Social Media: Hop on the train or get left in the dust

As young adults, social media has become prevalent within our society. Our generation has not only become familiar with social media sites (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube), but we have developed a passion for them. In Paul Gillin's book, Secrets of Social Media Marketing, he states that the average young adult checks their Facebook 18 times within their day-to-day activity. This allows us to become an asset to marketing teams’ nationwide because of our common knowledge with this new trend of marketing. On that note, by the time we are reaching our mid-thirties, what will college graduates at the time have an expertise in that makes our knowledge of social media look like a type writer in an un-air-conditioned press shop.

For most businesses, they reference to social media as a way to supercharge their marketing efforts. Not only are these techniques cost efficient, but they also allow the business to increase their ability to relate to the consumer on a more personal basis. While watching the movie, Social Media, I was amazed at the rapid growth that was formed within communities on the websites.

As far as the debate weather social media is permanent-vs.- a fad, it is hard to determine because of the increase of innovation throughout the past 20 years. I by no means believe that social media will ever become non-existent, rather than the strength of technology and new innovations will allow for new outlets and application within social media.

As a child growing up, the newest trend of communication was MSN instant messenger and AOL instant messenger. Less than 10 years later, Facebook has formed including an instant messenger application allowing users to instantly chat with other users. Businesses have also including this feature within their company websites allowing customers to have an instant chat with a customer service representative instead of the hassle of an hour and a half wait on the phone just to explain your confusion with a hard to comprehend and insensitive representative. This hassle and frustration could instantly change the consumers’ mind of purchasing your product then or in the future. By providing this convenience, you can improve your brand image by perfecting the answer before actually submitting it to the customer, allowing for less harsh

I am intrigued to see the continuance of social media along with the new innovations that will come along. In this techno-focused world, it is our responsibility to stay on board with the consumer by becoming a relatable source allowing them the ease of shopping, researching, and communicating with your business. We should focus on staying turbo-charged in order to reach buyers directly.