Understanding Social Media, the two main user types, the Mobile-Social world and Influencers.

The future of marketing

There are two main users of Social Media, individuals who build and fuel the network, and businesses who want to utilise it to increase sales.
In this new digital age of online connection, users that build and fuel the network range from every day users to those that have created huge online followings around themselves and the content that they create, achieving online celebrity status sometimes overnight! (These individuals generally have something of value to offer and that is why they are so successful in gaining their following).

For Businesses the world is moving away from traditional advertising like TV and Radio. These are still valid forms of marketing and have their place, but these days there is a far better ROI in the use of Social Media Marketing. Not only are more users than ever present on these platforms but these Social Media platforms have huge amounts of user data which means that marketing can be targeted like never before!

Social Media is the place to be!

A Mobile Social world

I still remember dial up internet, but those days are long gone! We are living in a world where smart phones are becoming increasingly powerful and we are all carrying incredibly complicated and advanced computers in our pockets wherever we go. These phones are effectively another world and smartphones are all connected via the internet and the majority feature wireless internet. This means that we can consume content wherever and whenever we want. The perception of teens spending their lives starting at their phones is changing, evidenced by the biggest growing demographic of users on Facebook being adults, it’s the older generations that are using them as well! With engaging content constantly at your fingertips, it’s no wonder Social Media is so popular!

What is it?

Social Media platforms are interactive websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking. They function as a sharing platform between users that create content and recommend content to one another. As platforms have developed users expect more and as a result the type and quality of content has evolved over time.

Social Media is important

For the marketers among us that say that social media isn’t important….
People define their own point of view on how communication should be done. There are articles about why the telephone would destroy society because we were going to stop writing notes to each other. People always judge the next generations version of how they communicate. Social Media has show again and again how powerful it is and how it is here to stay. So this is the medium that companies need to take advantage of to stay relevant.
Many industries could argue that there is no point in going down the social route. The usual reasoning is that they fail to see its relevancy and they don’t believe they will see a positive ROI on it. However with the variety of platforms out there and with attention to specific details of the platforms, the majority of businesses could benefit from its use if they understood the platform and used it properly.

Evolution of use

Platforms in general remain unchanged, however it’s the way that people use them that results in the evolution of their use. When social media was a new concept, businesses would spam posts in groups, make pages to regurgitate boring ads that weren’t suited to the platform and then saw it as a waste of time and a bad investment because no one interacted with it. The internet has opened up the availability of information and it has meant that industries need to compete for your attention because now users can choose what they want to see! So marketers need to be smart.

From a user perspective social media is also changing, for a while Facebook status’s were the thing of the moment, but recently content creation has gone from text, to picture and now to video. Again content is available all over the place and usually in high quality. Companies need to work out how to get in front of the customer with the most engaging content and in a form that customers want to access.

There are two methods to get infront of users on Social Media, 1. Grow a following for the company through creating engaging content, or 2. Utilise Social Media Influencers.

You can achieve these by 1. Post great content native to the context of the platform, within the context of your brand, with the optimised reach, in order to gain the highest total engagement and cultivate a following. Or 2. Get involved with Social Media Influencers so you can gain attention by partnering with individuals who have created communities around themselves.

Where the two users meet!

As previously mentioned there are two main users to social media, individuals who build and fuel the network, and businesses who want to utilise this. Individuals that are successful in fuelling the network and have achieved fame doing this are very attractive for marketers.

It is well known that word-of-mouth is one of the most valuable forms of marketing. In the new world of digital relationships due to social media, word of mouth extends well beyond recommendations from friends and family into the realm of influencers. Customers are much more likely to be receptive to recommendations from a person they respect and trust compared to adverts and other forms of corporate messaging.

Celebrity endorsements were the original form of influencer marketing, however as social media levels the playing field, it is easier for individuals to become famous on these platforms. Social media influencers are a new breed of celebrity who have gained fame via the internet and is someone who is able to wield influence through its use.

So overall

Marketers need to be where the attention is… either through creating great content native to the context of the platform, within the context of your brand, with the optimised reach, in order to gain the highest total engagement to grow a following. Or utilise Social Media Influencers.