How Social Media is Leveraged by Advertisers

socialapps

WHY?

Why do companies use social media as a way to advertise?

Social media has taken over the world of communications, as we know it. People from all over the world are using computers, smart phones and tablets to use social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat. Users are connecting with family, friends and companies in ways the world hasn’t seen before. Companies have many reasons to utilize these social media apps in order to benefit their businesses. A few of these include…

  1. Large Audiences

    2. Social media apps have huge audiences that companies are able to tap into. According to Chris Snider Design Facebook claims approximately 1.7 billion monthly users, Instagram has about 500 million monthly users, Twitter has about 313 million monthly, and Snapchat has about 150 million daily users. Social media users have been on the rise and “according to estimates, the number of worldwide social media users reached 1.96 billion and is expected to grow to some 2.5 billion by 2018.” (Statista) By using social media, companies have access to all of these users and are able to reach people on a global scale.

    users
  2. Little Cost

    3. Companies are able to connect to these massive audiences on social media for free. Regardless of company size or economic standing, companies have the opportunity to reach their audiences without huge financial commitments. (Appmakr) While there are opportunities to use paid ads, they usually come at a relatively cheap price compared to other marketing strategics. For example, when using Facebook, companies “can spend as little as a dollar a day per ad.” (Olivia Allen)

  3. Building Relationships

    4. Social media is meant to connect people from all over the world. Its primary purpose is not for sales but for relationships. Companies use social media to build relationships and trust with potential consumers. By building relationships, companies are able to create a dialogue, a 2-way-street, that allows consumers to respond and interact. (Emily Copp) Immediate and true interactions with consumers let companies get feedback, which allows mutually beneficial relationships to grow. Engaging with people on social media not only builds brand awareness, but helps to cultivate loyal costumers as well.

HOW?

How do companies use social media?

There are so many reasons why companies would want to utilize social media to engage with its audience. Once an online presence is created, the next step is figuring out how to effectively use it.

  1. Using hashtags

    2. Using hashtags on Twitter lets you narrow your search to a more specific audience. Users are able to unite based on current interests through hashtags. This allows companies to tap into previously created communities, or create their own! The more a hashtag is used or shared, the broader that online community becomes. (Olivia Allen)

    hashtag
  2. Following Millennials

    3. Millennials make up the majority of those using social media sites and tend to be the target audience for many companies using social media. Millennials using social media decide what is share-worthy and what is worth looking at. Therefore, companies keep this audience in mind when marketing. “Louis Vuitton saw an opportunity to utilize Snapchat as a social media marketing app. Louis Vuitton wanted to reach a younger generation when teasing their upcoming Rome exhibit, so they went where the Millennials are – Snapchat” (Wiggins)

  3. Be Relevant

    4. Social media apps are used in real time, for people to see and interact with immediately. Being relevant is absolutely vital for companies when seeking potential costumers. Social media users want the latest, most up-to-date information. If companies don’t produce relevant and quick information, costumers won’t be interested. (Wiggins)