We’ve all had our fair share of social media – from personal Instagram to business LinkedIn profiles – yet despite the absurdly large amount of time spent on such platforms, most people do not learn from their experience on social media. Individuals fail to notice how educational of an experience using social media may be, and in this blog, we’ll detail some learning opportunities and benefits from using social media to get you motivated.
Improves general communication skills
Social media exposes you to many types of personal entities – from members of the general public to celebrities, to large businesses, to freelancers, and many more. By being able to interact on a platform with so many different types of people, you can improve your communication skills immensely.
Not only are you able to talk to others through social media, but you are also able to learn more about different global contexts and the social climate in different areas of the world. Although it’s not recommended to passively learn communication skills, social media provides you with an opening to build your background knowledge and lend to future social interactions.
The only downside of social media is that its affordances are mainly online – meaning your online communication skills will improve – however not necessarily those in real life. Although this may still be incredibly helpful in our modern world of online interaction, strong in-person communication skills are still incredibly valuable. It will be up to you on how you transfer your lessons learned from interacting on social media to in-person conversations.
Collaboration opportunities
As mentioned previously, there are many types of people and entities on social media. As such, you are also exposed to more collaboration opportunities with other individuals as well as businesses. In particular, it is now common for businesses to sponsor social media influencers due to their wide reach with their products and services, as opposed to selling their brand using traditional advertising campaign methods.
It is also much easier to work with and collaborate with others online – as you can conveniently communicate with them and discuss and settle matters virtually. Gone are the days of travel and timezones – social media allows people from all over the world to interact and collaborate, as well as make content that can be spread across the entire globe in a matter of seconds.
Free branding
Social media lets individuals build a persona, not only for themselves but also for other additional entities such as their business or pets. Rather than investing in branding through traditional methods (such as radio interviews or television appearances), social media is a quick and easy way to build an impression and a brand – usually at extremely low prices as well.
Social media also allows individuals to build their brand using many different forms of medium – from short video clips to plain text to photos, meaning social media users are able to recognise a brand no matter the medium. Despite usually being free (to download and use), social media can have many benefits when it comes to branding and low marketing costs. If you’re looking to learn more about the benefits of using social media, it may be beneficial to gain some information through a reputable educational institution. Courses on social media management may not only help you learn from and improve your use of social media but also allow you to implement the same lessons into your business’ marketing strategy.