There are hundreds of Social Media sites and Social Networks on the Internet, but this article will focus on the major ones.
Firstly, Twitter. Twitter is a micro-blogging service that is made up of short messages called "tweets." Each tweet is limited to 140 characters, and these can be made up of text, links, or hash tags that can aid in categorizing a tweet. Tweets can be sent from the main twitter website, from a mobile phone, or from a third party application on your computer. The most popular of these applications is called TweetDeck, although there are competitors being released all the time buy real facebook likes. Each user can "follow" other users, and see all their tweets. Equally a user's tweets are seen by all his/her followers. Twitter allows a user to direct a message to another user, or to redistribute someone else's tweet in what's known as a "ReTweet." ReTweeting provides the real marketing potential of Twitter, because if a tweet gets retweeted multiple times, it can have a potential audience of millions.
The other major Social Network is Facebook, which allows users to create a profile of their information, links, photos, and videos, and then share this information with their friends. Each time a user updates their profile, that new content is seen by their friends. Companies and brands have the option of creating a "Fan Page" which users can "like." Liking a fan page essentially subscribes a user to that information, so when the fan page is updated, this will be seen by all the fans of that page. Fans can also leave comments and interact with other fans on Fan Pages.
LinkedIn is a professional network that allows users to interact and network with each other. While LinkedIn began almost exclusively as a job search tool, it is now an integral part of a company's Social Media strategy, and has recently integrated more social characteristics.
YouTube is a video sharing website that contains videos of every possible genre. Users are able to make their own YouTube page, and upload their own video content. In addition, users can "favorite" the videos of other users to make them easily accessible. Companies can build their following on YouTube, and then upload their own videos with a view to spreading them to as wide an audience as possible. The opportunity is also there for companies to embed these videos on to their own websites.
Bookmarking websites like Digg, StumbleUpon, and Delicious are primarily sites for users to save bookmarks that they find interesting or useful, but can also be used to promote links to users who are looking for interesting content. If a company has built up a significant following on any of these websites, it can be a fantastic tool for promoting content.
The general purpose of these websites to engage with users and customers. By using different social networks, a company can maximize their potential market. Each social network tends to be more popular with different demographics, especially regarding age and location. For example, while Bebo is generally thought to be losing market share, it still very popular with a young demographic. Equally, with Orkut isn't popular in North America, it is widely used in Brazil, India, and many emerging markets. The combination and mix of these networks will eventually determine the success of a Social Media strategy.