THE FUTURE OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

There are innumerable textbooks and websites explaining the numerous benefits of social media marketing. Wide reach, large scale, low cost etc. The fact that such a form of marketing is mutually advantageous is seldom cited. Not only do companies get to advertise on the largest social platforms but they also, in a way, fulfill their social needs. How many ‘likes’ you own on Facebook is a very important measure of your ‘social profitability’. Views and ideas of bloggers can help the organizations evolve and grow.

Social media marketing has completely transformed the ways in which organizations market their products. On logging into their Facebook accounts, one finds not only updates and messages from friends but also the eye-catching and attention-seeking advertisements of different brands. Moreover, as companies go on creating their “pages� and “blogs�, one cannot avoid following what social trends her social circle is adapting. Truly, social media marketing has given a new meaning to the purpose of social networking websites like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Linkedln etc.

To put it very simply, the future of social media marketing depends on the future of the social networking websites. These websites fulfill the ‘social needs’ (I am talking with reference to the Maslow’s need hierarchy theory) of people and give them a way to stay connected. But with everybody talking about ‘Facebook fracture’ and ‘tweet fatigue’, the fact that the future of these websites is uncertain is certain. People can grow tired of socializing over time and may not be active in the future on these websites (Orkut and HiFive are not used much). Liking a page of your favorite brand, following the blog of the CEO of your favorite company etc. is complimenting the purpose of the social networking websites ONLY. For instance, people like the page of a company not because they actually buy the products of the company or are very fond of it, but because they want to show-off or advertise the brands and goods they prefer, to their Facebook friends. Considering these things, the future of these websites is bleak.

The fact that people befriend thousands of friends because they want to explore thousands of options through these people, is undeniable. Many a times people have a genuine desire to learn about the world of brands and explore a wide range of products by analyzing the choices of their near and dear ones. Companies succeed and fail owing to the scope of their innovation and quality of their ideas. Hence, it is hard to imagine that companies in the future may offer their regular followers or bloggers with some lucrative offers. In the future, one can expect either demise of this form of marketing or a complete revolutionary transformation. One can anticipate a lot of focus on story-telling and content excellence in this form of marketing. Companies might sell thought-provoking stories by uploading videos on YouTube or Vimeo or on their Facebook pages.

In a world where Google Glass is on the way, when our smartphones will be our wallets and when customers will show no mercy for bad behavior, can passive entertainment offered by companies on YouTube or Facebook really help them to stand out? Social media marketing can survive in the future if and only if it is possible to find a way to enliven, animate and “experiencify� quality to customers through the social network.

On narrowing down to the Indian context, strangely, social media marketing will play a crucial role for the banking sector in the future. With people resorting to internet banking, banks can use social media to its advantage and spread financial literacy. As an example, I would like to see institutions explaining the use of the highly complex derivatives like credit default swap by launching programs like ‘Fake Account Swaps’ wherein willful people swap the risk of hacking or say, privacy infringements with tech-savvy people for both fun and knowledge sake.

Conclusively, social media marketing has a great number of advantages as people will be using social networking websites in the future, if not indefinitely. However, scope of innovation is limited and restricted because social media marketing is not as effective as the idea of ‘experiencifying’. The water gun competitions, street plays and theatre experiences organized by companies are leaving a greater impression on the minds of people than social media marketing. From personal experience, I know that social media marketing is indispensable for college students as they see it as the best way to market their college events and functions. All in all, social media marketing cannot be completely struck off from the marketing strategies of the organizations in the future.

Blog by:- Shagoon Malhotra

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