Summer holidays are a time when we keep travelling, which I’ve mentioned a couple of times both on my blog and on the fan page Investing After Hours (link). But this doesn’t mean that me and Monika do nothing during those two months, idling away the time. No matter where I am, I keep track of my online investments, and Monika keeps analysing changes in social media. I’d like to take a closer look at the latter in the article below.
Changes, changes… constant changes
Changes in the online world are nothing new, as every giant like Google or Facebook introduces adjustments to its tools. This year’s highlights include the changes announced during the Facebook conference held in San Jose. During his speech, Mark Zuckerberg talked about what’s new in terms of technology and the newly introduced products.
Those are the most interesting enhancements:
- introduction of the possibility to share one video story on both Facebook and Instagram. In this way, users will not have to record and share stories on two separate channels,
- history analysis, which is a feature that checks which profiles provide you with regular information about their products, which helps detect inactive Facebook accounts,
- introduction of a video-chat on Instagram, which will enable online contact.
But, among all the changes, there was one service which particularly caught our eye – “Dating”, i.e. a function that enables establishing contacts between users, which works based on similar principles as dating apps. Users will have, among other things, a separate mailbox for communicating with each other and the possibility of choosing the recipient’s profile according to their own interests. “Dating” is presented as a function, but in fact it starts to resemble a new Facebook channel.
But why should I know that?
The emergence of new functions in social media is of interest mainly to investors, developers and major corporations. This is because many of them have tied their businesses to that of Mark Zuckerberg. But, are the above novelties really an interesting topic only for a few? Well, they definitely aren’t.
Social media novelties should also be of interest to users of channels, both private and corporate. And why is that? The video-chat function will be used not only by a developer, but also by an Instagram user. This also applies to the history analysis or the “Dating” function. But, that’s not all.
New developments in social media also include social networking channels, which should be the focus not only for users but also for businesses. And why is that? Well..
A new channel is a new promotional tool!
Okay, so how to successfully invest your money in new social media channels?
When analysing the social media market, there is much to suggest that the times when Facebook and YouTube were at the forefront are slowly coming to an end, as people are reaching for new channels offering various opportunities. These include Instagram and Google+, created by giants like Facebook and Google, but also Snapchat-type channels, which prove that you can create your own, completely independent application from scratch. So, it’s a good idea to take a closer look at the new channels, which have a chance of gaining immense popularity. Those include:
- SlideShare – a tool for entrepreneurs looking for a specific type of client, and employees who want to share their professional experience. The application works in a similar way to LinkedIn, enabling networking and publication of guidebook content, case studies, tutorials and other marketing content,
- Foursquare – an application designed for travellers looking for restaurants, bars, stores, hotels and tourist spots. The app works in a similar way to Google Maps, but is more refined in terms of the nature of facilities. When setting up a business account, owners enter their facility on a map, which gives them a chance to reach a customer looking for a specific restaurant, a disco or a flat,
- Flickr – a channel often called Instagram 2.0. And that’s because of a function enabling the publication of photos – but… these are not just any photos. Instagram has become so popular that it has been overloaded with better or worse quality photos. And Flickr only provides high quality photos. The application has been designed mainly for professional photographers wishing to share their portfolio.
- … Tider? … yeah… Tinder. Tinder is a dating application, popular among some and hated by others. However, it’s interesting that for a long time it has been used as a promotional tool by, i.a., taxi companies, gyms or Uber. This is because the application makes it possible to create business profiles which publish linked ads. Such ads then reach users while they are looking for interesting profiles. This means that when searching for a new love, you come across advertisements “by accident”.
It’s worth keeping up to date with all new social media developments. That’s obvious not only to social media ninjas, but also to representatives of companies which promote their products or services online. Using innovative social channels, you will have an opportunity to use modern forms of promotion enabling you to reach new customers. So, whether you run a mail order shop, a blog for beginner investors or an investment company, it’s always worth following the news from the world of e-marketing.
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