Image via CrunchBase
Do your searching of the news as much as you want, and you’ll notice that when concerning the topic of social media–MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc etc.–you’ll find that when it comes to marketing, those rather popular sites do absolutely nothing for the average business or businessperson. In fact, some sources indicate that social media actually hinders the prospect of growth and prosperity. Really, social media is just a platform for making friends, playing games, and doing the dating scene online without paying a dime like you would normally do for eHarmony or Match.com. There’s nothing ‘special’ about social media. It’s just for ‘kids’.
Wrong. Dead wrong.
Take a step back and recognize some facts. While it’s true that social media should never replace a true marketing campaign by any stretch, it’s been shown that when social media is utilized correctly, it can actually benefit a business marketing campaign in a very real way. Case in point, Justin Bieber, infamous YouTube to mainstream star who went from viral to virile with the little ladies! Did you know Selena Gomez got death threats from Bieber fans because of the YouTube video of them kissing on a cruise ship? Crazy! Or you also have the sensation Jennifer Chung–watch any of her videos, and you’d think nothing of it–until you see the amount of viral hits. She’s steadily becoming a popular part of the music industry, and soon you might find her on MTV–all because of social media. Moreover, moguls like Gary Vaynerchuk increased his family business of wine selling from $4 million to $50 million only by using sites like Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook. Blendtec, a company dedicated to blender appliances, stated an increase in sales by 700% just out of clever “Will It Blend” YouTube videos! Pretty sick.
Rethink the current opinion. Social media is important–and not just on a friend and gaming galley.