The Role Social Media Plays in Society

For a moment, forget that social media marketing takes place in an online world. Think back to the type of oldf ashioned, word-of-mouth marketing that has been taking place since the beginning of time.

For example, when you need to buy a new vacuum, you probably ask your family members, friends and even co-workers what kind of vacuum they have and their experience with the vacuum.



While the information they provide to you may not be the only factor you consider in making your vacuum purchase, receiving a recommendation from someone you know may be the deciding factor on which vacuum you buy.

Social media plays the same word-of-mouth role, however, the reach is much broader because you are not only reaching the lady who lives around the corner, you’re also reaching everyone that is her “friend” or “follower” on her social networks.

To give you an example of the impact this can have, the average Facebook user has 144 friends. Assume Client A buys your vacuum and raves about it on her Facebook page.

Right off the bat, you have reached 144 additional customers without doing anything. You have not spent one penny or exerted any energy. The buyer of the vacuum is the only one who put forth any effort by posting her comment on her Facebook page.

Now, the 144 people that news of the vacuum cleaner has reached also have their own set of friends. Assume each of the 144 friends also have 144 friends. With just one posting on a Facebook page, you can easily get in front of tens of thousands of people as the word spreads (approximately 20,736 from the 144 friends from the original poster and the 144 friends of those 144 people).