Facebook was the king of new media. For a long time, it gave media users a place to share their favorite stories, connect with people and, of course, make money. Facebook has changed, but not as much as you might think. The users have grown accustomed to personalizing their news feeds with content from their friends, and the massive Facebook newsfeed was always good for a quick traffic spike. Instead of listening to the users, though, Facebook has always tried to optimize their advertisements to serve their own needs. This led to a revolving door of website owners that either took advantage of the limited number of ad impressions on Facebook or simply abandoned their sites on the back of Facebook. On the other side of the coin, almost every larger company has abandoned their website and gone digital or into social media.

Facebook is actually in the process of acquiring Instagram, which is the social network that more users gravitate to. Instagram has continued to grow despite the noise of Facebook and just launched a redesign that makes it easier to search by people or hashtags. The company is still making its way into the photo, video and design market. As the marketplace has opened up and the number of websites continue to dwindle, so too has the demand for good content. Business owners want to broadcast good content so they can stand out from the rest of the list of forums and groups.

Social media marketing isn’t just for large companies and brands anymore. Anyone who buys a set of books or a pair of headphones is probably going to show off their great reviews to their social media followers. They can showcase themselves in all of their company’s activities, uploads and promotions.

Content marketing has been part of the marketing plans of most websites. A good website design is essential, of course, but the importance of putting together high quality content is becoming increasingly obvious. Of course, this requires knowledge of how to do it. A good website is all about easy navigation, but it doesn’t do itself any favors if the content it delivers isn’t interesting and fresh. Content producers should stick to creating content that shows off their products and services in a way that is relevant and useful. Never underestimate how hard it is to capture attention, particularly on social media. It’s especially hard to pull readers from the multitude of other people doing the same thing.

Social media advertising can be very effective and more engaging. For this reason, the use of social media as a publicity vehicle is growing. Advertisers understand that it can be far more effective if it is done in conjunction with the use of social media as a platform for content. Advertising also presents a way to pull in ad revenue that is usually difficult to get from some paid websites. An advertiser can produce some video content, for example, and use this to get their product or service noticed while talking about it on Facebook. A steady stream of advertisements, which generate a lot of attention, will result in more customers.

Before Facebook helped companies grow and was the go-to place for free content, social media was a place for publishing family stories and recipes. Facebook certainly didn’t make people get on social media, but it made them tune into social media so they could share their thoughts with friends and family. There will always be a demand for good content because people want to share their stories and have something that others can check out.