What is Social Media?

At its simplest level social media are the internet platforms that help people to create and share information online. That information could take the form of written words (blogs) , audio (podcasts), or video (YouTube) , pictures (Flickr) or any combination of the above. Social media content is noted for being easy to create, easy to share and easy to scale – meaning that the information can spread far and wide to a large number of people very quickly.

You can think of social media as the fusion of sociology and technology, taking "water cooler" discussions that you might see at work and putting them online. It also transforms the direction of communication. In earlier ages, media communication went from top to bottom, that is, large media companies could broadcast messages (i.e advertisments or advertisement-driven shows) to millions of users, many of whom had little choice as to whether they listened or not. For example, it was impossible to turn off T.V. and radio commercials. Now, in the age of social media anyone can be a publisher and create content and it is easy to tune-out what you don't want to view. And the sum total of individual publishers equals a voice that is as loud, if not louder than traditional media.

Social media creates many opportunities and dangers for businesses and organizations. In an age when nearly anyone can post information about your company it is important to keep track of what is being said about you. And when any image that you "broadcast" can be transformed and commented upon, you can quickly lose control of your message and ideas about your brand. This is not always a bad thing. What would happen if a group of people decided that your organization was "cool" or "cutting edge" and decided to become online sponsors of your work? Would you like to have an army of highly-effective, unpaid, volunteer marketers?

And thus is born another internet buzzword: "social media marketing." That is, engaging with online communities to generate exposure for your business and ideas, hopefully followed by an increase in traffic to your website, new customers, new sales and new markets.

Ready for some social media terminology to get your feet wet?

Social Media Consulting