Social Network and Marketing : Whats What and Whats Not!

So, you’re turning to Facebook to grow your business. Fantastic choice! Facebook is the largest social network with over 500 million users. Many people misunderstand social network marketing, and thus try to promote their business outright. The first thing you need to understand is that Facebook is a social network.Today, there is no escaping from the fact the the internet has become a place to hangout and socialize with individuals from all over the world. Social networking websites are actually some of the most visited websites today. Where one jus is not simply following friends, but additionally businesses, and pages set up for fans of almost any group or organization. If you're the manager or owner of a company, you mustn't underestimate the value of social networking sites for marketing.When you understand this concept, social network marketing becomes a little bit easier to understand. Having a fan page for your business is an excellent way to promote your business on Facebook. A fan page is only good if you are able to get fans to like your page. However, not only do you have to get them to like your page, you need to develop a relationship with them. People buy from other people or businesses that they know, like and trust.

Harvard Business School proclaims social media and networking to be the "the most significant business development of 2010."Entrepreneurs may have initially seen social media - most notably MySpace, Twitter and Facebook - as a playground for the younger generations. Yet as the true power of Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook creation began to shape business visibility in the online marketplace, companies had to scramble to make an appearance. Not surprisingly, less tech-savvy businesses were not as adept at presenting themselves to the consumer. As a result, a good many businesses are now built around primarily the aspect of promoting other businesses through social media (and especially mobile social media)applications. Freelance writers, website builders and online marketers have grown a cottage industry around the function of introducing the world to small, midsized and larger businesses alike.

Social Network Marketing: Branding, Promoting, and Building a Fan Base

There are several methods one is able to use this form of marketing to their benefit. Among the simplest methods could be to provide something useful for your followers. For example, if you're associated with the automobile industry, your followers might be people who want to buy or sell a car. If you were to offer advice on how to improve the chances of a quick sale, this could be appreciated widely.One other way of increasing the profile and image of your business would be to embed a variety of how-to videos into your page. Many people now go online in search of such media.

The key is branding yourself and your business. Picture your perfect customer for just a second. What do you have to offer that will help solve a problem for your customer? Why will the customer want to do business with you, then in return recommend your products or services to their friends? These are questions you have to consider when you’re promoting your fan page.

Case Study: Egypt and Tunisia

Mobile devices in conjunction with social media are also credited with influencing national politics. Cases in point are the recent uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. Used to rally demonstrators, Facebook postings, mobile phone images and SMS messaging played a huge role in organizing a thus-far loose-knit regime opposition.Using YouTube to transfer up-to-the minute information about events, protests and government responses to the entire world, 'sanctioned' local media outlets had no possibility to distort what was going on. Not only did social media shift the world's sympathies to be with the protesters, but when sharing pictures of what was happening, it was possible to motivate even the people within the countries to keep going and get even more people involved in the demonstrations. Dispelling various incorrect claims made by the media, it became quickly apparent that the regimes of Tunisia and Egypt had failed, even as official liaisons denied any changes in power.

The Dark Side of Social Media

For all its benefits and the commercial advantages of social media applications, there is a decided downside to the mobility of the experience. For example, teenagers and even adults are spending a large portion of their days engaged in the virtual reality created by social media, which in turn affects school and work results. Who does not know someone who "just had to check their crops" before they wilted on Facebook's widely popular game Farmville?
Even more sinister is the peer pressure on teenagers to do "cool" things to show off, sometimes resulting in accidents, ill-advised meet-ups with predators and of course cyber-bullying by peers. There is a also an emerging culture that leads to a constant self-comparison with other social media users, especially by teenagers, resulting in possible psychological trauma and even depression. After all, it is difficult to not feel rejected if a friend or classmate fails to "like" a comment or suggestion.

What Awaits Us in the Near Future?

Tech boffins are busy making mobile devices faster, smaller and more powerful than ever.The already more commonplace text-to-speech and speech-to-text software -- along with the mind-controlling device and simple headphones -- could even make hand held devices and laptops obsolete. Social media users may just opt to hear tweets/messages via a headphone and then post messages via speech-to-text technology.

Of course, this does precious little when it comes time for harvesting the crops on Farmville...

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