Social Media Marketing: Fad or Trend

First off let me start by saying I am definitely not the social media expert. Essentially the only reason I have a facebook is because my fiancee insist on it, which also means that there is a better chance of me hooking up with Eva Mendez than me checking my facebook account every day. Even though I have read countless articles on social media marketing in magazines such as Forbes and business week I still have my doubts. My opinion may be skewed but hey that is what its all about right, my insights.

In this modern technological age everyone is connected and more and more people are seemingly glued to their mobile devices and computer screens checking their social media circles. As Gillen states in his book that the average young adult checks their facebook 18 times every day which is astounding and rediculous in my mind but who am I to judge. This being so it would be down right dumbfounding if marketers did not take advantage of this. As my title reads, is Social media a another fad or is it a trend. There are huge differences between fads and trends. A fad is something that comes and goes, it catches the minds and potentially pocketbooks of those involved for a few months or potentially years and then drifts off into the night with very little identity or presence left behind. you could call big hair of the 80's or Jesus sandals everyone wore in the late 90's a fad and hopefully skinny jeans will be the same. In a business format fads are things like new products, the latest and greatest that seem to never really catch on. Im sure 10 years from now no one will know what a sham wow is. A trend on the other hand is something that is hear to stay and no matter what, it seems to hang around. Trends can be found in all forms of life. In the business world trends are things such as customer service, JIT shipping and Blackberry's. social media marketing is having its boom and whether or not it stays is just a matter of time.

I was in middle school when AOL instant messenger and chat rooms became the big craze and it seems as if the social media world has grown exponentially since then. With myspace being the first monster and now face book. I do not feel that social media marketing is a fad at all. It seems like every day we find new ways to communicate via the internet and technology and the possibilities are endless and marketers have taken note and are doing a great job tapping the source but the source itself is forever changing. What I'm saying is that social media marketing itself is not a fad but a trend but the social media outlets are a simply a fad. Take a look at what has happened in the past. Instant messenger and chat rooms were the start of the revolution and marketers were strong to the punch there but with time came a new media outlet that became the latest and greatest and users of the old jumped the chat room ship and joined new networks. The only problem for marketers is that they were left with the leftovers. marketers were invested in these networks and sites and when everyone left they were still there having to deal with no traffic, bad contracts and lost profits. Same goes with Myspace which at one time was the the coolest thing on the market and now look at it. It was purchased for billions and sold for almost nothing a few months ago. Does facebook face the same fate? Just remember that history does not lie and always repeats itself. That is why marketers need to do extensive research when dealing with social media outlets. The key demographic for facebook 4 years ago was that of only college students so what would you advertise? Maybe the latest cell phones , ipods, or video games. now that it has evolved every demographic from teenagers to senior citizens are using it and marketers need to pick their battles and which demographics to target and if it makes sense to do so on such networks. So its not easy at all. With Facebook starting to look like the next myspace waiting to happen should marketers invest millions of dollars in what could soon be a declining market?

Coming from a dinosaur who wishes that everything was of the old and I didn't have to live by my cell phone day in and day out I do feel that social media marketing is here to stay. Although there are many opportunities within social media marketing, marketers need to be extra careful when picking their investments. This trend is not going anywhere and is goin to grow and grow and grow, but which outlet will be the next big thing. This market is forever changing and evolving and the marketers that will survive will be the ones that are innovative and are constantly looking into the future not those who live in the past.