Social Media Marketing

The latest revolution in web usage and technology is the growth of social media, sometimes known as 'Web 2.0'. This refers to a range of different types of service, almost all of which revolve around the principle of people sharing information and resources over the web. Social networking sites such as FaceBook, MySpace and LinkedIn allow users to communicate with each other and share ideas, information and resources. Social bookmarking sites allow people to share links to web sites they find interesting or useful, while content publishing platforms such as Youtube, Flickr and Squidoo allow users to share their creations such as articles, videos, pictures and so on.

All of these resources have one thing in common - they are powered by 'user generated content' (UGC). Consumers can use these sites to share or review products, while businesses can use them for viral advertising and public relations. Blogs, discussion forums and social network sites are frequently used to enable two-way communication between businesses and their customers, and if used correctly can have excellent customer service and PR benefits in addition to their SEO considerations.