The term “social media” has caught the internet , news media and other networks by storm over the last few years . What exactly is it? Social media started out as a way for people to connect with their friends, family and other people on the Internet in one central place . Websites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter give people the opportunity to share information, photos, news and other things with the people that they know . After only a short period of time, businesses realized that they could use social media as well to advertise products, services, websites or other important facts . Now days, you can locate just about any large company , small business, news outlet and other media companies using social media and social networking to market their company, products or services. One of these such companies is General Mills and how they use it really goes to show how effective it can be.
Recently, General Mills started marketing a gluten free line of cake mixes, brownie mixes and cookie mixes . Food products that are gluten free are said to be healthier because some people have food allergies or sensitivities to products that have gluten as an ingredient . Gluten is derived from different grains and some people cannot tolerate them. Since General Mills had this product that they wanted to advertise to people who were looking for gluten free cookie, cake and brownie mixes, they needed a way to get the word out fast . In order to spread the work quickly and effectively, they turned to social networking .
One of the ways that General Mills has marketed to people is by sending out samples of their gluten free products to popular bloggers in the online community . In turn, the bloggers write reviews or make posts about the products on their websites and that generates sales leads for General Mills. Here are several different reasons why this method of advertising is smart and effective:
- The Internet is present in just about every area of the world, which makes it easy to access . By marketing online, companies are connecting with more people than they would have been able to before .
- Using social networking websites can easily create a fan base and following, in particular for companies like General Mills that have been in business for several years and already have a well established brand
- Having a Facebook, Myspace or Twitter page is completely free. Even if free samples are provided to bloggers, it is very cheap compared to expensive television, radio and billboard ads.
- It reaches more markets than traditional advertising.
Gluten free products are more expensive than the products that contain the grain combination, but for people who cannot tolerate it, it is money that they seem willing to pay. Social media is a market niche that seems to continuously growing and it is not letting up.