Social studies

What makes the world go round today? Some say money. Others say love. But many would point to social media. And who would argue, considering that we increasingly rely on social platforms to communicate, share content, get news and information, watch video, make purchases and more? Indeed, we’ve reached a point where it’s become the go-to tool of choice, the indispensable Swiss Army knife of tech utilities that can replace newspapers, telephones, TVs, email and even human interaction. And therein lies great opportunities for – and the need for greater responsibility from – marketers and brands who seek to wield this formidable weapon.

Consider for a moment that, today, over 70 percent of Americans engage in social media – up from only five percent tallied in 2005, according to the Pew Research Center. A handful of key players in the space continue to rule: the most popular social networking sites include Facebook (over 2 billion users), YouTube (1.5 billion users), Instagram (800 million), Twitter (328,000) and Reddit (250,000), per Dreamgrow. Social Media Examiner’s 2017 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, meanwhile, revealed that the top platforms used by marketers are Facebook (94%), Twitter (68%), LinkedIn (56%), Instagram (54%), YouTube (45%), Pinterest (30%) and Snapchat (7%).

Click here to read more about the current state of social media, a topic I recently investigated for EContent Magazine.