Emerging importance of social media: a new marketing tool

Today, we are in 21st century and people do not find time to come & interact with each other. Social media helps in connecting themselves with social networking sites through which now people can stay far and yet remain connected. In the world of Marketing, new business models are frequently introduced, and new trends have started to emerge. One such latest trend is social networking websites through social media, many of which have attracted not only large number of users and visitors, but also online advertising companies to place their ads on the sites. In an era where technology prevails, entrepreneurs as well as marketers see the need to keep up with the fast pace of change or risk being outdated. Gone are the days when a pure-bricks business model will thrive well in current market scenario. It is practically impossible to design a marketing strategy without considering social networks. Social media had become really important gradient in today's marketing mix in general and in promotion mix in particular. These media has a competitive edge over other popular public media like Television because there is a time gap between social event occurrence and the time it is being broadcasted. This research paper emphasizes on the importance and impact of social media which can take this viral marketing mode beyond the traditional marketing techniques at present. The purpose of the study is to investigate the use of social media as a new investigative and promotional tool in marketing.