Why Social Media is so Important for Businesses in 2018
Social media is the essence of the Internet. When someone mentions the digital world, guarantee you think of at least one social platform. I know I do anyway. Facebook started 12 years ago, and when it did it sparked a whole new era. An era that some of us are still getting used to. While the others are preparing for the next trend/era. That’s why I am writing this blog. I want to show you that with the internet, time is everything. If you get ahead then you will propel, if you fall behind on a trend by even a day, then you could suffer for it. Social media is ridiculously powerful and I want to show you why.
How Social Media Has Evolved
By definition, social media is a website or application that allows you to create and share content. If you ignore the “website or application” then social media would date back to 550 BC. However, I’m not going to start there. Instead, I am going to start in the 1980s. Well, what happened in the 1980s you ask. Internet Relay Chats (IRCs). IRCs where a means of communication over long distances and all messaging services use this kind of technology. in 1997, the first recognizable social media was invented. It was called Six Degrees and allowed users to create a profile and make friends with other users. From there the first blogging site was created and shortly after a website like MySpace and LinkedIn started to gain traction. These kinds of sites set the foundations for the Social Media that we know and love today. Both MySpace and LinkedIn allowed you to create a profile and connect with people from all around the world. The difference is that LinkedIn is aimed at Business-people and MySpace was more for personal use.
In 2006 Facebook and Twitter both became accessible all over the world which sparked the revolution. Since then Social platforms have been emerging left right and centre and we get to see it first hand. Over the past 10 years, Social Media has gone from a peer-to-peer content sharing service to the biggest advertising platform in the world period.
Why You Need to Have a Social Media Presence
If you’re a business in 2018 there should be no reason as to why you aren’t utilising Social Media. There is now a platform for everything and do you want to know the best thing about them? They’re all available on the device in your pocket. We’re so lucky to be living in 2018 because you can run a business from your phone. After reading that last sentence you’re either laughing at me, nodding your head or wondering how it’s done. Well, with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram etc there is something for everyone. The digital world is growing faster than you can imagine, and it’s growing with or without you. So, if you don’t like Social Media for whatever reason, but with the way the world is going if you don’t have a social media account then your business is going to become obsolete in the next 10 years. Guaranteed. People now trust businesses more when they have a Social presence, the business feels more personal. Not only that, but they can find and book your services all from the comfort of their own home.
The overwhelming amount of attention
Did you know that Facebook now has 2 billion users? That’s a quarter of the world’s population. If Facebook was a country, it would be the biggest. During just one day, Facebook has 1.47 billion active users. That means that 1.47 billion people are scrolling down their newsfeed waiting to see your business.
Instagram is also becoming increasingly popular since Facebook acquired it. With 400 million daily active users, there are a lot of eyeballs focused on Instagram, and Facebook as well for that matter. To me, it just makes sense to go where the attention is. Rather than scouting out customers, you can utilize this and let them come to you. The possibilities are endless.
The possibilities
While we’re on the subject of possibilities, with a well-constructed campaign and as little as £5 you can reach upwards of 3000 people. If 1% of people that you targeted paid for your services, then that’s 30 new sales. And that’s off a £5 campaign. Targeting your audience has never been so sophisticated. You can literally target people who have a behaviour of purchasing from online ads. Let’s say you run a restaurant, you can target your ads to people who have been into similar restaurants in the area. But, this isn’t an easy task and that’s why Blue Whale Media have a dedicated marketing team. It is a tedious task to set up the perfect campaign, so we aim to help small businesses get their foot in the door when it comes to Social Media Marketing.
To Conclude
In conclusion, to survive as a business in 2018 you have to have a Social Media presence. If you don’t then it is possible to keep your business going, but there will always be a competitor out there who has a Social Media presence and is directly engaging with your audience.
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