Why Social Media?

As a technologically capable high school senior, I have been in contact with social media for years, and I lived through the social media revolution firsthand. I created my first Facebook account and watched my first YouTube video almost five years ago, and since then, both of these have been integral parts of my life. Because of this experience and my naivety, I thought that during my week with StoryTeller I would have little to learn. What was I thinking?!

For many of the younger generation, businesses are intruding into their domain by joining these networks, but with membership on Facebook exceeding 400 million and YouTube being home to a greater viewership than that of network television, it is no surprise that more and more businesses are striving to join and increase their presence in social media.

In my daily use of these networks I have come across business-related pages, but I, like many of my contemporaries, overlooked the effect that social media plays in marketing. Before starting my work with StoryTeller, I saw social media as simply another means of communication, where people who are already plugged-in at every hour of the day can share tidbits of information about what comes to mind or what is on their personal agenda for the day. With this opinion, I was surprised to hear my dad tell me that social media is one of the industries experiencing the most rapid growth in the world!

After the initial discussions of StoryTeller’s role in marketing, I must admit I was skeptical about the actual effect their strategies could have on a business. After all, I incorrectly saw it as simply a means of personal expression. Within minutes of seeing their ideas and strategies applied to real clients and the active participation they receive from followers my opinion changed and every ounce of doubt was cast aside.

The business application is much more formally constructed than that of the daily user. I was fascinated by the time it took to plan the strategies for each client, because in my experience every post was simply created off of a passing fancy. The large question that permeates every aspect of the business applications, and that I failed to realize before, is, “How can we create discussion with our followers, and eventually sell products without force-feeding our customers contrived ad campaigns?” By incorporating this question behind every post, StoryTeller has successfully developed followings for each of their clients.

Social media is all about what you want to get out of it. The average social media user can connect to friends, but so many of its applications are ignored. Although it is still a blossoming industry, it has already attracted the attention of many large companies who are spending millions of dollars with ad campaigns. While many people seek to update their friends on their daily activities, companies are trying to lead discussions, inspire thought, and most importantly sell their product. With time, strategy, and creativity, the social media resources that exist and those that are in production will only increase social media’s grip on the entire population, and its effects will undoubtedly be studied for years to come.

Tags: Facebook, fundraising videos, StoryTeller Media & Communications, technology, YouTube

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