Thalasar Ventures

In the article “Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media” authors Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein defines social media as “a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content.” They divide social media into six different types namely, blogs and microblogs, content communities, collaborative projects, social networking sites, virtual social worlds and virtual game worlds.
 
Today a large percentage of the world population is hooked on to social media sites. Most of the social media sites originally began as a casual and informal media where people got together to while away their time. They met new people, made new friends, shared their experiences and opinions, and recommended sites, products and services. The social media sites provided the perfect setting for a friendly tete-a-tete with friends and community members. However, when social media sites started connecting more and more people around the world and as more and more people started sharing their opinions, insights,emotions and experiences, it gradually lost its casual bearing. The views expressed by the people about products and services influenced others to change their purchase decisions. When these casual sharing of brand experiences started affecting sales, marketers had no other go but to take notice of the immense power of social media. They quickly realizedthat social media sites are no longer a fad that they used to be. Social media is powerful marketing media that can make or break a company or enterprise.
 
Today all companies that want to fast track business success have made social media an integral part of their marketing strategy. They make use of social media analytics to track the pulse of the customers. With the help of social media analytics tools, companies keep a check on the kind of conversation that are popular on blogs, social networks, video flows, ratings, favorites and so on. Social analytics identify and measure conversation, sentiment, influence, engagement and trends thereby allowing marketers to serve customers better. It provides them valuable information to establish a constructive dialogue with potential customers.
 
In today’ volatile economic conditions, companies need to stay ahead of the competition at any cost. And with social media being the top activity on the internet, only those companies that tap its potential and use it in their business strategy can gain improved sales, reduced costs and direct customer reach.