When was the last time you saw a video pop up with the coolest Japanese zen garden or a meal that could be chowed down in less than the time you spent watching it?
My social media feed has been filled with videos featuring local businesses showcasing what they have to offer, and I think it’s great marketing. I’ve seen videos of local restaurants and other businesses that I didn’t know were in Tucson, and it really had me thinking about how these owners promote their products and business. The creativeness of the videos that appear really draw you in, and even cause me to look at the establishment’s Instagram or TikTok profile to see what else the business has to offer.
Anyone can create a quick video. You simply prop a phone up and do whatever you want, and then post it online for the world to see. That’s why social media is there; it’s for us to share our daily lives, and that could also include our jobs. What I mainly get on my explore page is people who share day-in-the-life videos, and I always admire the hard work they put into them just so they can show us what their life is like. What takes even more effort, though, is creating a unique video that is different from your regular commercial advertisements that will successfully promote a business.
Take the Super Bowl, for example. The game is considered one of the most watched television broadcasts in the country, and what makes it memorable — besides the halftime show, obviously — is the game’s corresponding commercials, which have an interesting angle or story. One of my favorite commercials this year was the Instacart commercial in which all the food mascots came together and had an adventure. The incorporation of those characters was what drew me into watching it, and the ad even went viral on TikTok. That kind of nostalgia or storytelling can really draw someone into wanting to learn more about a brand.
According to Forbes, social media serves as a way for businesses to reach out to customers, gaining a prominent but loyal following from their audience. It also helps businesses with having a clean slate for competition so their page is all about them. Making ads attractive this way can garner attention and attract users to a business.
Another significant example of this strategy is a sound-on TikTok, where the caption says “when the comments say [for you page] FYP too local but there’s no one here” and the workers in the business say “Where y’all at?” It’s a viral sound on TikTok that has been used by many local businesses, and it leads to the trend of users jokingly pointing out that the businesses making the TikTok are close by, thus exclaiming that their explore page is too local. Small, funny moments like these can bring in an audience, since the business uses a trend to their advantage to promote themselves. It’s quick and effective, and something like this is how social media can flourish.
As social media evolves, users are finding more ways to interact with it and make it their own. While it can be used negatively, it also serves as a way to for businesses conveniently promote and interact with users. As word online gets around to a local audience, it can set the standard for how social media can be used to one’s advantage and to search for future opportunities. Social media has lots of potential, and we should live up to it!
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Isabel Vidrio is a junior with a major in journalism and a minor in public health. She is also a part of UnderSkore, the University of Arizona’s first official K-pop dance team. Her interests include music, anime, video games and pop culture.
