What is the role of social media in today’s marketplace?

Social media has two major roles in today’s marketplace. These roles are advertising and branding. Social media has made it much easier for businesses to reach large markets. Where in the past businesses had to rely on mail, television, and radio ads in order to reach larger, yet still limited markets, today businesses are able to reach significant portions of the world’s population through social media. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have allowed businesses to reach large, specifically targeted markets. This then can increase revenue for businesses. Social media has also allowed for better branding. Now, customers are able to leave reviews on social media platforms that can help encourage (or deter) other customers from visiting the business. It also allows for the business itself and customers to brand the business by showing the world what the business is like. It can also show what the values of a business are. Perhaps the business may be attempting to be environmentally friendly. This could possibly be presented through social media by promoting campaigns such as Earth Day campaigns, or by sharing to followers that they have switched to clothe bags instead of plastic. There are many ways in which a business may brand itself by showing its “personality” through social media. But no matter whether it is advertising or branding, social media has helped the market exponentially. And it will be intriguing to see where it takes the market next.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
What topics do you think you’ll write about?
Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.