Social
Media Vs Other Media
Young people and adults
alike have taken an interest in social media networks and its various channels,
and this movement has expanded around the world. Thousands of people connect on
to the internet every minute to conduct conversations utilising one or more
forms of online communication. Similar to this, millions of people utilise
social media in one way or another. This can only signify one thing to a
marketer or company: they have a sizable window of opportunity, even if only
half of them are interested in their offering.
It is common to see that
more than 60% of people are conversing about some kind of product or service
and exchanging their expertise and experience. Therefore, no Company can afford
to disregard the general consensus or word-of-mouth publicity and opinion
created due to its dynamic potential. A company nowadays has no choice but to
be present and take part in the Social Media Network, whether they want to or
not.
It is crucial for
marketing professionals and management students to have a thorough
understanding of this media. It is crucial to comprehend how social media
networks have developed in order to fully comprehend the impact of media on
consumer behaviour.
Internet started to gain
popularity in the 1980s as computers became more accessible and its use for
both personal and corporate purposes started to drastically expand. Higher
internet bandwidth and speed made possible by technological advancement led to
broadband and Wi-Fi connections. Before the internet gained popularity, people
all over the world were used to being hooked to the TV and reading newspapers.
The marketing and media industries were accustomed to audience targeting,
creating print media campaigns and adverts, and displaying their commercials
during TV commercial breaks. Even if they did not like it at this point, the
audience was forced to see the advertisements for they were not in control of
the medium.
The definitions of
communication and advertising completely altered with the development of the
internet and the introduction of emails. They discovered they had a significant
potential when several internet industry professionals experimented with
including commercial information in emails. With only the press of a mouse,
companies could suddenly reach and target millions of audience members by
sending emails with adverts and marketing messages. A new industry that sends
spam emails quickly emerged as a result of this business trend.
Although the people had
no influence over the TV advertising, they did not like getting spam emails,
especially since they were unsolicited, were sent directly to them, and were
sent to their personal mailbox without their consent. Anti-spam technologies, systems,
and businesses that specialise in anti-spam litigation were created as a
response of a public uproar and persistent opposition to spamming.
In parallel with the
rise of email spam, we also saw the emergence of online advertising on websites
that instead of violating people's privacy by sending unsolicited emails,
offered banners and tags with advertisements that could be clicked to visit the
specific website of the business selling the product, etc. Online advertising
on the internet has undergone a number of changes.
Social media network
development at this time has been a very beneficial and welcome shift that has
been largely appreciated by people throughout the world. This has gained
popularity simply because people, not the company's advertising or
participation, continue to have the majority of influence over the debates and
content. Second, the talks involve casual dialogues and voluntary group
engagement from the participants. Everyone has the right to voice their ideas.
Marketing professionals need to understand that social media is
participatory and that consumers, not advertisers or marketing agencies, hold
the power in social media. This understanding will help them develop their
online marketing and advertising strategies as well as show them how to engage
with and influence their audience on the social web.