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I am currently taking a college class called "Social Media and Society." Reading the title of the class people may think it's not much more than a class on Facebook or Twitter. This assumption would be wrong. The class goes into the history and usages of social media, including how businesses make use of it.
The class doesn't stop there. My professor is currently attempting to add a social media minor to the school's degree offerings. Many of you may think this is ridiculous because why would somebody get a degree in social media? The answer is simple. There are a ton of social media management jobs.
Conduct a quick Google search on social media jobs, social media managers, or look at what is required of communication jobs and you'll see a lot of jobs specifically for social media or job descriptions asking for knowledge in the area. Think about it. Most companies have a Facebook or Twitter account, which means there is the potential for millions of social media jobs.
A lot of times the companies don't have time to make the updates or postings they want to. Now that social media has become so popular companies are seeking out people to manage it for them and make use of all it can do for them.
Social media can be great way to promote your business, inform customers of sales, special offers, or to just create a customer base in general. Just recently I saw an article saying Ford has boosted sales and customer reviews because they use Facebook and Twitter for a variety of things, one being to interact with customers. Again, if you Google businesses and Facebook or Twitter there are thousands of stories of businesses using social media or ways business can benefit from it.
I think companies can accomplish a lot by using social media, especially if they have somebody who has the knowledge to use it effectively and manage the content for them. I particularly think small town businesses that don't have the resources big businesses have can benefit from social media. It allows them to promote their company on a daily basis and let customers know things quickly. If you haven't checked, most of the companies around Dodgeville have taken advantage of this and have Facebook pages where than can be followed.