Social media. Some hear this and get a little happy and excited about the overall prospect of things to come. Others hear this and the cringe that accompanies the grumblings begin. Despite the occasional negative response to social media, the numbers are telling a different story.

The dawn of Twitter came in 2006, and just three years later the number of users rose by 125 percent. Facebook began  in 2004 and gathered just around 1 million users by the end of the first year. If we look at the numbers from March of 2013, we can see the numbers are closer to the 1.1 billion mark.

We can all sit and wonder, is this going to pass or are we going to continue seeing the numbers increase – or at least remain about the same? Sure, we have read several articles regarding the fact that Facebook is losing the younger demographic. However, that is only one social media platform. We can see that across the board, individuals of all ages are enjoying Vine, Instagram, Pinterest, and other social media platforms. In fact, across the board, social media has seen a growth of 80 percent in 8 years, as highlighted in a recent Social Media Today article.

Basically, we are saying that social media isn’t going anywhere. We have moved from one form of communication to another and social media is here to stay.

The beauty of social media, however, is that before now the consumer was merely along for the ride; now the consumer is directing this cruise. It is up to us as marketers to keep the consumers engaged. That also means listening to their feedback and responding.

Always remember to keep track of what’s going on in the social media world. Be aware of where clients are and what they are up to. This is an ongoing process and will forever be a goal, since social media has changed the face of customer interaction.

Don’t forget, though, that it’s not necessarily a bad thing. We now have the opportunity to listen to what our customers want from us. While it might sound unrealistic, this ultimately gives us the chance to provide better customer service.

So, if you groan at the thought of social media and how to interact with customers, be sure to contact Susan J. Campbell. We love getting to interact and engage with a variety of people on social media and can help you with a social media marketing strategy that will help you maximize your engagement across social media platforms.