Cost

We know that advertising works. We know that people pay attention to television ads. (How much money is spent every year to purchase just 30 seconds of airtime during the Super Bowl?) Magazines and newspapers are still filled with advertisements, and electronic billboards make it easier than ever to broadcast your message to your audience. These traditional methods of paid advertising aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Social media, however, provides advertising opportunities at little or no cost. Creating an account or profile is free on most social media sites, as is posting and participating in the conversation on these sites. Creating the content to share on these sites is easier than ever, too, with the advent of smartphones and tablets with built-in cameras and editing software.

If a business has a little money to spend on social media, there are ways to purchase advertising on many of these sites. The cost to do so is usually minimal. And it’s money well spent, since many of these sites (Facebook in particular) make it possible to target the marketing to a very specific audience.

Ease of Editing

Unlike the creation of a television commercial or the design of a magazine advertisement, the creation of content on social media sites is easy to do and requires almost no special skill. Moreover, most sites offer multiple ways to edit content, such as desktop computer interfaces and apps for tablets, cell phones, and other mobile devices. This flexibility also means that users can post, edit, or delete information anywhere in the world.

Distribution

Unless you’re working for a global corporation, your television commercial probably isn’t going to be seen by folks outside of your immediate local area. Likewise, even if you could afford an advertisement in a big newspaper or magazine, the reach of your advertising is still limited by the distribution of that publication and by the number of volumes produced.

Because social media sites are available (almost) everywhere around the world, your content suddenly has limitless reach. You’re no longer confined by location or production limitations. Selling your product to someone around the world just becomes a whole lot easier.

Everybody Is Using It

If low cost, ease of editing, and limitless distribution aren't reasons enough to convince a doubtful individual of the uses of social media marketing, the fact that literally billions of people are using them each and every day should seal the deal. In its infancy, we could dismiss social media as a fad or something just for kids. But the shifting demographics of social media users show us that people of all ages, genders, races, and incomes are using social media on a daily basis. It’s likely that your children, siblings, parents, aunts, uncles, and even grandparents are all posting status updates on Facebook, sharing photos on Instagram, and tweeting.