Nowadays, when the term ‘social media’ appears, people usually think of colorful icons instead of its definition. A simple definition of ‘social media’ would be ‘a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content’ (Kaplan & Haenlein, cited in Ghosh, Varshney & Venugopal 2014). With social media websites, individuals and communities can interact with others by creating, sharing and discussing content (Kietzmann et al. 2011). These are also reasons why I have many accounts on social media platforms. It is a convenient place for me to share my life and communicate with others at the same time.
Being surrounded by people around my own age, 18 to 22, I reckon that social media has without question, became utterly important in everyone’s daily life. The Sensis reports confirmed my observation by stating that almost 8 in 10 people now use social media and the number is increasing every year (Sensis 2018). Businesses had soon realized the power of digital engagement which is calculated through likes, shares or comments (Voorvelde et al. 2018). I used to have my own online shop and social media advertising was my main method to reach customers. A medium business once posted my products for free and that action doubled the number of my followers. From that moment, I apprehended the value of social marketing. With my experience as a shop owner, I was the most excited to see statistics relating to how consumers feel about social media advertising. From the reports, I learned more about consumers’ preferences and behaviors on social media. For example, I was surprised to see how positive interactions and regularly updated content can make more than 50% of the consumers more likely to trust the brand (Sensis 2018). With the reports, I definitely gained valuable insight into social media and have a clearer vision of how businesses can exploit social media advertising
References
Ghosh, A, Varshney, S & Venugopal, P 2014, ‘Social Media WOM: Definition, Consequences and Inter-relationships’, Management and Labour Studies, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 293–308.
Kietzmann, JH, Hermkens, K, McCarthy, IP & Silvestre, BS 2011, ‘Social media? Get serious! Understanding the functional building blocks of social media’, Business Horizons, vol. 54, no. 3, pp. 241–251.
Sensis 2018, ‘Yellow Social Media Report 2018′, viewed 8 March 2020, https://www.yellow.com.au/social-media-report/
Voorveld, HAM, van Noort, G, Muntinga, DG & Bronner, F 2018, ‘Engagement with Social Media and Social Media Advertising: The Differentiating Role of Platform Type’, Journal of Advertising, vol. 47, no. 1, pp. 38–54.