Social Media Trends: Social feeds

Everyone probably knows them best as "news feeds" and that's probably because of Facebok.  Facebook was the social media site that brought news feeds to the fore in the social media world, making them a popular, even addictive trend.  A few years ago, to a distinct public outcry, Facebook decided to aggregate all status updates into a list that would be its new home page.  Since then (and users have grown accustomed to, even fond of, the new arrangement), Facebook has continued to cause discomfort in its users.  The important result from all of this, though, besides Facebook users admittedly being happier with the news feed system than having to click on individual friends' profiles to see an update, is that Facebook put the news feed on the map.

Not only does Facebook have a streaming list of constant updates as their main page, but many other social media sites do as well.  (It's almost bizarre to find a social media site without one, in fact.)  Twitter is exclusively a social feed, and you can even get apps and widgets just for managing your social feeds.  Sites like Twitter and Facebook are how many people are getting their information, staying in touch with one another and communicating about their lives.  Chats around the dinner table or walks in the park - basically anything face-to-face - are becoming an archaic form of communication.

This could be because social feeds always have something new, thus keeping users forever entertained.  Since they aggregate multiple people's inputs, users are constantly coming into contact with new information.  Social feeds could be so popular, also, for the very reason that you're feeling like you're staying in touch with multiple people at once.  In today's face-paced world where it's possible to have friends all over the globe, maybe the all-for-one approach to staying in touch is the only way people can keep up with their relationships.  As disheartening as this may seem, it is becoming more and more the trend, so businesses should pay attention.

Because social feeds are becoming the default way people are staying in touch and what they are depending on for information, businesses need to be very careful how they employ the social feed in their marketing.  Social feeds are still at the personal communications stage - they are so vital that they are starting to replace even email, and phone conversations and texting even more.  People may be counting on these feeds for personal, social and relational information, and it can be jarring to find a piece of advertising thrown in the mix.  It's just not "natural" yet...

So, what are businesses to do with the social feed?  Like any social media trend, businesses can use social media sites with social feeds to sample their current and potential clientele.  Although businesses should use extreme caution when attempting to enter the social feed stream, they can use, albeit somewhat opportunistically, what users are posting to form and inform their next marketing and media campaigns.

Photo Credit: Blackberry