Archive for April, 2011

Social Media is Not a Fad!

When sites such as MySpace and Facebook appeared on the internet, many people believed they wouldn’t last – that these would be flash-in-the-pan sites have, in fact, continued on well after the time frame people believed they would fade away.  Instead, social media has gone in the opposite direction and grown into a global force, connecting millions of people across continents, creating impressive marketing outlets for numerous businesses, and much more.

 

A quick but effective example of social media being here to stay is Twitter.  Once people caught on, thousands jumped on the Twitter bandwagon—and not just people looking for something fun to do.  Businesses, star personalities, and even big news stations started broadcasting to all that they were now available on Twitter.  Once again, a social media outlet that was thought to be nothing more than a useless site has stayed strong and continues to grow.

 

It is important to realize that these sites are not going to go away anytime soon.  The quicker a business or individual is able to make use of social media sites, the better off they will be in the long run.  Social media isn’t just about advertising and marketing.  It’s about making connections and drawing others in.  The core purpose of social media was, and still is, about engaging with other people.  Where this was done in the past with salespeople and telephones, it can now be done online.  Social media can be a useful tool when wielded the right way, and the returns can be extremely rewarding.

 

One of the most important parts about social media is that people and brands no longer have to make a huge effort to reach out to people.  With the advent of slim laptops, Blackberries, iPhones, Droids, iPads, and even e-readers like Kindle and Nook, people are carrying their access to social media around everywhere they go.  When the Nook Color appeared on the scene, even its early version came with a specific Facebook application so people can quickly hook up to their favorite social media site.  The goal for businesses and individuals now is to market themselves across the net through blogs, podcasts, tweets, ads, and emails.

 

This is the era of social media, make no mistake about it.  Even if sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter do eventually fade away, there is no doubt that other, possibly even more innovative websites will replace them.  As technology grows and changes, so will social media and the methods we use to reach out to one another.  Whether a person Friends their favorite shampoo label or tweets about the their new favorite restaurant, the simple fact is that the messages are getting out there and somewhere along the line, someone is going to read them.  At present, the challenge is being heard over so many other pokes and tweets by companies and individuals alike.  However, that makes it all the more important to keep an eye out for the newest and hottest form of social media because these days, when a cool new site hits the net, it hits hard.

 

Posted by admin on April 25th, 2011 | Email | Print |