintain standards.

 

Another magic trick that of social media marketing that boosts sales is live interaction. Eric Ho, a well known speaker and light worker had held a live 3 Day Manifestation Challenge in the month of June. It was estimated that over 15K all over the world took part in the challenge and over 35K took part in the live mediation sessions. At the end of this challenge Eric Ho sold all of his Power Bracelets. 75% of the participants also bought the paid membership of Eric Ho’s Inner Circle. So, it is quite indicative how just 3 day live interactions can boost sales and promotion. Studies have shown that social media marketing have 67% more lead-to-close rate than outbound marketing.

 

With better SEO tools applied in marketing, marketers also spent less finance on social media. It is therefore budget friendly and can be done by startups or businesses with low investments. The Pareto Principle states that social media can generate 80% growth with just 20% input. According to a research done by Hubspot, one hour of social media marketing creates enough traffic so that you start seeing results in a week. Even paid advertising by Facebook and Twitter is relatively cheap.

 

 

Thus social media provides a long term and sustainable profits to marketers. From free media campaigns to paid adverts, you start seeing the fruit of your effort much sooner as compared to traditional marketing. If social media marketing is done right, you might be surprised as to how much it is to your advantage. It is a platform, where luck can be manufactured; reviews can touch the sky, videos can go viral and your product can be the next best thing in the market!

 

If you enjoy reading this, please look into my other posts on social media here and here.

Thank You!