The Anniversary of Social Networks: The Impact It Has Made on Business

2014

Facebook reaches its 10-year anniversary this year, which is surprising considering the social-media-fuelled world we live in now seems like an entire age. How concrete has its mark been made in these years? What impact has it had on business?

With the incessant creations of social networking sites arising, putting it metaphorically, with them being built in our viral environment, it’s hard to remember the time pre-social networking sites and almost tempting to even refer to it as an age with the feel of social media being a revolutionary time period. It’s hard to believe Facebook has been around for just a decade and in these years we have seen the launches of many more, a couple of these social networks that have managed to match Facebook and have brought their own benefits, like Twitter.

Of course when we think of social media, we think of Facebook and Twitter instantly but we forget to think of sites like YouTube for example. YouTube is a part of this as the site allows users to share, post and comment on online videos with their own profiles and channels. There are many other sharing sites for files, videos and thoughts that fall into the world of and contribute to the term, social media. YouTube too has only been around for 9 years, adding to the amazement of how recent the term social media has been settled into our vocabulary and society.

So how beneficial is this term and what impact on business is it producing? Right from the development phase and to the business plan of these social network sites, there has to have been points and persuasions as to how these sites will answer this question when thinking of financial income and you can guarantee Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder of Facebook and Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter would have written these answers or indeed liaised with others. Answers we presume would be that: the sites can allow businesses and individuals to reach out via online advertisements to their markets, to make opportunities for programmers and developers to really get to work and to increase awareness of brands. Ten years down the line, it is safe to say they have achieved this and the whole result being that the sites were created in the first place.

Alternatively to the age (couldn’t resist) pre social networking sites, now when you look around, you see almost always businesses being advertised on billboards, bus shelter displays, buses and television with mention to their Facebook and Twitter pages urging us to ‘like’ them. Businesses now adapt to include not just their primary messages of persuasions to consumers like what they are selling, but to add the crucial message to encourage us to go visit their pages on social networking sites; something they never needed to look into, a recent ten years ago. This clearly representing the need for the social network as it provides great revolutionary benefits to businesses and of course users. It complements the statement, ‘get on Facebook and Twitter, it can’t be wrong’ and it can’t be.

Reaching out to potential customers, increasing and creating awareness and connecting with customers, (the latter being the vital point) are three points any business aims to work on and implement in their marketing strategies. Some of these strategies are now more accessible without added costs as enterprises seize the impact social media can have on their brand and profit margins.

Social media then, we ask. Rewarding? Yes. Advantageous? Hugely. Are you on Facebook and Twitter? You should be.

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