The Power of Social Media

When I say ‘Social Media ‘, majority people take it causally. Majority don’t understand how powerful & effective medium it is.

The reader, yes you, who is reading will be thinking …

‘’ I understand, social media is nothing, it’s just a source of enjoyment, a distraction, waste of time bla bla ‘’.

Well, dear Reader!

Keep reading & in the end think again.

Source of Communication

In old times, people had no or few ways to communicate. Those were not only expensive but inconvenient & time consuming. But now we can contact anyone around the world, at any time, with just a few keystrokes. It is free.

We can also share elements of our life, from what we enjoy to photos of ourselves and those in our lives. It is like being a part of that person’s world, even though distance keeps you apart. It doesn’t matter how distant you are from loved one now.

Protector of Public Interests

Social media can act as the sword arm of democracy. It acts as watchdog to protect public interest against malpractice and create public awareness. Today when politicians are taking full advantage of their positions, an evil nexus of mafia and crime syndicate is making the life of the common man miserable, taxpayer’s money is siphoned out for the personal gain of the influential and ordinary people are a mere spectator-media has a greater responsibility As the fourth pillar of democracy along with judiciary, executive and legislature, media of today has an all-embracing role to act against the injustice, oppression, misdeeds and partiality of our society.

Real Information Source

Majority newspapers & electronic media channels are mostly bias in
their view on what happened as they belong to government or to some rich people who
depends on government. You get the unbiased and real picture through social media. Real time events get covered here.

It’s been said that information is power. Without a means of distributing information, people cannot harness the power. One positive impact of social media is in the distribution of information in today’s world. A study in America claims that 62 percent of people get their news from social media, with 18 percent doing so very often.

A Teacher

The great thing about using social media is that you soon learn who the experts are in particular fields and subjects. When you start following these experts you learn more and gain useful content from them, this empowers you to produce great results. Learning colleges have the ability to connect with students through social media networks such as Facebook, YouTube and Google plus groups. These channels can be used to communicate campus news, make announcements and provide students with useful information. Social media offers audience and subject monitoring tools that are useful and it is one of the best platforms to extract data.

Social Media Marketing

Social Media gives marketers a voice and a way to communicate with peers, customers, and potential consumers. It personalizes the \”brand\” and helps you to spread your message in a relaxed and conversational way. The fact is social media is so diversified that it can be used in whatever way best suits the interests and the needs of your business. Through social media sites one can directly interact with customers. Social networking sites give you instant access to positive or negative feedback, which provides one with valuable insights on the customer perspective. You can directly observe user comments to see what customers think of your business. So, if your brand is yet to scale up well on social media, it is very important that you start off your social media page.

Effective tool to get heard among masses

A fascinating study by New York Times Consumer Insight Group revealed the motivations that participants cited for sharing information on social media. These include a desire to reveal valuable and useful content to others; to define themselves; to grow and nourish relationships and to get the word out about brands and causes they like or support.

Game Changer

Yes, social media is a game changer now. It can be used to bring revolutions or entirely change the political landscapes of countries. ‘’ Egyptian Revolution ‘’ is the best example of power of social media. Through Facebook, Twitter and other mediums like minded people got connected. They decided time, venues of protests through social media.

Conclusion

Social media is an extension of our real lives. It has the power to enhance the world around us. Whether you’re a social media butterfly or a social media fly-on-the-wall, you are part of the virtual community. Think about your role in how you contribute to this community. Use it positively to bring change in this society.

 

The writer Dr Ayesha Naveed  is a Social Media Activist can be reached @DrAyeshaNaveed