Article Analysis

Article Analysis

The article discusses how the growth of social media since 2004, has lead to a significant increase in the use for social media as information sources. A good example of the rapid growth of social media would be the photo-sharing site Pinterest. "Pinterest. Virtually unknown just a year ago, it elevated its way to the third most visited social media site this past March. Just behind Facebook and Twitter (which had 7 billion and 182.2 million visits, respectively), Pinterest drew 104.4 million visits in a single month, according to Experian Marketing Service's report "The 2012 Digital Marketer: Benchmark and Trend Report." Social media users are using the sites for information about everything from fashion and music to food and health. Because of the changing digital landscape, the Grain Food Foundation has made significant efforts to connect with consumers and influencers in the social media space (BNP Media 2012). Social media is used to to share nutrition information about bread and grains. They do this by providing easily digestible facts in daily post, while also driving visitors to their other online platforms, including their company website and blog.

This article is relevant to the lesson because it explain how important a reference group is to influencing consumer, this method being social networking. It explains how the growth of social media has become the focal point of their digital marketing. By focusing on social media, the GFF has been able to direct more traffic to their company site as well as related blogs. Social networking has allowed them to form a brand community and market to consumers who share a special interest.

I really liked this article because it explained how the company has used the growth of social media as an information source for a particular group by social networking. I've visited sites like Facebook or Instagram to network with other individuals with similar interest as myself. I use the site as information sources not only to get product information, but also to get information from people that use the product. The best thing a product can get is a recommendation or a good review. My favorites are to look at reviews on Amazon.com before I purchase a product. I not only read the good review but also the bad reviews to see if the bad reviews are a result of product ineffectiveness or user error. Once I read reviews, my final decision is influenced to whether or not I purchase the product. I love using social media sites as information sources and will continue to do so in the future.

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