What is social media? Although it’s hard to say when exactly it happened, social media has taken over our daily lives. In a nutshell, social media concern everyone who actively uses the Internet. Unlike traditional media, social media functions as two-way communication. Today, we would like to delve into the issue of what is social media and hopefully avail you in developing your e-commerce activities.

What is Social Media – table of contents:

Social Media

Social Media are computer technologies that enable users to quickly create and share content. It consists of both websites and applications.

Social media is a way to interact with other people around the world. More than 3.8 billion people currently use these tools. Social Media is growing and changing all the time, as you can see in the chart below.

what is social media - types infograhpic

What is social media used for?

Social media is used for:

  • communication between people,
  • creating networks, e.g., professional contacts,
  • publish content,
  • share your interests, thoughts, etc.,
  • joining groups of people with similar views, interests, etc.,
  • a marketing tool for companies to reach their customers in this way.

Types of social media

Social media can be divided according to particular groups of users. However, some sites will fit into more than one group.

  1. Social media sites

    2. Their main purpose is to connect people and provide a platform for exchanging ideas and sharing various content. The most popular examples are Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter.

  2. Media networks

    3. Their purpose is to post and distribute content, mainly photos and videos by users. Examples include Instagram and YouTube.

  3. Discussion networks

    4. These are all kinds of online forums where users can discuss, comment, debate and argue.. An example is Reddit.

  4. Blogs

    5. With the help of blogs, it is possible to publish content to an audience. This builds awareness and engagement, which for companies operating online, can translate into greater brand visibility.

  5. Networks with review

    6. Social media such as, for example, TripAdvisor can influence users by providing commercial offers but at the same time are mainly dependent on them. Such channels enable visitors to leave reviews, research a brand and browse for offers.

    the most popular social media infographic

    The most popular Social Media

    According to the Statistica website, the most popular social media in the world, as of October 2021, are:

    1. Facebook – 2.895 million active users,
    2. YouTube – 2.291 million active users,
    3. WhatsApp – 2,000 million active users,
    4. Instagram – 1.393 million active users,
    5. Facebook Messenger – 1.300 million active users

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    What is social media? laura green avatar 1background

    Author: Laura Green

    There’s probably no social media channel or tactic that Laura doesn’t feel confident about. Whether it’s jumping on the latest TikTok trend, launching a Pinterest campaign, or live-streaming on YouTube - this Social Media Ninja has done it all.

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    The most important questions

    1. What is social media?

      Social media is a computer technology that allows users to communicate and create and share content.

    2. What are the different types of social media?

      These are web portals, media networks, discussion networks, blogs and review networks.

    3. What are the most popular social media in the world?

      Globally, the most popular SM are: Facebook, YouTube and WhatsApp.