Week 2A: Overview of Social Media
I want to preface this blog post by saying that I only use, at most, four social media platforms. They include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and occasionally LinkedIn. Therefore, my responses below will focus on my experiences with these specific social media sites.
The social media platforms geared toward personal use seem to be Instagram and Facebook. Instagram allows its users to post an infinite number of pictures that can be shared with friends and therefore liked by people. In my opinion, the app is sort of a window into people's personal lives through pictures. Of course, the user is only allowing you to see what they want you to see but nonetheless, I believe Instagram is becoming just as popular, if not more popular than Facebook simply because it's so visual.
That being said, there's a reason why Facebook has one billion users. You can share photos, update your "status", share information and news, directly message with people and can be subjected to a number of posts, adds and pictures ad nauseam. I think it's become a place where friends and families can stay in touch because the platform, for the most part, is so easy to use and navigate. Facebook, in my experience, is the only social media platform that doesn't recognize user age. My 80-year-old grandparents have Facebook, my friends parent's have it, and I know kids as young as eight that use it.
As for business use, I think Facebook has to be the biggest platform. Most businesses often times have all the information you need listed right there on the page. Anything from business hours, to location and even reviews, it's all listed on the page. As the book discussed, you can even see which friends of yours "liked" the business, which will surely influence your decision to support or not support the business of interest. Behind Facebook, I would say Google. Google has the ability to tell you anything and everything about a business which can be a good thing or a bad thing for the said business.
I think you could make the argument that both Facebook and Instagram can be used for personal and business practices. I think as a business, it depends on your audience and what platform they utilize more. If you're business produces or promotes something that's visual, I would say Instagram is a better bet simply based on the fact that it's a visual, picture sharing app. If it's something different, I think Facebook allows you more flexibility. A business using Facebook can post status updates, reviews, location, ads, videos and the list goes on. For me, Instagram is more limiting in those senses.
Having read just the introduction of the book, I can genuinely say I'm excited to keep reading and learning more!
The social media platforms geared toward personal use seem to be Instagram and Facebook. Instagram allows its users to post an infinite number of pictures that can be shared with friends and therefore liked by people. In my opinion, the app is sort of a window into people's personal lives through pictures. Of course, the user is only allowing you to see what they want you to see but nonetheless, I believe Instagram is becoming just as popular, if not more popular than Facebook simply because it's so visual.
That being said, there's a reason why Facebook has one billion users. You can share photos, update your "status", share information and news, directly message with people and can be subjected to a number of posts, adds and pictures ad nauseam. I think it's become a place where friends and families can stay in touch because the platform, for the most part, is so easy to use and navigate. Facebook, in my experience, is the only social media platform that doesn't recognize user age. My 80-year-old grandparents have Facebook, my friends parent's have it, and I know kids as young as eight that use it.
As for business use, I think Facebook has to be the biggest platform. Most businesses often times have all the information you need listed right there on the page. Anything from business hours, to location and even reviews, it's all listed on the page. As the book discussed, you can even see which friends of yours "liked" the business, which will surely influence your decision to support or not support the business of interest. Behind Facebook, I would say Google. Google has the ability to tell you anything and everything about a business which can be a good thing or a bad thing for the said business.
I think you could make the argument that both Facebook and Instagram can be used for personal and business practices. I think as a business, it depends on your audience and what platform they utilize more. If you're business produces or promotes something that's visual, I would say Instagram is a better bet simply based on the fact that it's a visual, picture sharing app. If it's something different, I think Facebook allows you more flexibility. A business using Facebook can post status updates, reviews, location, ads, videos and the list goes on. For me, Instagram is more limiting in those senses.
Having read just the introduction of the book, I can genuinely say I'm excited to keep reading and learning more!
Hi Kalyn,
ReplyDeleteI am very much like you. I don't use social media very much on a personal level. I use it for business and we mostly use FB and Instagram.
I also believe that google has a lot of untapped potential to grow your online sales or marketing. But for me is a bit confusing with the Google +, google my business, google this and google the other. Have you tried it yet?
I totally agree Kalyn! It's interesting, Facebook is such a monster of a platform, but lately it seems to be waning in popularity. Even so, at this point it's an institution in our society. A modern day phone book, personal photo album, and "little black book" among many other things.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Instagram and Facebook are both personal and business platforms. It also makes since that you would use each platform differently, depending on your target and businesses needs. Great blog!
ReplyDeleteHello Kalyn!
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you that facebook is probably the biggest platform for business as well as personal use. Things like the facebook market place have revolutionized how people find, buy, and sell merchandise. Even though I feel facebook has been declining in popularity, it still remains a central hub in social media especially since its the parent platform to Instagram.