Social Media - Changing the way communities interact
Social media can be defined as an emergent trend of sharing information, ideas and values on the internet by groups of like-minded people bonded together by their commonalities like their profession or schooling or clan or religion, etc. Social media sites are becoming ever more popular these days, where people get together to bounce off ideas or information or simply rave and rant about their lives or the society in general. It has become a social forum for people to communicate. In fact, this trend of social media has created an entire community of those who love to interact through this media with people across the world.Dec 05, 2007
These interactions range from frivolous to serious and are now becoming increasingly accepted with every class of individuals across the society. Be it professionals, students, artists, social workers or housewives, all have their own e-community to explore, mingle and interact with. Individuals within the community or group vote and comment on the content and information in the social site and in this way keep the content focused and directed at the core issue. It is a simple way of giving the control on information back into the hands of the public because it is they who control and monitor the content in these sites.
Because the content is user controlled, it is more authentic and is unique in its perspective and of course, relevant to the social group at hand. In fact, the content on these sites has a profound impact on the community and how it reacts to the information given. With an ever increasing base of social media, it is becoming a potent platform for interaction between like minded individuals in bringing about a social change.
Although social media is quintessentially personal in nature it has an impact on the community and the society as well. The individual provides personal information and ideas, but the entire community reacts or responds to it thus, creating a social media personality. It gives an insight into who you are and what you are like? This information is vital for social marketers who view these sites; with their huge bank of databases, as an important platform for social change and exchange!
Marketing as we all know is a process of influencing a customer to buy a certain product and also recommend it to others. Social media provides an excellent opportunity to marketers to influence their potential customers through these social sites by promoting their products. Not merely through influencing the group; these sites also give a chance to the marketer to get real feedback from customers about their products. Apart from being a great place to advertise, it is also a great way to get to know your target audience. It allows a marketer to reach their specific customers and get vital feedback on the product and the customer response to it. The responses are personal, honest and unbiased. This has given rise to the concept of NICHE marketing where a selected group of customers are targeted and strategies are made to profit from them!
Social media is a treasure trove for any marketer because it is a storehouse of critical information. Its huge database allows the marketer to understand and know its customer and allows it to serve it in a better manner. There is now a real face to the customer it is trying to influence. There is now real information too. Information that is unprejudiced and honest, based on real opinions and is not a advertiser's ploy! The influence that these social media sites have on the individual and on the society are immense and it will soon become the best mode fro anyone wanting their voice to be heard, not only in there locality and city, but across nations and around the globe. Social media is going to have a greater influence on society than any other media so far.
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