Facebook was started in 2003 by Mark Zuckerburg and some of his Harvard University classmates and by 2009 it was the most widely used social media site in the world. (Bellis, 2020) This is one social media site that I use often to interact with friends and family in Greece and other parts of the world. However, I did not always feel this way. I was not always a fan of Facebook, I thought it was a waste of time with people constantly posting every detail of their lives. Everything changed for me once the pandemic hit, and I could not interact with people for a while. I started using Facebook messenger to check on my parents and relatives. I had virtual drink parties with friends and was even able to get home workouts from my trainer. This is when I started really seeing the value of this social networking site and what it could do for marketing businesses.
Being a small business owner, I would constantly focus on operations and use traditional marketing efforts with small amounts of digital marketing included, such as email marketing and SEO. What I have really come to find out is that I have been missing an opportunity to really market to my target demographic through social media, and even utilize some of my best customers as influencers. One example from my personal profile is that I like skulls for some silly reason, so I joined a group called skull lovers. After I introduced myself and they found out that I own a dry cleaner, many of them started asking if I clean leather because they cannot find a leather specialist to clean their jackets. I stumbled onto a niche market without even trying. I have done my business a tremendous disservice by not taking advantage of social media advertising.
I have even gotten into the habit now of taking advantage of sales and advertisements for products that I need from Facebook. From my search history there are many advertisements that pop up on Facebook for Warrior 12, Dr. Squatch, Manscaped, and Bodybuilding.com. All of these are companies that I follow and have bought from before. There are times where these companies will send me coupons or discounts on Facebook that I can take advantage of. These advertisements are very targeted to my interests because of my past purchases and likes so there is a much higher probability that I will take advantage of this campaign.
References:
Bellis, Mary, The History of Facebook and How It Was Invented, February 6, 2020 https://www.thoughtco.com/who-invented-facebook-1991791
Kostas Site 