Importance and Benefits Of Social Media
Importance & Benefits Of Social Media Twitter or Facebook… take your pick. How many times in a day do you visit one of these or any of other numerous social networking websites, growing evolving, and dominating our virtual world? You must know at least one (and probably know more than one) person(s) who may be addicted to these websites. It’s actually considered odd not to be addicted to these virtual time black holes. Figures of daily traffic pulled by these sites are enough, for anyone to realize the power and influence that social media commands over inhabitants of our world, both virtual and physical. Social media has evolved from being cyber world geek buzz to a massive platform for businesses, entrepreneurs, professionals and organizations that seek greater recognition and identification at a very economical price. Social media has its claws deeply dug in the cyber world and failing to acknowledge that, and not take advantage of its influential powers, is a crime unforgivable. In today’s fast paced world where nearly every other person you meet is short on time, the importance and advantage of this feature of social media cannot be denied. Following are some of the facts that highlight the importance of social media. Characteristics of Social Media: Discussed below are some of the characteristics that make social media so unique. Social media is easily accessible and it’s also the meeting point of today’s internet savvy audience. Major portion of younger generation, teenagers and middle aged people, are major percentage of the total social media user population. Social media opens possibilities of direct access to clients without any third party intervention. Advertising through social media is pretty cost friendly as compared to costs incurred by print, TV or other traditional media. Social media also helps in search engine optimization and increase in rankings of any company websites. Above characteristics are crucially important for any business in today’s world. Communication level and engagement of clients go to different levels altogether when you are using this medium. Wondering why? Here is an example. Compare a filter promoting new laundry detergent or brand new coffee shop, in your mail box with watching a video of the same promotion in your YouTube account. Which one seems more interesting? Which one tends to gain your attention and consequentially lead you to buy that laundry detergent or visit that coffee house to see what they have to offer? Undoubtedly it is the video. Lifeless flier lying in your mail box can be easily tossed into garbage. Why Does This Occur? The predictability factor is high. How many times have you seen a promotional, even very professionally looking paper, lying in the mail box? When a promotional method becomes predictable for a customer it automatically becomes easy to ignore content associated with it. By presenting something unique and memorable customers will be more likely to give their full attention to the message that is trying to be delivered. Predictable, boring, and mundane methods of presentation send a message to potential customers that there is nothing new or different in the promotion no matter how graphically inviting it may look and feel. A predictable method of marketing is not as attention grabbing as an unpredictable one. Shocking or surprising potential customers is an extremely beneficial strategy as it can hold the attention of even your oldest clients in addition to catching the eye of new prospects. As a marketer a message you may want to deliver to your client base may never be received if the delivery method chosen is not stimulating nor attractive to your target market. Power of Social Media in Today’s Marketplace: Social media with its viral videos, blogs and articles, has more than what could be called a healthy turnover of innovative Ideas that keep customers occupied and continue to grab their attention. It is not strange for women, (men too, of course), to come across attention grabbing blog article on antique jewelry and by the time they reach the end of that article, they have made up their mind to buy it. Conveniently provided in the body of the article or at the end of it or both there is a link to online jewelry store. Mission accomplished! Five minutes of reading something of their interest and customer is ready to purchase. That’s a one-liner, defining the power of social media in today’s marketplace. From global giants like Microsoft, Apple, Amazon all the way down to little restaurants just around the corner and small locally owned businesses are using social media as platform to identify and reach out to their target audiences. More and more e-marketers who are new to the field, are honing their skills to emerge as expert practitioners of social network marketing. The entire advancement is targeted towards achieving social marketing objectives and achieving and improving that promised return on investment (ROI). In this pursuit, marketers are seen researching the medium and monitoring audiences to establish realistic objectives before formulating the strategy and implementing tools for accomplishing those objectives. Social Media Has Been Included In The Curriculum Of Major Business Schools Power and importance of social media in today’s world is such that it has been included in the curriculum of almost any kind of school all over the globe. Singapore is a perfect example of a country who recognizes the importance of technology which is seen in the growing number of universities in Singapore that are integrating studies of Social Media Marketing with their Executive Masters Programs. This transition’s goal is to help students meet the challenges of social media as well as how to benefit from this new medium of marketing and communication. Professionals and business executives who seek to gain a profound understanding of brand management and Internet marketing can learn to leverage the power of social media for their businesses and organizations. Aventis School of Management, which is leading business school in Singapore, offers Professional Graduate Certificate in Social Media Marketing. It is specially designed







