Social media marketing is using various social media platforms and websites while also using a combination of marketing techniques to target a specific audience and promote a company’s product, service or ideas/goals. Marketing through social media gives companies, small businesses, and organizations the opportunity to put out long lasting media that can be viewed and shared by millions virtually while also being free. This is preferred over traditional media such as radio, television which cost thousands to produce and are often forgotten within minutes making them ineffective compared to the use of social media marketing and advertising. [1]The use of social media for marketing allow companies, big or small, to keep up with trends around the world and stay relevant to their consumers and potential consumers. Social media marketing has proven to be all inclusive in terms of who can benefit from it; it is widely used for varying purposes, like political campaigns, social reform campaigns, activist groups, etc. Social media marketing allows who ever uses it to stay in touch with their market, constantly receiving customer feedback and recommendations; giving users the ability to continuously satisfy target audiences. [2] It is one thing to casually use social media, and another to incorporate social media marketing into your business strategy. Many corporations indulge in the use of memes, gifs, and viral videos to bring viewership to their social media, which ultimately takes them to their online shops or blogs. The most successful brands and companies also focus on maintaining the brands image with consistent content across all possible social media platforms. [3] Other techniques include brand deals with famous influencers who have a lot of engagement in their Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and other social media outlets.

The above are examples of social media outlets companies are likely to use to promote themselves.
  1. ^ Zarrella, Dan (2009-11-13). The Social Media Marketing Book. "O'Reilly Media, Inc.". ISBN 978-1-4493-8310-7.
  2. ^ Evans, Dave (2010-09-14). Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-43933-3.
  3. ^ Tuten, Tracy L.; Solomon, Michael R. (2017-11-20). Social Media Marketing. SAGE. ISBN 978-1-5264-2454-9.