Social media in today's world has become one of the most popular tools used by individuals, companies, groups, families and anyone possible. Sit on a train in Toronto and most people will be on their phone, either on a social media website, checking their newsfeed, reading the news, catching up with current affairs, blogging,interacting and playing games. It has become such a powerful tool that no matter what part of the world an individual will most likely belong to a social media website, be it Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc. There are many social media channels that are use world wide but the most common social media channel used today is Social Network Webistes.
The digital marketer in today's world relies strongly on social networking websites. For instance its a cheaper way to advertise a product, or service especially when you have customers vouching for the product or service. With the use of hash tags and tags, consumers are able to tag their their favourite brand name or company and by doing that give free advertising for the company or brand. A few years ago, my sister had the opportunity to travel to New Orleans and attend the Essence Music Festival. It is one of the biggest events in the African American community. Lots of celebrities attend and a lot of musical performances. Once my sister returned from the festival she posted pictures of her experience at the Essence Music Festival and hashtagged Essence. A few days later, Essence Magazine contact her to ask if it was ok if they use her pictures to advertise the festival. The hashtag gave Essence free advertising and also my sister showcasing how much fun she had it would pull more attendees for the next festival. Brands like Nike, Coca Cola are turning to individuals on Social Media networking websites to advertise their products calling them brand ambassadors since these brand ambassadors show case their products and if the brand ambassador has a lot of followers, the likelihood for the product to gain more customers is greater than relying on other forms of advertising.
There are several disadvantages of Social Media Networking for the marketer, once a several people post negative reviews of a product or a service it can greatly affect their consumer base especially if there are many negative reviews. With websites such as twitter where customers can rant and rave about a topic in 140 characters or less, the wrong feed can send the wrong message into the twittersphere and that can have a wider reach.
During the past recent Canadian elections, most of the politicians turned to social media as a way to campaign and also reach the youth . By doing that the youth were able to get involved in the issues and also be more inclined to vote. Especially the millennials and generation z prefer social media networking websites than watching television its the best way to attract the right crowd.
Social media Networking, is a very powerful tool in today's world, it can be a positive thing especially for companies and individuals. Especially when it comes to advertising a service or product, building a consumer base and maintain a loyal consumer base. But it can also be a negative tool, because it can take one bad review or several to tarnish the image of a brand or an individual. Therefore, once used it can prove to be an excellent tool but when it lands in the wrong hand it can destroy a positive image.
References
www.twitter.com
www.facebook.com
www.essence.com
Stokes, Rob :E-Marketing: The Essential Guide to Marketing in a Digital World. 5th Edition
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