Social Media Activism: How Can It Relate To Your Business ...

It is debatable whether activism can be a solely online experience in today?s digital age. Internet activism can be used to mobilize people in real, not virtual, life, but it also sometimes stands alone. With Anonymous, the Occupy movement and other groups using the Internet to organize and carry out their missions, it is obvious that the Internet and social media play some role in modern day activism.

Social media is a forum through which people can get their voices heard. The convenience of this particular forum, though, may cause those who normally would not participate in activism to become a part of the buzz. Not all of these people will venture from behind their computers to attend rallies, sit-ins, etc., but some may become motivated enough to turn their virtual action into real life action.

Some argue that social media and Internet activism cause people to become lazy and less likely to go out and protest. However, others argue that social media is a great platform for protest and activist organization with the flexibility to be secretive or public about announcements. Support shared through tweets during the Arab Spring received a great deal of media attention, either glorifying or denouncing its importance. Social media can be especially helpful in raising consciousness of issues on a local and global level.

How successful is social media at mobilizing people? It is difficult to measure its true impact because it is nearly impossible to keep track of who goes out to protest and who stays behind their computers after tweeting and posting statuses. However, it is possible to measure the amount of people tweeting about certain subjects and the reach of this content across the Internet. It has been done by numbers of scholars analyzing the importance of social media in various political movements. Many of them had to comb through enormous amounts of hash-tagged content, proving in and of itself that social media had a substantial enough impact to warrant research and discussion, while countless new posts and tweets were being created simultaneously.

So, how does this relate to your business? Maybe you are not looking to start a revolution, but you certainly are looking to increase your web presence, traffic and conversion rate. Consider what your business stands for. Are there certain values it operates with? Highlight these values in your posts (without being cheesy), and people with similar beliefs can relate to and empathize with your business. Take a lesson from the activists in how to effectively spread content. Post a message across multiple social media platforms. As a business, your posts will not have the same weight or level of urgency as posts within an activist movement, but you can encourage your followers to?re-post?your content by creating contests or promotions for?re-posting.

Mobilizing people to buy into your business can be tricky, but by consistently and thoroughly posting across social media platforms, you can make your business known to consumers and spark their interest. In the same way that people are inspired by the posts of activists and activist movements, your business?s posts can inspire people to consider your type of business differently, gain a greater respect for your business and ultimately, convert to customers.

Source: http://www.business2community.com/social-media/social-media-activism-how-can-it-relate-to-your-business-0345785

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