Week 1b: Business and Personal Use of Social Media

In my opinion social media platforms were created with the intent, at least initially, for personal use. The idea behind most platforms is a way to keep in touch with people in an easier and real time manner. From there I believe that, like most good ideas, people discovered more was to put their spin on what social media is and what is popular to certain masses or niches. As a result we now have everything from picture sharing to live video broadcasting on or integrated into many of these platforms.

Although I believe that social media platforms were created for personal use, the evolution of technology has made it cost effective to use social media as a viable marketing platform. Consider that marketing research is based off of data. What more powerful place to get data than on the internet. If analyzed and utilized correctly the information that is available about how individuals use social media can be invaluable to the success of your business. I do agree that social media tends to be more personable and effective when utilized by small to medium businesses. That’s not to say that larger businesses and corporations could not use this as a form of marketing. There are simply other hurdles to consider that may in turn make it not worth the cost to implement.

I would conclude that there are no specific social media platforms that you could say every business needs to participate in. A business does not need to market in a manner that show the world that they are keeping up with the Jones. There needs to be a viable reason to use the given platform and also needs to be cost effective.