As advertising and marketing mediums, social networks such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Delicious and so many others can have a huge impact on your business when used correctly. One of the reasons for this is that the software behind these social networks allows them to parse the data that is input by each and every individual that logs into the site. This tool, when used for targeted advertising and marketing has tremendous value to both small and large businesses.
Consider the following information about social networks: the majority of consumers trust a friend’s recommendation over a critic’s review and three out of four social network users are more likely to trust a peer’s opinion about a product. The most interesting fact? Social media sites, where all of these peers and friends are talking about products they use, are the fastest growing types of sites on the Internet.
This is not all. Social media sites can also be used as an outlet for businesses to market directly to customers. The first way that this is accomplished is by marketing directly to the site’s users based on personal information they provide in their profile. The site then takes that information and selects from ads that include keywords that match up to the user’s profile and rotates the ads in that user’s profile. Each time the user logs in, they see an ad that is relevant to their lifestyle. Secondarily, these sites allow individuals and businesses to form groups that can be used to send out direct messages (think advertising, sales, etc) to users within that group.
Social media is here to stay and its huge popularity among nearly all Internet users worldwide should be a major consideration for anyone who wants to use the medium as a way to market their business.
