September 29th, 2014
Social engagement has existed for many years as traditional electronic and print media as well as word of mouth. But things have been changing dramatically over the past few years. The rise of Internet penetration and mobility combined with growing digital social networks has led to a massive paradigm shift—social engagement has grown manifold.
According to International Telecommunications Union (ITU) statistics, about 3 billion people globally will have access to the Internet by the end of 2014, and almost half of them, 1.3 billion people, use Facebook. Meanwhile, Twitter has witnessed 24% growth in its active user base, which the company reports now stands at 271 million. These statistics demonstrate dramatic growth, yet they cover only two of the most popular social media channels.
In this digital space, the gap between consumers and businesses as well as the gaps within customer communities is narrowing. Moreover, rival businesses have easy access to each other’s customers, who themselves enjoy a wider range of choices. This creates challenges but also brings greater opportunities. Businesses can directly target customers through social media channels, minimizing the overhead associated with more traditional methods of promoting their products and services.
In today’s digital world, business benefits for innovative marketers are enormous—companies can radically improve customer experience, enhance sales and marketing programs and improve customer loyalty. By coupling their online marketing initiatives with a well-integrated social media strategy, businesses now have the power to supercharge their marketing efforts.
