Evolution of social media
Connecting with friends and families was a major issue in the past, people travel for miles just to visit their loved ones or they send a post mail which sometimes take weeks before getting to the receiver.
As social animals, communication for man is key to strengthening bonds and relationship. Man has over time tried to improve their means of communication. Social media is the result of man’s effort to develop the perfect interaction tool that is not hindered by distance. The first social media platform, Six degrees was developed in 1997 and it enables users to upload their pictures and make friends with other users, similar to our modern social media platforms.
After the advent of social media, You’re perceived as uncultured if you tell them you don’t have any social media account, some will even claim you don’t have a life, which is true to some extent, because social media is quite necessary.
Social media has progressed from being just a networking platform where people make new friends and connect with old friends, to platforms where people make money and advance their careers.
The ‘social’ aspect of social media is beginning to lose its meaning, people don’t just use social media platforms to make friends and connect with old friends anymore.
Social platforms have quite evolved, from; Myspace, Friendster, blogger, etc to top current social media platforms, with the oldest; being Facebook which was launched in 2004. Before Facebook, the likes of Myspace and blogger were the only social media platforms.
Similar to Whatsapp, Myspace involves creating a profile and chatting with friends and creating a network.
Facebook became an improveed “Myspace” because it allows you to post pictures and interact with people that are not among your friend list, the difference between Myspace and Facebook is the fact that Myspace is restricted to only your network. You can only chat or see the pictures of your network of friends, while in Facebook, you can view or chat with people that are not on your network of friends using a common ground like a group post, and your post can also be seen by almost everybody on Facebook, not restricted to only your network or as Facebook will call it, “friends”.
This practically means anything you post on Facebook can be seen by over 1 billion people; this is music to marketers’ ears.
Importance of social media
In the era of Friendster and Myspace, the only thing people do on these platforms is to connect with friends and build a network. Their social interaction does not exceed 4-5 hours.
However, with the emergence of Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, Twitter, Snapchat Youtube and a bunch of whole other social media platforms, people tend to spend more hours online, because these platforms offer more options other than just networking.
Money is being made, new jobs are easily found.
Social media platforms have managed to carve the world and showcased it in a whole new light.
Businesses, careers, and education have progressed and succeeded as a result of social media platforms.
People now can easily learn a course or transact business from the comfort of their home with the use of a smartphone and internet access.
According to a statistics by Clement on Statista (the global number one business data website), out of the over 7 billion people on this planet, about 2.65 billion people are active social media users as of 2018.
This figure is increasing year after year and it is projected to reach 3.1 billion by the year 2021.
Social media is not a trend that is going to come to an end anytime soon.
Social media is here to stay, it will only evolve.
A layman will see these as just numbers but a business developer or business entrepreneur sees these figures as an opportunity for business expansion and development.
With social media platforms, business owners do not only target customers within their geopolitical zones but in several other places, many business owners have customers worldwide. That should be the goal of every business entrepreneur.
(Photo credit: Hootsuite)
45% of the world uses social media and this is why incorporating your business with social media should be one of your top objectives.
Although some small business entrepreneurs may find it discouraging trying to compete with major companies on the internet, but why not use the platform to your advantage?
Unlike the real world where you have restriction in terms of resources, with the help of social media, you can reach potential customers from around the world
However, the trick question is, how do your products get to your desired or targeted customers?
Digital marketing: The secret to successful online business.
A lot of internet users are familiar with the term ‘social media marketing’ or ‘digital marketing’ but they have very little knowledge of its importance to the world of business.
As a business entrepreneur trying to market your business on the internet, you can use social media marketing which is focused on marketing your business on social media platforms. However, digital marketing is broader than social media marketing, digital marketing includes the use of the internet as a whole, not only social media platforms. As an upcoming business entrepreneur, using social media to market your business is one of your best options to gain more customers.
Most social media platforms are free and easy to use, although getting the customers at a fast pace is not guaranteed. It depends on how you are marketing your business as well as your target audience.
This is why using experts to market your business is ideal, but for those that don’t have the resource to hire experts, Glance Media coaches entrepreneurs on how to effectively market their business on these platforms, Send us a message to know more.
(Photo credit: Hootsuite)
What does the future hold for you as an entrepreneur?
As an entrepreneur, the fast-paced social media world is a great asset for business development and growth. With the right business and online marketing strategy, you can easily break into the world of business.
However, this does not happen overnight, you need to study the market and research on your business to determine the type of customers you want to target.
Your best chance of getting more customers is by the use of social media marketers and online influencers.
These are the experts that can guarantee you the desired number of customers.
Apart from social media, where you can market your business and grow as an entrepreneur, you could also Advertise on our website to reach more potential customers.
Another popular online platform for business is e-commerce.
What is e-commerce?
E-commerce is an online market place where people visit primarily to buy or sell products.
Ecommerce is rapidly increasing and more companies are making the best use of it, to gain more sales and attract new customers.
E-commerce is different from social media platforms because it is not entirely free.
Every e-commerce platform is usually hosted by a website and the website act as a facilitator between the buyer and seller.
The website is completely free for the buyer, except payment for products purchased.
However, the seller has some percentage or fee he/she has to pay to the website.
There are several other e-commerce platforms similar to Ali express like eBay, Amazon, Jumia, etc. which serves as platforms for buyers and sellers.
As an entrepreneur, the internet is one of the best resources you can use to increase your sales and customer base. Don’t sleep on it!
To find out how you can make more sales and get in new customers.
How to Advertise and run sponsored post
How to grow your online presence
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This article was put together by Abdulazeez Faisal Ishaq for Glance Online
Twitter: @fhaysal_ishaq
Instagram: @fhaysal