Social Network Marketing Expands Sphere

"Social networks can be used for branding, improving customer loyalty, lead generation, direct marketing and e-commerce."

Previous postings have indicated that social media are being used effectively for creating brand awareness. This latest research confirms that use, but also points out that some marketers are having success in generating sales activities using the media. This seems to be largely through offering promotions that draw attention and response, but the major point is that the usage expands as people learn more about hos to exploit the services for their own needs.

Another article I recently referred to said that the primary reason that marketers were not using social media was a lack of understanding of how it worked or could be used. This latest article shows how things change as users learn more.

On another front, I have seen some indications that some people are beginning to move away from Facebook, in part, at least, because of its effort to exploit the service more aggressively for marketing purposes. This is part of the Facebook effort to monetize the application, but it seems to be creating some negative reaction among users. Whether this movement will continue or become significant remains to be seen, but illustrates the need to remain current with your understanding of what is going on in the online environment. It is changing every day, and those users who stay on top of the changes will do better in their efforts to make creative use of the tools!