Social media trends have expanded well beyond the regular, daily use of Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and the like. Social media has become so pervasive in our society that this summer the second annual was just celebrated and recognized by people in over ninety countries around the world.
Think about it, at some point there was a time that the idea of the internet seemed very foreign to you. There was even a time when the idea suggesting every home could have a personal computer seemed impossible. But now the business community Sell digital products at large can’t imagine being able to conduct business without the internet or a computer.
As businesses are increasingly integrating social networking websites into their marketing strategy, trends indicate that online marketing is set to undergo a dramatic makeover. A recent study conducted by the Association of National Advertisers (a representative body of American marketers) revealed that 26% of marketers found trends in social media taking it towards further growth.
Today’s social media trends offer new opportunities for advertisers to penetrate their target markets. This marketing platform can drive tremendous amounts of traffic and provide a more cost-efficient way for an online business to gain publicity. By getting more online visitors, a website has a better chance of getting conversions or actual sales. And because of that, this online marketing medium is causing a lot of stir among Internet businesses. In fact, for many online marketing professionals, social media is fast becoming the platform of choice for launching and promoting a business via the Internet.
According to recent industry reports, each key function in social media trends is primarily done in websites other than that owned by the business doing the promotion. In other, the action in this form of online marketing happens totally off-site. Unlike in other types of Internet marketing, where tweaking the company website will do most of the trick in driving traffic, social media involves the target audience. Thus, there has to be some form of discussion or interaction that will eventually build up a website’s reputation or publicity.
The Nielsen report, which compiled social media trends and analysis across the Asia Pacific region, reveals that social media is having an increasing impact on consumers’ purchasing decisions – in Asia Pacific, online product reviews are the third most trusted source of information when making purchase decisions, behind family and friends. This is particularly so for purchases of consumer electronics, cosmetics and cars – products where consumers are most likely to base their purchase decisions on online product reviews.
A recent Harvard research study showed that information and influence travel up to three degrees across a social network. The information you communicate to friends, family and colleagues is often passed on beyond your network – possibly to thousands of people, most of whom you will not even know. Similarly, the information you receive each day may have traveled two or three degrees before it reaches you.
Marketing and PR professionals continue – in droves – to realize the business value of social media within an organization. They know it can foster collaboration among internal teams, enable real-time customer service, and create communities of fans and advocates who can help to shape a company’s products, services and brands. Getting the C-suite to open the company doors to social media, however, can be tricky. Management often cites concerns over privacy, security, brand erosion, and employee training, and they remain unwilling to invest in or allocate the proper resources (both human and financial) to allow social media to contribute to the company’s success and bottom line.