Social Media Platforms

YouTube covers all genres from beauty, gaming, and education to DIY home improvements.
This is the platform for most brands to invest in, with video being the growing medium for
content marketing.
Facebook is a popular free social networking website that enables users to share
information and photos and keep in touch with family and friends.
Instagram is a free photo and video sharing app available on iPhone and Android. People can
upload photos or videos to our service and share them with their followers or with a select
group of friends. They can also view, comment and like posts shared by their friends on
Instagram. Instagram is a social network where product-based businesses, influencers, and
coaches can thrive.
Watsapp
LinkedIn
Snap Chat
Twitter
Advantages of Social Media Marketing
1. Create Brand awareness
2. Create Brand Image
3. Boost in traffic
4. Increase in sales
5. Cost effective
6. Viral Spread
7. Connecting large audience
8. Measurable results
9. Less technically challenging
10. Trust (reviews)

Disadvantages
1. Negative Feedback
2. Phishing/Hacking
3. Time Consuming (Constant new post, content to engage your consumers)
4. Control handed to consumers
5. Viral (embarrassment)
6. Dependency on internet and technology
Types of internet ads

Display Ads: A popular example of display ads is Google AdWords, which displays ads
on websites that are part of the Google Display Network. These ads can be in the form of
 banner ads, which are rectangular ads that appear at the top or bottom of a website, or
pop-up ads, which appear in a separate window when a user visits a website.

Search Ads: An example of search ads is Google Ads, which displays ads at the top of
search engine results pages (SERPs) when a user searches for a specific keyword or
phrase. For example, if a user searches for "best coffee shops near me," they may see ads
for local coffee shops at the top of the search results.

Video Ads: YouTube is a popular platform for video ads. For example, a user watching a
video on YouTube may see an ad before the video starts, or an ad that appears as a banner
while the video is playing.

Social Media Ads: Facebook and Instagram are popular platforms for social media ads.
For example, a company may create a sponsored post that appears in a user's news feed,
or a display ad that appears on the side of the screen.

Native Ads:These are ads that are designed to blend in with the content of the website or
platform they appear on, and can take the form of sponsored articles, videos, or product
reviews.An example of native ads is Buzzfeed, which features sponsored articles that
blend in with the website's content. For example, a sponsored article about a new movie
may appear alongside other articles about entertainment news

Trends in Social Media Marketing

Social Media Marketing is a form of internet marketing that involves creating and sharing
content on social media networks in order to achieve your marketing and branding goals. It is
a powerful way for businesses of all sizes to reach prospects and customers.
Some of the current trends in social media marketing:

Stories everywhere –
Promoting brands and their products through social media websites has been remarkably
profitable. Presently, over 400 million people put stories on Instagram on a daily basis. Even
though initially, Snapchat was the app to introduce this concept, Instagram is being used more
by people nowadays. Facebook and WhatsApp have also been following the hype and have
imported the feature in their application. Stories are a great way to engage with potential
customers. They are extremely easy to create with inbuilt options to edit them and make them
fun.
Video Marketing –
Social Media platforms have always been interested in highlighting video content. It’s only a
matter of time until videos take over the whole social media world. Various types of video
marketing include -
i. Long Videos:
Youtube, Facebook and IGTV (Instagram Television) have been the most influential
platforms for delivering powerful video content that keeps the audience engaged. Facebook
has officially changed its algorithm to display video posts more frequently on our feed.
ii. Short Videos:
Such videos are notably used for advertisements by brands all over the world. People can be
lured to view such videos by using appealing captions and great content.
iii. Live Streaming:
This feature can also be used for promoting brands. Trending over social media, live
streaming has helped users turn into broadcasters and coming closer to the audience.
iv. Podcasts:
Podcasts have also been trending over the last years. Especially when one is driving, audio
content is the best way to catch up with what is going on around the world.
Messaging Apps –
People have been shifting to private messaging rather than publicly posting. According to a
survey conducted of people globally, nine out of ten would like to privately text to
communicate with businesses. Messaging apps offer the most ideal platform to provide
personalized experiences that just aren’t possible through other social media platforms.
Facebook Messenger has proved beneficial in advertising brands by sending personal
messages to the users.
Chatbots –
Companies around the world hustled to build messaging chatbots. Adoption of this brilliant
technological advancement has certainly been slow as it is still brand new. This process will
be quic
ker once the chatbots develop and go beyond elementary bots and maintain consumer
interactions. This will help in establishing a big share in the market. Customers legit want
personalized interaction with the brands. Interacting with the consumers without any selling
propositions shows that you value them and respect their decisions.
Influencer Marketing –
Social Media Influencers connect with the audience and visitors. Top organizations will seek
assistance of these influencers to promote their products and boost their online campaigns.
However, popular influencers are charging way too much for their promotion. Start-ups may
opt of micro-influencers to manage their budget. Though the micro-influencers have fewer
followers, they can surely draw attention of many people. They are trustworthy and highly
capable for promoting their brands.