The roles of different social media channels

Once upon a time you could simply categorise social media networks according to their functional capabilities. Twitter for short-text content, YouTube for video, and so on. That time has passed. As more networks add rich features like live-streaming in addition to augmented reality, the lines between their feature sets are continuing to blur as well as change faster than most people have time to read up on the changes.

10 types of social media as well as what they’re used for

1. Social networks : Connect with people
2. Media-sharing networks: Share photos, videos, and other media
3. Discussion forums: Share news and ideas
4. Bookmarking and content-curation networks: Discover, save, and share new content
5. Consumer review networks: Find and review businesses
6. Blogging and publishing networks: Publish content online
7. Interest-based networks: Share interests and hobbies
8. Social shopping networks: Shop online
9. Sharing economy networks: Trade goods and services
10. Anonymous social networks: Communicate anonymously

In this article, we’ll have a closer look at what social networks are.

What us social networking?

Social networking is the practice of increasing the number of one’s business and/or social contacts by making connections via individuals and often through social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Built on the concept of six degrees of separation concept (which is the idea that any two people on Earth could contact each other through a chain of just five intermediaries), social networking creates interconnected online communities (which are sometimes known as social graphs) which help people to make contacts which would be good for them to know however that they would be not likely to have met otherwise.

While social networking has carried on for almost as long as societies have existed, the unparalleled potential of the Internet to enable such connections has led to an exponential as well as ongoing expansion of that phenomenon. As well as social media platforms, the ability for social interaction and collaboration is increasingly built into business applications.

The power of social networks for marketers

Social networking makes it feasible for marketers to connect directly with their target market in a manner that is not aggressive or pushy but personal as well as intuitive. Marketers can select the social networking platform which suits their needs and business. In addition, they are able to hone in on their target market via these networks.

Marketers are now able to directly participate with their target audience on these networks and influence the needs of their target market. Have a look at what it can offer. This is just the tip of the iceberg but, we would wage, is one of the most significant:

• Increased Exposure To Potential Customers: Social networking platforms can rise and fall in popularity however it is up to the business to leverage the platform to be able to use it for exposure and lead generation.

Social media marketing has the result of higher conversion rates in a few different ways. Possibly the most significant is its humanisation element, in other words the fact that brands become more humanised by interacting on social media channels. Social media is a location where it is possible for brands to act like people do. This is important as people like doing business with other people and not with companies.

Get in touch with the Digital School of Marketing

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