Did you know?
A social media research conducted in 2017 by wearesocial and hootsuite indicates that the most active social media platforms in Singapore are Youtube, Facebook and Instagram.
What all these platforms have in common is that they are able to post pictures and videos through these various platforms. It can be seen that there is a rising trend in posting of pictures and videos through these social media platform.
Eight to ten years ago, blogging used to be how online users communicated. However, the creation of Youtube has changed the trend as now “Vlogging” (Video Blog) has become even more popular. Viewers are better engaged and feel like they are part of the person’s journey through videos of the “Vlogger”.
The evolution of social media has changed from more visual content as compared to text written post. An article on Forbes mentioned that marketing through videos is the biggest way to reach people as 88% of users spend more time on a website with videos.
What does this mean for Companies?
An article written by Kaplan & Haenlein (2010) outlines the “Ten pieces of advice for companies deciding to use Social Media” and here are the top 2 advice which I believe are the most important.
Choose Carefully
The rise and evolution of social media means that companies would have to identify their target audience before choosing a platform to advertise in. By doing so, they would be able to reach and engage their target audience better. For example, posting a video on Twitter might not be a best option to reach elderly audience if the target audience is towards elderly people.
I feel that this is the most important advise as it sets the foundation on the type of marketing technique that is going to be used.
Be Interesting!
According to a study done by Source Global a significant number of people prefer reading shorter articles (below 10 minutes) and watching shorter videos (below 5 minutes) as compared to longer ones. This shows that to better engage audience, videos need to be short and interesting for the viewers to stay and watch.
Various studies suggest that the first 5 seconds of the video would be a deciding factor on whether the viewer would continue watching the video or skip it. Companies would have to be creative and come up with interesting content for better engagement of audience.
In conclusion, companies looking to make an online impact on social media platforms should read up on “Ten pieces of advice for companies deciding to use Social Media” outlines by Kaplan & Haenlein (2010). It would help to gain a better insight on the process in deciding if Social Media would be beneficial for the company.
At the end of the day, companies would want results and to see how big of an audience has been engage.
I hope you learned something from this post! Do leave a comment and let me know what your thoughts are on the evolution of social media! Till next time!
Signing off~
What do you think could be the most effective platform for a business to use?
It would depend on your target audience. I feel that for people aged between 40-60 Facebook would be a more effective platform. While those aged between 20-39 Instagram would be a better platform. But for a general overall platform for business, Facebook would be great as its age range of users are greater as compared to Instagram. You could also look at Youtube could be another option as well due to the rise of videos and consumers watching more videos.
Isit necessary for companies these days to use social media as an advertising platform? Nice post btw 🙂 interesting!
I would say at this time and generation, it would be necessary due to the rise of technology. It would be easier for the audience to know about the business. Furthermore, it is free to open an account. It is a cheap alternative for advertising!
what social media will you recommend?
Which platform would be the best for a Small businesses