8 Areas Where Social Media Changed The World

“Why do I need social media?” It’s a question I often get asked by traditional marketing managers and entrepreneurs of small businesses with small budgets. Social media is often so deeply embedded in our personal lives that we hardly ever stop to think of the reason(s) we are using it.  This blog post, written by one of our Digital Marketing Fundamentals course lecturers,  examines the 8 areas where social media changed the world:

1. Education

We’re not implying that you should base your entire education on what you learn from Twitter chats and Wikipedia. The internet is a vast source of knowledge and information and it should be used wisely. From being able to simply email an assignment to your teacher to creating group of documents and presentations to be shared online to professors using social media to communicate, answer questions and start discussions, social media has proven to be an extremely useful tool in education systems across the world.

2. Freedom of Speech

John Stuart Mill once said, “One person with a belief is equal to the force of 100,000 who have only interests”. Social media is being used by people to express themselves and their views every day. Whether it is via Facebook statuses, wall posts, Twitter updates or photo shares, each social media post is an extension of you and your personality. They communicate your interests, allow you to be creative and even offer you an audience that is willing and ready to listen.

3. News

Social Media beats traditional news in reporting the event.  After an earthquake hit Eastern Canada in June, 2010, the first tweet was posted on Twitter within seconds of the tremors. 65,000 mentions followed within the first hour.  Take a look at the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. The competition would not have been made possible without the advent of social media.

4. Keep Tabs (Personal Life)

Think of social media as your personal RSS feed on your friends and acquaintances.  If you want to keep up with the competition, keep up with your friends or get up-to-date content from your favourite publication, social media is gold. The problem is volume and it becomes a function of luck when you want to see the most important information and are following 1000+ people.

5. Careers

Social Media, especially LinkedIn, enables users to build digital resumes and connect with other users with the purpose of sharing the information with them.  LinkedIn is different from other social networking sites in that it defines a user’s profile by its work history rather than personal details. When viewed by employers, a profile (i.e., digital resume) gives them insight into your capabilities and your strengths as a candidate. You can create a somewhat similar digital resume on Google+ and Facebook.

6. Sales

Social media is commonly used to generate leads and a term for that is Social Lead Generation. Over 58% of marketers who have been using social media for 3 years or more have been able to boost their sales. On average, you would need to spend 4-6 hours a week on each platform your customers are on. Before you boost your social media lead generation, it is essential to make sure you’ve established yourself as an authority in your field through your website, blog and eNewsletter, as well as your business practices.

7. Customer Service

Customer service is evolving to meet the growth and demands of consumers and today’s social media channels provide a perfect opportunity to capitalize on that trend. There are a number of reasons why businesses do their customer service on social media: 1) communication is immediate; 2) consumers get a more personal brand experience; 3) it promotes transparency; 4) follow-up is easy.

8. Branding

Social media allows you to amplify your brand, whilst keeping your expenses in check. To do that, we recommend that you empower your staff to share your initiates with their networks to amplify your message more efficiently and quickly. Other ways you can get more exposure is to post regularly and frequently, follow as many people as possible, engage in conversations and be relevant without being pushy at the same time.

Are you convinced and ready to implement social media for your business? Sign up your office for corporate training here. DMAC also offers Digital Marketing and Social Media Marketing certification courses to professionals who are interested in advancing their careers in the fields. Click here to learn more about course offerings.