Social media began in the late 1990s when the internet became available for public use. Social media platforms such as classmates.com and Six Degrees came into existence. These platforms allowed people to connect with each other easily. For example, Six Degrees, which is largely considered the first ever social media site, allowed users to create profiles, view other people’s profiles, and invite friends (Press, 2018). Social media has become popular so quickly because it leverages the human desire to feel connected. People like to stay in touch by sharing their photos, opinions, and life milestones. Since social media facilitates this connection, it has become extremely popular.
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube are some of the biggest social media platforms in the world. In particular, Facebook is considered the largest social site in the world and commands a lot of influence. It is used by users to share stories, photos, videos, articles, and music. Its versatility has enabled it remain a dominant site even as new ones emerge. Twitter is one of the most popular sites for sharing random thoughts as well as analyzing breaking news, events, and niche topics. It is known as a site for holding discourses on any topic. LinkedIn is a networking site used by job seekers and hirers. Users mainly share their professional achievements in the hope of attracting future employers. YouTube is a video-streaming platform where people watch all kinds of videos including music, commentaries, product reviews, and tutorials. Even though social media platforms share many features, users subscribe to them for different purposes.
In social media platforms, a hashtag is used to highlight the keywords in a given message. For example, on Twitter, a hashtag is placed before the keyword or phrase a person wishes to highlight. When a post includes a hashtag, the platform classifies it alongside other posts that also include the hashtag. This makes the post easier to find on the platform’s search bar (Lath, 2018). A business can use #hashtagging to increase the outreach of their advertisement. For instance, if a company sells camping equipment, it can include relevant hashtags at the end of its social media posts. Examples of relevant hashtags include #camping, #nature, #outdoor, and #hiking. When a user searches for or clicks on this hashtag on social media, the company’s post will be included in the search results.
There are many ways a business can measure the effectiveness of their social media advertising effort. One such way is to check the number of impressions a post receives, that is, the number of times it was shown. Another way is to evaluate the click-through-rate, which is calculated as the number of times an ad was clicked on divided by the number of times it was shown (Lath, 2018). This is an effective measure since it shows approximately how many people clicked on a link and not just saw it. A business can also use referral traffic to measure the effectiveness of their social media use. Referral traffic is measured by use of tracking software such as Google Analytics when someone visits the business site using links from social media platforms.
Social media is becoming a form of “gossiping” in the modern day. Social media can be used to spread rumors, gossip, and misinformation. However, Christian men and women can use social media as a business tool while avoiding gossiping. They do this by curating their timeline such that gossip topics do not make it their pages. They can also opt not to participate in discussions on topics they view as inappropriate. Avoiding social media gossip is a difficult but possible feat.
References
Lath, A. (2018). How to measure the effectiveness of a social media campaign. BBN Times. Web.
Press, G. (2018). Why Facebook triumphed over all other social networks. Forbes. Web.