Social Media
Markus (sign name) works as a trainer in a fitness centre.
He wants to help his boss
acquire new clients for the centre by promoting it on Social media.
But Markus has only used Social media as a private person so far.
Don’t worry, Markus!
Social media broadly refers to web-based communication tools
that enable users
to interact with each other by sharing and receiving information.
These communication tools are very powerful,
making it easy to share content through virtual networks and communities.
For example, ideas, thoughts, and information.
The social dimension enables interaction
with people from all over the world.
Social media platforms often have some or all of the following features:
Possibility to create a personal user account
Profile page that contains a description of the individual user
(e.g.: profile photo, short bio, website, posts,…)
Ability to connect with other users
(e.g. followers, hashtags, friends, groups,…)
Newsfeeds
Personalisation-orientation
Notifications
Possibility to post (e.g.: text-based message, photo, video, links,…)
“Like” buttons and/or sections for comments
Review, rating or voting systems
The definition of social media is intentionally broad
as social media platforms are constantly evolving.
The key word to keep in mind
is that social media platforms offer the ability to interact
and are two-way.
Taking the example of traditional media
media like TV, radio, and newspapers,
the aims are similar to social media
as they both convey contents and information,
but traditional media doesn’t give users’ space
to submit their own opinions .
It is one-way communication.
Here is a list of some existing social media platforms (non-exhaustive):
o LinkedIn – professional networking
o Wikipedia - lexicon
o Instagram - photos
o TikTok - short videos
o Snapchat - messaging
o Discord - messaging
o Twitter - microblogging
o Tumblr - blogging
o Flickr - photos
o Pinterest – graphics, photos
o Facebook – connection with friends
o YouTube - videos
o Vimeo - videos
Although social media platforms are used in multiple ways,
mainly people look for discussions, networking (social or professional reasons),
and media sharing.
We use social media for personal
(communication, sharing passion/hobbies,
looking for new friends, or partners)
or professional purposes (looking for a job, business networks, or marketing).
Besides these many benefits,
be aware of the following on Social media:
The platforms are owned by busniesses that want to make money with your data.
Consider what data (e.g. photos and personal opinions) you share online.
Once published,
it’s nearly impossible to remove it for good.
Be aware
when you use your Social media
media to stay up to date with the news.
Fake news spreads quickly online
and your Social media feed shows you posts
that are similar to your own opinions.
But sometimes it’s important
to be aware of contrasting opinions, too.
Markus sees many possibilities
for promoting the fitness centre on different social media platforms.
He wants to try them out
and hopes he will be successful in attracting new clients.