What is Social Media?

Posted on September 6, 2013 Updated on October 7, 2013

Social media seems to be a household phrase that sprang out of nowhere. We hear that social media is addictive, revolutionary, inevitable, a phase, etc. But let’s strip all the excess away and think about social media in it’s purest form.

Social media are tools that allow average joes, celebrities, corporations, consumers, the young, the old, neighbors, foreigners, and everyone in between to connect and communicate via the Internet. The graphic below clearly displays all the different categories within social media and some examples of specific media.

 (Image retrieved from Cite, the Digital Agency at http://www.cite.co.uk/the-different-types-of-social-media/) 

Social media, when utilized strategically and efficiently, can be very beneficial for everyone, companies and consumers. Social media is coming full force, so it is my advice, to companies especially, to find the social media platforms that fit you the best and find a way to make those work for you. There are even social media marketing companies whose purpose is to provide customers with a strategic social media plan and connect them as much as possible to their intended audiences via social media.

A great example of this kind of company is Marketing Media Management. Sheryl Connelly, the CEO, has been in the social media field since 1997, so she knows a thing or two about what companies need in regard to social media. Here is a link to their website if you want to learn more:

http://marketing-media-management.com/

If you still can’t grasp the reason for social media, check out this video that explains it in “Plain English”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpIOClX1jPE

Thanks for reading!

Liz