Why Social Media is Need Of The Hour

Social Media has become a most popular “technical jargon” these days. The combination word connects Social life with media (marketing), which includes activities and technologies that enable the people to share their ideas and experiences with each other. People also get a lot of information from these social media sites. The actual meaning that lies behind the term is that “It is a systematic process of integrating social interaction with technology”. It also involves words, audio, pictures and video which are constructed in a proper manner. This can be appropriately termed as UGC or User Generated Content.

The audio and video that are found in YouTube is an example of user generated content.Social Media exists in various forms. It includes videos, images, blogs, online forums and wikis. Some of the technologies that are used by  successful social media experts are listed below:•    Social Networks              (Facebook, Google Plus)
•    Blogging                (Word Press, Blogger, Tumblr)
•    Micro Blogging            (Twitter, Google Buzz)
•    Photo sharing                (Instagram, Pinterest, Flickr)
•    Instant Messengers            (Yahoo, G talk, MSN, Whatapp, BBM)
•    Video sharing                (YouTube, Metacafe )The list can take few pages if we mention each and every portal of Social Media will be a big one if every technology is mentioned. The list of applications of social media will also be a big one. Facebook and MySpace are social networking sites, Flickr is used for sharing photos while YouTube enables a person to share videos effectively and Twitter facilitates networking and micro-blogging.Social Media Marketing (SMM)

Another term that occupies a significant part of Social Media is Social Media Marketing. It uses the power of social media network to promote a service, content or product. One thing that makes SMM different from traditional marketing is that the social marketer has to participate in a conversation with the audience. Social media can help you make a strong position in the marketplace if used effectively.

Many traditional marketing professionals are not much aware about social media marketing because they are unable to control the social networks. If a person masters the basics of SMM, he can use its power for corporate branding or reputation management.

Why is social media becoming so popular?

Social media enables a person to reach out and connect to a large number of people with the help of technology. New features are added to social media everyday making it more and more powerful. It can help a start up business to reach a vast audience in no time. The cost incurred in doing the publicity is also very nominal.

Some factors that one must keep in mind while using social media to reach target audience:

•    One should always remember that the web is all about people. One should understand the preference, behavior and language of the people. One should keep an eye on the favorite online hangouts of the people.
•    Before going for social media marketing one must clearly decide whether he/she is going for testing the product or its marketing. One should clearly define the motive behind the actions.
•    One should also make an idea about the outcomes and what target he is looking forward to achieve.
•    One should also make sure about the technology he is going to use for the social media marketing.