All Industries Are Going Social

The most impressive thing about Facebook isn't how much success it's had in its six

years of existence, nor is it how young its founder, Mark Zuckerberg (26) is, although both those facts are nothing short of astounding. No, what makes Facebook so impressive is that its very nature is based on a fundamental component of human behaviour, and because of that, will always be relevant.

Welcome to the world of social media marketing. Channels like Facebook began as an easy and friendly way for friends to communicate and share information with each other, but as businesses begin to plug these channels into their websites they are noticing an increase in sales and brand awareness. As a result, more industries are following suit.

If Levis jeans comes out with a new style of trousers and I "like" them, it will show up on my Facebook homepage, for all of my friends to see. This might draw their attention to the jeans, or for those who trust my sense of fashion, encourage them to buy a pair of their own. As human beings, our decisions are guided by outside influences. Those influences might be society, government, family, or friends. Ultimately though, they all come back to our peers and what they are doing.

While the impact of social plug-ins for consumer brands are obvious, this revolution also applies to B2B companies. A good way to excel in this area is through online content. Today companies are increasingly investing time and money into blogs as a way to articulate their business and the people who work within it. Moreover, blogs are a great way to share information, have open discussions and add value to real conversations that are taking place about your industry. Blogs are designed in a way where readers can freely add comments, or simply "like", "tweet", "digg", or share the post in some way. Again, this action will be visible to the respondent's followers, who in turn will be more likely to follow the link and read the post themselves, thus spreading brand awareness and giving companies the opportunity to present themselves as thought leaders.

Will there still be room for traditional advertising? Traditional advertising tends to express messages that are unattainable (ie. a supermodel rolling in wet sand topless to advertise a pair of jeans- I don't look like her, nor does anyone else I know, and I certainly can't think of a time I might find myself in that situation). But brands still need these ads to invoke a feeling of aspiration, one which time has proven, makes people want to buy. The next step though is for real people to spread the word (because people will always believe each other more than a brand message). Social media marketing therefore doesn't eliminate the need for traditional advertising, it compliments it.

So, what makes Mark Zuckerberg and his company so impressive? It's not how big or current it is, but how relevant it will always be.

by: Tamara Jacobs

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