Much has been written about social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and LinkedIn, which are considered to be some of the leading platforms on the social media front. Another term, Web 2.0 is used to describe the evolution of the internet from a single-directional source of information from sender to receiver (Web 1.0) to a multi-directional tool and interactive community where people can people can post, blog and share in real-time. (Brennan, 2010) Social media is believed to be the "next generation" of internet, a progression from e-mail and business web pages, allowing networking to happen on an accelerated scale, allowing business to reach a greater audience and with greater transparency.

Greenberg (2009) suggests there are three main channels of social media: blogs, forums and social networking. Blogs are similar to online journals, and forums are much like online chatting facilities. Social networks are essentially online communities that link members. An example of this would be LinkedIn, it has more that 35 million registered users, spanning 170 industries. It is a highly successful social network for the business community.

The main reasons a business would use facebook, as stated in Facebook Marketing for Dummies are:

• Due to it's viral marketing capabilities, Facebook is an excellent platform to build brand awareness.
• It allows business' to interact with customers to gain valuable consumer insight.
• A facebook page improves a business' search engine rankings.

(Dunay and Kruegar, 2009, p.15)

Growth in social media usage over the past 2 years has been significant, to demonstate this a Chicago based research firm, Technomic, observed " it took radio 58 years to reach a total audience of 50million. It took television 13 years, the internet four, the iPod three. Facebook hit an audience of 50 million in two years and has increased 50% to 300million in the last six months"(Levin, 2010, p.12) The number of active users reading blogs increased from 54% to 77% globally between 2006 and 2008 and the number of people writing a blog grew from 28% to 45%. Showing an increased trend towards social media and blogging. (Smith, 2009, p.559)

Similarly in 2006 just 32% of people watched multimedia online through sites such as YOuTube. However, this increased to 83% in 2008, making it the fastest growing social media platform ever. It is interesting to note that US- video sharing is driven by consumer focussed content, highlighting that the future of marketing will be increasingly bottom-up and consumer-driven. For this reason it is important that businesses use social media as a method of listening to consumers and targetting their needs. Social media has presented the oppurtunity for users to express their opinions, allowing more natural market research for businesses. Furthermore, with the significant increase in global connectivity through social media sites, businesses are becoming increasingly globally focussed.

References:

• Brennan, V., 2010. Navigating Social Media in the Business World. Licensing Journal. 3(1). p.1
• Smith, T., 2009. The Social Media Revolution. International Journal of Market Research. 51(4). pp.559-561
• Greenberg, L., 2009. The Case for Using Social Media. National Underwriter/Life & Health Financial Services. 113(9). pp.28-32.
• Dunay, P and Kruegar, R., 2009. Facebook Marketing for Dummies. pp.9-15.
• Levin, A., 2010. Social Media Madness. Food Service Equipment and Supplies. 63 (2). pp.12-15.