The Montreal Gazette reported today that Chris Hughes, one of the co-founders of Facebook spoke to a group of 600 paid guest yesterday at the Palais des congress in Montreal. His message was directed to the corporate industries that lacked the knowledge of how to effectively use social media for the greater good of the company. I think all of us in MSTU 106 – Social and Digital Media, would agree that social media can and has shaped most industries.

The inevitable question that arises from a business standpoint is: How do I use social media to better my business? First you need to do some research and ask your self the following:

§ What types of social medias are out there?

§ What social medias apply to my business?

§ How can I maximize the effectiveness of the social medias?

§ Who is my audience?

§ How do I educate, entertain, and engage my audience through social media?

Chris points out that there are many social medias out there with numerous opportunities for businesses to build their online community. It is up to the businesses to figure out which ones will be most beneficial to them. For any of you skeptics that think social media is not here to stay, it’s being reported that investments in social media are at a steady increase this decade and will continue to do so for years to come. Check out these social medias that are up and coming with millions of followers already.

§ Zynga

§ Spotify

§ Tumbl

§ Instagram

The social networking guru leaves us with this statement:

“Businesses in the future won’t ask whether they’re on social media but how they’re using it”.

To read more about Chris Hughes and his visit at the Palais des conger click here: http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Facebook+founder+Chris+Hughes+finds+friends/5467185/story.html