The original intention of social media was for connections. It was a new form of communication. We’ve been searching for innovative ways to communicate since we started developing languages in the first place.
Now, the Internet has become a way of life. Not only can you talk to someone else whenever you want, but you can also order food, clothing, furniture, schedule doctors’ appointments, flirt with singles, binge-watch entire series, and so much more. Part of our communicable world involves talking to the person next to you, but now, there’s more of a focus on talking to people all across the world.
National communication first started with messengers that would carry important information physically or verbally, on foot or horseback. Eventually, a mail system started forming, and radio and telegraph systems led the way into phones. Now, we can open a small box we grabbed from our pockets and send crucial messages within seconds. And you can go online and chat with someone from a different part of the country.
Most of the time, we still use our personal social media to reach out to just our family and close friends. But knowing we have an option to reach out further can be very powerful.
The communication barrier even seems lessened by the Internet as well. Memes are a common way that people can interact and relate to each other without having to know each other’s native languages. Those that do speak different languages that want to talk can use online translators with ease as well.
The purpose of social media, in the beginning, was communication. The purpose of it now is still communication. News channels communicate the breaking stories. Celebrities communicate their actions and feelings. Most importantly, brands can communicate their messages and reach the clients, customers, and users that they have been wanting.
People still use these phones for important purposes such as communication. But now, the whole time they’re on their phone, they’re also bombarded with advertisements and messages from companies that want them to buy into their products. Marketing is more accessible than ever before, but it’s also a bit challenging to go about it in a successful way. Because we can’t look anywhere without being sold something, our brains are getting better at shutting certain things out.
When the commercials start playing on Hulu, you can mute and pull your phone out. If an ad is playing on Snapchat or Instagram stories, you’re trained to swipe right away. As marketers, we have to look at how we ignore ads ourselves and put an emphasis on the ones that grab our attention. What is it about them that’s able to make us want to buy something without even prompting the ad to sell us that thing in the first place? As you create your ads, ask yourself, how do I make this ad stand out from the rest?
Still, the best kind of advertisement and marketing has always been word of mouth and now we are able to do that online, sometimes even for free. Simply “liking” a movie on Facebook lets your friends know that you give that movie a positive recommendation.
Rather than having to invite a friend to your favorite brunch spot, you can simply follow their page on Instagram and let all your followers see that it’s a place you like and that they should go there. “Word of mouth” has transformed in a way that social media marketers can take more active control. Not only will word of mouth be dependent on having a good product in the first place, but you’ll also need to make sure that your content is something shareable that people enjoy following as well.