Is Social Media the Most Powerful Marketing Tool to Date?

           Based on the title, you can probably guess what the “Social Media Marketing Workbook” by Jason McDonald is all about. Social media obviously, but what’s the purpose behind social media and marketing? McDonald introduces his workbook by explain why everyone should be marketing on social media and he makes some great points like how big social media is, the fact that social media is free and how you can reach virtually anyone who uses social media.

            One thing that I think is fairly obvious is how big social media is. McDonald talks about how there are almost 2 billion users on Facebook alone, let alone all of the other platforms available for use. Think of almost 2 billion people that you could be reaching out to daily to promote your product and get eyes on what you have to offer. And, one of the best things about marketing on a social media platform with this many members is the share button. Sharing is an essential part of getting more engagement and more traffic on your posts and Facebook, along with other platforms offer a couple different types of sharing. You can send the post directly to someone via message, you can share, retweet or regram something directly to your page, or you can write a post along with the share, so you can share your thoughts and opinions on the subject you are sharing.

            We have one of the biggest, most powerful networks at our fingertips to use whenever and however (with some stipulations) we want to. The way we interact with friends, family, employers, brands, stores, etc. is all free to use and ready to go when we need it. With the exception of LinkedIn’s premium service and subscription services such as YouTube Red, I don’t personally know of any other social medias that aren’t free. This is one of the biggest reasons why social media can be one of the most powerful marketing tools if used correctly. It is a way to spread awareness about a product or service and in such a widespread way without spending any money. This is something businesses should be and are taking full advantage of.

            Being such a big medium and being able to reach such a wide variety of people, marketing on social media is not only a good way to keep returning customers engaged but also a great way to reach new customers. Take the Instagram explore page for instance. It takes pages you follow, search and content you like and gives you posts related to the content you’re already viewing. Personally, I have found more than one brand or product that I have liked and continued to purchase after I found it on my explore page. This is also a prime example of why hashtags are so important because they are part of the group and how posts are categorized.

            After reading the introduction to the “Social Media Marketing Workbook,” I can tell it will be full of useful information not only for using social media, but also in my marketing career. I am always looking for new ways to learn and grow in the field I’m going into outside of classes and I think this could prove to be very helpful.