Five Reasons You Should Be Using Social Media

Most people can't imagine a life without the internet nowadays, and social media is a huge part of that technological lifestyle. Out of the seven billion people who live on this planet, over five billion own a smart phone. Only four billion people own a toothbrush. Free apps and almost effortless social connections make the world seem smaller than ever. And that was the initial point of creating the internet: social connection. But today, there are so many more reasons to hop on the social media bandwagon. Here are five reasons you should be using social media.

Social Media Can Help Improve Your Career Goals

Most large or well-known businesses have at least one main social media account. The administrators are likely to run deals, connect with clients or potential customers and even post job openings or requirements for upgraded positions. Connecting with those needs can improve your chances of getting the job of your dreams whether that's a new career path altogether or just an unexpected opening in a higher branch in your current building.

Reconnect with the World - Or at Least Your Corner

There are over 75 active social media platforms, but the top ten are good places to start. Facebook is still the number one option with over a billion registered users. It's a safe, fun and completely free way to connect to loved ones, friends and potential friends across the globe. 

Do you crave past connections or yearn over nostalgic mementos? Ever think about your best friend from seventh grade or your favorite fraternity brother from college? Maybe you just feel a deep desire to keep track of your own teens since they've entered their idea of "adulthood". Do that and more all with a click of a button - right from the comfort of your favorite chair.

Share Your Passions and Find Like Minded Followers

Social media appeals to our basic need to communicate and connect with others. Whether you're into a specific sports team, TV show, interpretive dance to 80's hip hop or sharing homeopathic wart treatments, you're sure to find like-minded followers through social media. The platforms not only act as a stage for expression, they actually encourage it as well by providing the instruction, backgrounds and audience. The trick is to use social media as a tool to enhance your personality by following tips and rules of 'netiquette.'

Life Tasks Become So Much Easier

Once upon a time, school or sports supply lists required parents actually going into the school and picking up a list or tracking down an administrator or coach. Ordering a cake for a party involved thumbing through a bulky phone book, waiting on a real-life person to answer the call and then haggling over design, price and completion date. And as for clothes or gift shopping.... that was its own ordeal altogether. Social media effortlessly matches customers with potential business matches and redirects them instantly to the website of choice to avoid the unnecessary and time consuming runaround of yesterday.

Watch Your Online Business Soar

Social media connections play a giant part in SEO and search engine result pages. The higher your business rankings in the major search engines like Google and Bing, the more traffic your site is likely to receive. Traffic results in sales. And search engine spiders pay special attention to content marketing on social media platforms. Twitter and Google have such a special relationship that the #1 search engine readily picks up every business tweet on that specific platform. Perhaps that's why 77% of all Fortune 500 companies have their own active Twitter account.

Social media may have started as a way for yuppies and college kids to expand their social choppers. But oh, how times have changed. Sure millions of people still use apps like Facebook, Instagram, and Tinder as ego boosters and vanity enhancers. But there are so many more benefits waiting to be discovered. You don't have to love the modern technological leanings to appreciate their life assistance. Whether business or personal applications appeal to your needs, use the above 5 reasons you should be using social media as a jumping off point. And then just enjoy the wave.