Although social media is supposed to be about real social interactions, it seems that they are getting harder and harder to come by. This trend is really ironic given the basis for what social networking even is.
According to C.C. Chapman of Digital Dads, the reason this is happening to social media is largely due to the growth of the industry. As the industry has grown and advanced, it has gotten much more commercialized and even has an increasing number of tools and regulations associated with it.
In what ways have you noticed the commercialization of social media? Please share your thoughts.
While some of the changes are useful, it’s definitely clear that the original meaning of social networking has gotten blurred. Chapman told us that “common sense gets forgotten” in social media today.
“Basic manners [and] basic talking to people seems to get lost in the megaphone of the Internet,” he said.
Chapman explained that this same type of trend occurred in the early days of the Internet as well when businesses discovered it as an opportunity to make money. Even though there are money-making opportunities in social media that businesses can and should utilize, they do need to be careful as they execute their strategy.
“Let’s face it – businesses have to exist,” said Chapman. “As someone who consults with companies of all sizes, online marketing and social media marketing are amazing tools that, with the right strategy and the right budget and everything, can do amazing things for a company.”
The key in this is that businesses need to have a goal for using social media that consists of more than just creating a Facebook or Twitter page. Chapman said that businesses should think about why they are online and create a goal from the answer. Once this is determined, businesses can develop a strategy by figuring out which tools will help them meet their goal.
However, this doesn’t give businesses the right to neglect the natural interactions in their social strategy. Chapman told us that it still takes relationships to get business done, no matter how big or how small a business is.
“At the end of the day, at least in my opinion, people still buy from people,” he said.
“The company that has basic common sense, basic manners, and still has a good product… I’m gonna connect, and I’m gonna buy from them a lot more,” he added.
In your opinion, are too many businesses forgetting about natural social interactions?
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