Is Social Media Saturated?

19 Dec, 2011Social Media
Is Social Media Saturated?

With the advent of Myspace just a few years back, social media took on the mainstream directly by allowing anyone and anything a chance to be branded and exposed to the masses in a popular and ubiquitous format. When Myspace lost its market share to competitors such as Twitter and Facebook becoming a music only website, social media catapulted even further into the consciousness of any atypical marketing strategy. But with monthly Facebook usage going down ever so slightly, it raises a simple though universally complex problem- is social media not as effective as it used to be? is social media, perhaps, saturated? I mean I have seen an online head shop really killing it on social media.

Marketers have more than made their presence known in the online domain. banner ads and advertising has existed on the web since its earliest days from the mid-90′s. yet not, marketers are harnessing social media to reach a large and expansive audience- at little cost. For example, Twitter allows any user to subscribe to a twitter page. Any time the individual makes an update, anyone subscribed will have that update posted on their page to be read (perhaps even texted directly to them). As an individual user who uses the feature for fun, this is a nice way to keep in touch with celebrities and friends. but for companies, this a powerful device to interact directly with “fans.”

Facebook has a “wall” feature that allows anyone to post what they like on their wall to be seen by others, similar to what is called a feed. Social media is effective for friend networks, but when advertisers get their hands on it, it can potentially dampen the value of the service. Myspace’s failure can arguably be found in its barrier of entry, where anyone can make a page and spam their name to the masses with a click of a few buttons. This made Facebook appealing, as they have made conscious efforts to offset spamming and making the service as socially friendly as possible.

But with Facebook losing momentum, is this just another opportunity for marketers to grab hold of the next big thing and wear it until it is no longer in style? Perhaps Facebook is the pinnacle of social marketing opportunity, forcing marketers to enter more traditional mediums to advertise. Social media is a valuable and prime opportunity to get a message across. But the advent of marketing and promotion always seems to bring down the fun escapist entertainment of a social media website. If users and advertisers can use these services responsibly, perhaps the masses will find a tender balance of what they find acceptable when using these services. but the track record says that when it becomes too difficult to find what you want, and the spam takes over, the fans leave and the service dies. it is fascinating to explore the reality of social media, and its future. The ease of its use may cause further saturation, allowing fans to move towards something that is less invasive- until that inevitably becomes a chore.

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