Table of Contents
What Is Social Media?
Social media is an interactive media that allows users to create, share, and exchange information on the internet. It has been flourishing since its birth. The platforms it offers have become the best medium of communication today. Social media platforms offer people new and meaningful ways to communicate with one another. Social media networking has changed the way people do business, the way they meet each other, and the way they interact together. New social media sites are created time and again due to the growing popularity of social media.
Seven Different Types of Social Media Platforms
Seven different types of social media websites or platforms available today are the following:
1. Social Media Networking Websites
Such social media sites allow users to interact by adding friends, commenting on profiles, joining groups, and having discussions. Facebook and LinkedIn are examples of social networking websites.
2. Social Bookmarking Websites
Such sites allow users to add, annotate, edit, and share bookmarks of web documents. These sites also allow users to tag their favorite website links. Pinterest and StumbleUpon (now called Mix) are examples of social bookmarking websites.
3. Social News Websites
These sites allow users to post news articles or posts that they find interesting. Reddit and Digg are examples of social news websites.
4. Media Sharing Websites
These sites allow users to interact by sharing photos or videos and commenting on user submissions. YouTube is a famous video-sharing website, and Flickr is a popular photo-sharing social media site.
5. Wikis Sites
Online encyclopedia websites that allow users to interact by adding articles or editing existing articles. Wikipedia is an example of a wiki.
6. Forums and Blogging Sites
Forum sites allow users to hold online conversations about the topic they like and blogging sites are places where content is posted and updated as discrete entries. Blogger is a renowned blogging website and WarriorForum is an example of a forum.
7. Microblogging Websites
Such sites allow users to post small pieces of digital content which could be text, pictures, links, or short videos. Twitter (now called X) is the most popular microblogging website.
What Is Social Media Marketing?
“The process of gaining traffic or attention to one’s own website by using social media is known as Social Media Marketing.” Every social media website has a specific purpose, so online businesses use social networking websites for marketing in accordance with the purpose of those sites. Some social media websites allow users to share short messages, some allow users to upload videos or presentations, and some allow them to give a link to their websites. The distinct social functions of social media sites make social media marketing very effective for businesses.
What to Focus on While Using Social Media for Business?
You should focus on certain things before using social media for business. You must know your audience in the first place before executing any social media strategy. That is to say, awareness of the needs and wants of your target audience. Next, you must know the purpose of each social media website. You should use an appropriate social media network for communication.
For instance, if you are in the business of animated video advertisements, YouTube is the best social media site for you to communicate with your customers. Focusing on the preceding things will help you execute your social media strategies successfully.
What is Social Media Monitoring?
Social media monitoring refers to the monitoring of conversations going on social media websites about a particular brand. It is a great way to find out the opinions of people about a brand. Further, it helps businesses to respond to customers in accordance with their insights. It also helps businesses identify their share of voice on social media platforms. Furthermore, social media monitoring aids businesses in discovering gaps in the online market and allowing them to find sales opportunities eventually.
Social Media Manager for Social Media Management
Social media provides people with a platform to listen, interact, engage, and collaborate with one another. Whenever the volume of conversations about a specific company on a social media site rises, it becomes a very difficult process for a company to manage those conversations. Therefore, companies hire social media managers for their social media management. The social media manager monitors, contributes, filters, measures, and guides the company’s presence on social media.
Why Do Internet Users Go for Social Media?
People go for social media since it offers them benefits in certain ways. First of all, it allows people to share their views, ideas, and opinions with others. Moreover, the discovery of new content in social media turns into a news story that spreads quickly helping the contributor of that news to become popular over the internet in a short span of time. It also helps companies to market their products and services to people across the globe. These benefits of social media encourage internet users to choose it.
