What is Social Media, and How Can it Be Used in Business?
Note: The following, What is Social Media? is the first of a three-part article written and graciously contributed by
Michael Wagner, an IT professional living and working in the Metro
Detroit area. Michael specializes in helping small businesses with
their IT needs. To contact Michael with questions, or for IT
assistance, please email him at michael.edward.wagner[at] gmail.com.
So, What is Social Media, Anyway?
The rapid proliferation of Social Media is having a significant impact
on the way companies go to market and respond to customer demands.
What exactly is Social Media? How can companies use these
technologies to their advantage? What are the pros and cons of Social
Media for a business? How can individuals use social media to market
themselves?
Social Media is an all encompassing term that helps define a set of
technology, social interaction that includes words, pictures and other
media which allows groups to generate content and engage in
conversations through a peer-to-peer network. Examples of the types
of social media are forums, message boards, photo sharing, chats,
blogs, wikis and podcasts. These types of communities can be small to
very large.
Some of the specific sites are YouTube, LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook
and Twitter. This type of social interaction is not only being used
for personal reasons, but many organizations have started to use it to
engage customers, employees, partners and other stakeholders within
their business.
Now that you've read "What is Social Media?," Click here to read Part Two:
How Companies Are Using Business Social Networking.
Questions? Comments? Criticisms? Please, contact us today.
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