What is social media and why is it important?

“This is no longer a gimmick. This is how the American people want to receive their news and want to hear from us.” – Nick Schaper, new-media representative for House Minority Leader John Boehner

 Social media is an ever-expanding tool used by many different types of professionals through various ways.  However, the goal of all of these professionals is almost unanimously the same - to reach their customer or their consumer in a meaningful and lasting way.

Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and various blogging sites were created innocently enough to allow people all over the world to connect with others on the internet and share their thoughts in 140 characters or more depending on what site they utilize.  Gradually, many communication professionals recognized the ease with which they could access new and existing customers.  These professionals chose to go where the people were and made their companies visible and accessible to millions of people all over the world simply by creating pages for them on social media websites.

Social media is important because it is what the vast majority of young people globally spend most of their time doing.  It is very hard to find someone these days who doesn't at least have a Facebook account (it's also becoming much more likely that they're parents have accounts too).  People who rely on social media become addicted to how easily it allows them to access updates on anything and everything.  These people come to expect that and it becomes quite a chore to force themselves to acquire information from any other venue.  Social media is important because it incorporates all things that our technologically focused generation enjoys.

Utilizing social media sites allows companies to access the likes, dislikes, and current happenings of those people who chose to follow the information about their company.  These companies can then use this information to gather data about forming trends among those existing customers.  Companies with information about the interests of the people they are attempting to attract, have a great way to do just that.  They can use this information to develop ad campaigns, either print, web, or both or to just help them get a general idea about the type of person who is interested in their company.

Starbucks attemps social media

Mobile Commerce Pitfalls 

I'm pretty sure that this doesn't entirely fit into the grand scheme of this new found blog, but it's lists like these that really get me interested and thinking about things that I normally wouldn't consider.

I always tend to view any kind of innovations as a good thing.  What harm could technological improvements possibly have on anyone or anything?  I always, rather stupidly, assume that every improvement or addition to an already technologically driven world, will always be for the better, even if it doesn't happen right away.  However, this newly created app that allows iPhone and Blackberry users to purchase their coffee before entering a Starbucks location, is something that I looked upon with complete disbelief right from the get-go.

I understand that we live in a world attached to any and every device we can possibly get our hands on.  Our computers and our cell phones are our libraries, our encyclopedias, our social connections - our everything...almost.  Do we really have to throw away one of the last remaining forced human interactions that we all usually get on a daily basis for something that doesn't even seem like it would be all that more convenient?  Can we all just agree to take an extra minute or two and purchase our coffee from a live person?

Now that my opinions our out of the way, the fact is that this is simply the way that Starbucks has chosen to use a venue of social media.  The fact that they've decided to create an app like this one, shows that they clearly recognize the importance of such things in it's customer's daily lives.  Though it's hard for me to see something like this catching on too much, I can see how the stereotypically technologically savvy Starbucks customer might enjoy being able to purchase their venti chai tea latte on their Blackberry while sitting in the parking lot.

It's easy for companies to assume that because the world around them is typically a pretty tech savvy place, their customers will be the same way.  I still know many people who barely know how to use Facebook, would never dream of attempting to download any kind of app on their iPhone, and certainly would not even try to purchase a coffee on their cell phone.  People like this get frustrated easily and additions like this can be a real turn off to customers who would rather their world get a little bit more personal and little less tech-focused.

This grasp at social media by Starbucks brings up the fact that using social media to sell your product is not something that is always going to be successful.  Simply, some things just don't catch on.  Things that sound great in theory sometimes just don't work out like you've planned when put into practice.  I respect Starbucks and any other company that attempts to nurture our need for new toys to play with and gives us new ways to live in our technological world, but sometimes I just don't understand the things they create.