How Social Media Tools Can Be Used to Distribute Information

How Social Media Tools Can Be Used to Distribute Messages to Consumers Social media tools facilitate communication because millions of people are using them, especially with the current advances in mobile media communication tools. Social media tools are rather inexpensive, comprehensible, and easy to get to which can allow anyone to publish or access information, compared to traditional business media, which normally requires substantial resources to publish information (Drost, 2011). With the growing popularity of social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, and Classmates.com (just to name a few), there is an emerging opportunity for businesses to take advantage of the marketing and information distribution possibilities. Social Network sites allow users to share ideas, activities, events, and interest within their individual, group/community, and business networks. Social Networks can be used to create Brand Awareness, used as an online reputation management tool, for Recruiting, to learn more about new technologies and competitors, and as a lead general tool to intercept potential prospects. There are some businesses and corporations that are currently leveraging social networks and online communities to their advantage. One way to create brand awareness is through the release of things such as widgets or companies can create some buzz about upcoming product releases. Also, using social networks to drive traffic to online web properties where businesses can entice users to engage with their sites and their products or solutions. Some businesses are even creating their own social communities to encourage viral discussions about their products, and to act like a feedback mechanism about their product/service (for business improvements). Many corporations are now beginning to use social networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn as tools for recruiting new talent. By creating Facebook Groups some Human Resource departments are using social

References: Drost, H. (2011). Social Networking. Ezine @rticles. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?Social-Marketing---How-to-Use-Social-Media-Tools-to-Attract-Visitors-to-Your-Website&id=4063306 Nimetz, J. (n.d.). Marketing Jive. Retrieved from http://www.marketing-jive.com/2007/11/jody-nimetz-on-emerging-trends-in-b2b.html