Wow. That’s all I had to say after watching that video. Social media as we continue to see is expanding everything, most especially the way businesses operate. One of the most intriguing ways that social media is stimulating change is through connection. Social media enables any one, from anywhere, to connect with anyone, any cause, or any business with no barriers. All it takes is the simple click on a screen. But what people fail to really take time to understand is the importance social media, more specifically these connections, and how it can affect and advance business.
- Previous parts to this analysis have explored this notion already, but I would be amiss not to mention that social media enables businesses to communicate with their target audience(s).
The benefits of businesses using social media as a tool to communicate with members of their target audience(s) are endless. It continues to build the brand in various ways. One being that it establishes a great deal of open communication between the business and the target audience(s). Furthermore, more often than not, open communication leads to the development of trust and a stronger relationship between the two parties. Not to mention, social media allows businesses to get to know their target audiences better. There is no greater way to decide what you target audience responds to most than to flat out as them. The importance of the audience will be reinforced through the business engaging with them via social media, as well as it provides the audience members a platform to continue branding with in their social networks, enter my next point…
- Target audience members have the ability to extend their relationship with a business outward within their social network communities. This means that if “Jane” is pinning information from her favorite make-up brand on her Pinterest page that her followers on Pinterest will more be more inclined to take notice of what she is posting and potentially post it on-ward and out-ward into her social network community. Think domino or butterfly effect. Bottom line: connections have the power to extend businesses infinitely.
The potential that hangs on that notion should shake businesses into social media action! The continuous sharing of information on all social media websites only increases the likelihood that the businesses content will reach more users as a result of sharing, forward, and retweeting information.
- There is also another incredibly important aspect that businesses utilizing social media should be aware of and which is that social media has the power to connect business to business or business to other causes. The power of one is good, but the power of two is just great. Linking initiatives, causes or business can be beneficial for revenue, understandably, but uniting causes, businesses or initiatives on social media can pack a might power.
Jeep and Burger King teamed up and audiences loved this tweet. This is just one example of how businesses connect with one another and begin to build a unified front both within business relations, social media presences, and within their target audiences. Plus, it usually results in greater collaboration, brainstorming and internal business operations. However, most often I see Facebook being used as the primary channel in which businesses collaborate via social media, especially in regard to events. Facebook, unlike many of the other social media channels, provides users an opportunity to plan events where they can monitor the number of attendees, communicate details clearly, and plan ahead- not to mention, it’s free to use! Facebook is also a great way for individuals to introduce causes, events, etc. again into their established personal networks. Thus resulting in an increase in followers of said cause, exposure for the business/cause, and ongoing sharing with more people in more networks.
The bottom line is that social media connects everyone endlessly. The implications that this has for a business are also limitless, however businesses must be strategic in how they go about creating, sharing, maintaining and analyzing content.
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