The
term social media refers to the medium on the internet through which different
individuals interact with each other, share information and form groups. It is
defined by the website Wikipedia as “the means of communications among people
in which they create, share, and exchange ideas and information to virtual
communities and networks.” The same website also talks about the famous theory
by Kaplan and Haenlein in their famous article “Business Horizons” which classifies
social media into six types as follows:
- Collaborative
projects (e.g.:- Wikipedia)
- Content communities (e.g.:- You Tube)
- Virtual worlds (Handipoints)
- Social Networking web sites (e.g.:- Google+, Facebook)
- Blogs and micro blogs (e.g.:- Tumblr, Friendfeed)
- Virtual
gaming worlds
Apart
from strengthening relationships and simplifying modes of interaction between
individuals, Social Media has changed ever before the way business is done. It
opened a lot of avenues for small businesses to find their clientele by
advertising their products and services to people in different parts of the
world.
Global recognition: Many businesses that were limited to their respective
regions expanded to farther geographical locations owing to it. It helps
building not only personal relationships, but also long-lasting and business
associations that will be mutually advantageous for either side. In today’s
competitive world, where having business contacts is a must to stay afloat in
the market, the social media offers you the easiest way to build your
professional network.
Affordability: Another great aspect of
it is that it comes mostly at free-of-cost. This allows you host your business profile;
in addition to it you can also advertise it in an inexpensive manner. Add pictures
of the products you offer and write fascinating content about your business to attract
interest of your customers and website visitors.
Viral promotion: Once your brand gets clicked, it will go viral on the social
networking web sites. Upload the videos of your products on You Tube and other
video networking sites. With these sites, you can also keep in touch with your
loyal customers.
Social Media Marketing: Another benefit that your
business can get from social media is– there exists several internet marketing
strategies to take advantage of social networking sites. For example, social
media marketing is an online marketing strategy where you advertise your
products with no cost or on a paid basis like Facebook. Upload good pictures
and videos of your products and combine them with content to get more exposure.
This way, your business gets free advertising through word-of-the-mouth.
Researching product penetration: Gone are the days, when
an organisation has to conduct a survey to determine the penetration of its
products into its customers. Today, one can get a fair idea about their brand
by looking at the number of “likes” and comments of their products on Facebook.
Professional benefits: Several social media web
sites like LinkedIn help you to expose your professional skills and relevant
experience in a particular field. These sites contribute to a large extent for
the professional growth through interacting with other professionals and
updating yourself.
Overall,
social media has revolutionised business in all the aspects.
Author bio:
I am Maria from Bristol. Writing is my passion, I love gathering recent
information in tech gadgets and SEO news. Presently, I am researching on PPIhow to claim. Reach me @ppiclaimsmaria
