Social Media in the Work Environment: LJ 7

With the rise of social media came explosive growth in the world of marketing and advertising. The reach and impact that social media now has with recently developed technologies have become unfathomable. Social media is now arguably the most beneficial and influential marketing channel. Every company’s target audience is likely on social media, so it is vital for these companies to utilize these platforms and make the most out of consumers’ habits.

If done correctly, the reach is huge, and the cost is low relative to other channels: “You can grow as a page on social media networks by simply being consistent and posting interesting and relatable content for your audience” (Henderson 2020). By putting in work towards optimizing SEO and creating meaningful and engaging content, companies can grow their audience and increase visits to their social media profiles (therefore eventually their website) in a cost-effective, low-budget way. 

In addition to its measurable benefits, social media is great for building company-customer relationships. Companies are given the opportunity to tell their story and create a community. It gives existing and potential customers a place to have real, reliable conversations about a product. This provides companies with earned exposure, which is “when customers relay their positive experiences to others via social media sites for reviews and ratings…early research found that three-fourths of comments to retailer sites were positive” (Lipschultz 2020). 

Using proper analytics platforms, social media also allows you to target your desired audience, track their behavior, learn their buying patterns, and build custom audiences for different campaigns (Henderson 2020). Obtaining customer data is easier now more than ever. For example, a company can see which customers were interested in what content, who clicked which call-to-action, who ended up purchasing, what your different customers are interested in, and so much more. As stated before, the possibilities are truly endless. 

As an aspiring professional in marketing or advertising, I feel as though my relationship with social media can make or break my career. Staying on top of the latest trends, learning how to use different social media and social media analytics platforms, and keeping myself updated on ever-developing technologies will all prove to help my career greatly. However, if I do the opposite and lose touch with my knowledge of social media, I will soon become expendable and unnecessary to whichever organization I end up working for. Additionally, my personal social media presence is important in my career journey. My profiles need to be appropriate and relatively professional. My social media pages are the first things any employer will see, therefore they need to reflect positively on me.

Henderson, G. (2020, July 2). The importance of social media marketing. The Importance Of Social Media Marketing. Retrieved May 3, 2022, from https://www.digitalmarketing.org/blog/the-importance-of-social-media-marketing 

Lipschultz, J. H. (2020). Social Media Communication (3rd ed.). Routledge.