Social media is the biggest shift in human history since the industrial revolution; this phenomenon was first perceived as merely entertainment and gossiping, but it started to grow fast in 2004 when the now giant Facebook appeared on the market. Now days more social networks are being created and active internet users are rapidly accepting this new era of social communication. Social media users access to these networks either from their laptops or mobile devices, and since social networks already are offering free video calls, many users communicate with family and friends using these services as well. Brands and businesses are taking advantage of this social era also, where they can advertise their products using Facebook, Twitter, and the other networks that are rapidly growing, the opportunity is huge and unique, and here I would like to tell you more details so you know why is that you want to be socially present as well. Just Facebook alone got over 1 billion active users in October of 2012, and Twitter reached 500 million active users in July of the same year; these two are the biggest social networks currently and they are growing every day like no other media before. The fastest growing social media network yet is called Pinterest, which after being launched in 2010 reported over 10 million unique visitors from the US in January of 2012; the opportunity is so big right now because of what is happening with these social places online. If Facebook were a country, it could be the 3^rd largest country in the world just after China and India because of the number of people who are registered as active users. The trick is very simple, social media is connecting people like nothing else has done before, the statistics around the social networks are astonishing and the secret is very simple, word of mouth is the principle that guides places like Facebook and Twitter, the fact is that now word of mouth is more something like world of mouth, because the whole planet is connected through social media. And since word of mouth keeps being the primary form of advertising, many brands, corporations, businesses, sports teams, public figures, musicians, and even politicians, are taking advantage of the easiness to connect with people through social networks, and thus growing their audience.

Learn not only the reasons but also the how’s that are making that everyone is connected through Social Media

Now that you know how big the social networks are and the kind of people that are building profiles inside them, you want to know some of the most powerful reasons why they’re spending time and money doing that. Here you will find the motives to be present online not only through your website, but also through likes, fans, followers, pins, and more. The best advertisement is that which is referred to us by a friend, and this is something that social networks do pretty well.

1. Brand and products promotion: Everyday more brands and products are offered using places like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, to increase the product’s exposure. Recently Facebook added a new feature that allows users to promote their posts at very good prices, and even when Facebook ads are not that new, the fact is that both brands and products are being promoted using social profiles.
2. 

   Social Networks

   Friends and relationships: Social networks are connecting people not only in the present, but also with their past like nothing before, it is not rare to find people who were your high school peers using Facebook, social networks broke the barrier of requiring an email address to connect with someone, by providing a huge database with pictures that is easily navigable, so now those who met in the past or at a distant place can be connected in seconds with just a few clicks, also more and more people who met via social media are getting married, and of course some divorces are being blamed on social media. The fact is that networks like Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Google Plus, are connecting peers and friends easily and quickly.
3. Find a job: Many professionals are using social networks to connect with employers and companies looking for talented people; even head hunters explore places like LinkedIn to find suitable candidates for their open positions. It is not weird to reject a person who is being considered for a job in a company due to the comments or posts on her or his social media, many companies do this in order to find out more about the people who bids on their positions. You know the saying: What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas; but today what happens in Vegas stays on social media.
4. Business exposure: Just like the brands and products, businesses can be promoted through social networks, this is easy to do, of course you can hire the services of a social media professional to manage your accounts and grow your audience. Part of the magic that social media (as well as the internet) offers to small businesses is that they can compete very easily with big companies, and actually beat them in their online exposure; this is something that social networks also do for small and even local businesses; the exposure is global now, and promoting your business located in New York to people who is in Brazil is one click away.
5. Stay alive: Social networks are the new way of communication, these places reached people like nothing before, everyone is so into social media, and failing to be socially present could be a critical mistake for anyone who is trying to communicate a message to others, so building profiles at social networks is now as important as having a cell phone.

Social media is not a fad or a transient phenomenon that will disappear with the time, because even if some of the current social networks can’t survive the next five years, others will come and will fulfill the people’s need for fast communication; so my advice is to stay tuned and present in social media, after all as Erik Qualman says, we don’t have a choice on whether we do social media, the question is how well we do it. What do you think now about social media? Are you doing your homework on this matter? Do you see the potential? Let us know your thoughts and leave a comment. To your Success!