The Rise of Social Media Marketing

In an era where most restaurants have stronger Wi-Fi than coffee, it’s hard to truly comprehend, let alone stay on top of, the sheer ubiquity of modern technology. Not only is technology everywhere, but it’s also speeding up each day. If we want our businesses to keep up, we’ve got to be on the move as well. The digital realm continues to integrate into most major aspects of our daily lives, ballooning into a practically palpable world where we can book flights and check sports scores, literally without lifting a finger. Meanwhile, major Social Media outlets like Twitter and Facebook keep on expanding their user bases consistently each quarter. The transition toward a world that’s entirely online has already begun, and folks, we’re a long way from dial-up.

Need more proof? In the year 2013, Apple sold more iPhones than most countries have people. Yes, feel free to read that twice for impact. And if you caught a glimpse of The 2014 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) this June, you know that they have no intention of slowing down their rollouts or sharing their market dominance in the near future.

Now, close your eyes and imagine even more people, with even faster technology. Open your eyes and voilà! It’s already happening. This expeditious trend isn’t just an illusion. As long as the rate of technological paradigm shift continues to increase exponentially, things will only get faster. This is theorized as the Law of Accelerating Returns and continues to make technological gains quicker and smarter than ever before.

What does this mean for businesses like yours? Well, whether you’re a household brand name like Coca-Cola or a newly opened veterinary practice, your product or service, of course, comes first. But your engagement with your current and prospective clients, general accessibility and online presence now all come in at a close-ranking second. This pushes business owners to adapt or lose relevance in the all but prolonged digital age.

Still, not everyone is sold on the rise of Social Media. Some chalk it up as a temporary fad; others simply won’t budge when it comes to their tried and true marketing methods. While there are traditional methods of advertising and marketing that maintain their pertinence over time, (word-of-mouth marketing, for example, will never die) a growing amount of these dated-mediums are simply falling by the wayside.

New marketing is about the relationships, not the medium.
— Ben Grossman

On the other side of the equation, we can assure you that Social Media isn’t something that’s going to fade away anytime soon. While the Social Media-Medium itself that’s used to communicate might wax and wane over time, it’s the interconnectivity itself that remains not only relevant, but increasingly imperative to utilize, and ultimately master.

With most adults now online, the time to build your company’s digital infrastructure is now. Social Media allows you to quickly engage with your audience in an absolutely seamless manner. If it’s a new skillset you’re boasting, a sale you’re offering, or even a simple news announcement, your Facebook Page will allow you to capture your audience’s attention in a heartbeat. Deliver your content directly into their newsfeed, while measuring clicks, traction and response rates in real-time.

For those that have already mastered Facebook, Twitter is another fantastically savvy way to engage with your clients, friends and fans. Take it from this legendary Twitter savant, who despite a plunge in his recent approval ratings maintains one of the largest and most successful Twitter accounts in history. It’s about leveraging the platform that suits you best, and presenting your audience with what matters most.

At the end of the day, you want to live and work happily, and ultimately grow your business into the most rewarding and viable endeavor possible. With such a teeming array of Social Media websites in existence, it may just be a matter of figuring out which ones are right for you and your business, and then getting down to it.

Start with Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, and you’ll see how simple these platforms really are to use. And even if after this article, you still want more proof that your demographic actually uses Social Media, Dog Lovers International has you covered. Well, what are you waiting for? You’re only a few clicks away.