For a lot of people, social media can be a love/hate relationship, but today we are choosing to show it some love on National Social Media Day, June 30.
Social media has completely changed the way we communicate and interact with other people even from just 30 years ago. Its original intent was to connect with others that would otherwise be difficult to stay in touch with because you moved away, they moved away, or some combination of losing touch with one another because of life milestones. This was great until it started to consume our lives and people started more conversations with “Did you see on [Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, you name your social channel].”
Now, we can just open an app and see what our dear friends and family are up to, if they are posting, on any given day. Oh, and see ads and creative posts from companies and organizations the algorithm deems worthy to show up on our feed that day based on our activity and likes. Social media - Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and others - has given us a powerful marketing tool to connect with our ideal, target audience in ways like never before. This is all great, but we do want to acknowledge how demanding it can be, too. It takes balance. Don’t worry - we have a blog coming up soon about healthy relationships with social media and balancing it in personal life and marketing life.
Whether or not you are on the “love it” train or the “hate it” train, it is a huge part of our society. As either an individual that uses it or a company, brand, or organization that uses social media, it is an incredibly powerful tool. In this blog, we are going to take the approach of utilizing social media from a company, brand, or organizational perspective.
1. It allows us to tell our story in an authentic way.
Social media can sometimes get a bad wrap for only showing the good sides of life and too many filters, but it also allows us to share with our followers the everyday workings of the brands we represent. Social media helps form a connection and brand perception with your audience. This communication channel helps build a brand in bite-size pieces that show everyday life. Remember - with social media, you are “renting” space and time from the platform and your followers. Make it worth their time to have space in their news feed and minutes of their day to consume what you are sharing on your channel.
2. We can connect with people we never thought we could before.
With social media, you can attract your ideal audience through the content you create that you may have not been able to reach without social media. Have you ever got an ad for a product from an influencer and then you really connected with that influencer and followed them? Then, you feel like you know them in real life even though you’ve never met them? That’s the power of connecting online and building a brand through social media channels.
3. It’s a space to collaborate and engage with others.
Social media has the unique capability to connect with others from across the globe in a way like never before. In these spaces, it allows individuals and businesses to collaborate with one another. Whether it is on your feed, in a group, or in a direct message, sharing ideas with others has never been easier.