Social media is word of mouth on steriods
According to Finn McHugh, millennials are the driving force behind social media marketing. However, McHugh takes a different spin on social media marketing. He isn’t referring to writing on social media accounts for a business, promoting your own company, or offering discounts. He is referring to the marketing tactic of word-of-mouth, a way in which many of us inadvertently market for other companies or events
An example McHugh offered was ticket sales for a specific concert or event. He doesn’t need to see advertising through the ticket sales agency or the venue publicizing the concert; he receives word of said event because on his newsfeeds and timelines; his friends are writing about the tickets they have just purchased. Word of mouth online has become the vast way that many of us hear about places or deals, not to mention how we get our news – however that’s another topic entirely.
Given that 37% of millennials feel we are “missing something” if we aren’t active on our social media accounts daily, it’s essential that companies use these sites to grab our attention. In fact, over 85% of millennials own a smart phone, so marketing via a mobile device has become a rather solid way to reach our generation.
We, as a generation, have become marketing’s greatest tool.
the future 
While I agree that social media is a great tool to spread information, it’s be a double-edged sword. It’s harder than ever to suppress information because that information is being spread like wildfire. That’s how the Bill Cosby rape allegations came to light. Do you think there’s anything people can do to stop the flow of information in this day and age, or are we all helplessly riding along the wave?
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I personally don’t think there is a way to control what spreads at this point. Maybe technology will develop to help stop…technology? But as things go, it seems to spread like wildfire as you said without ever being stopped
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I definitely agree that spread of word-of-mouth on social media is an effective way to get news out. Sometimes on facebook, I see all my friends RSVPing to events or buying tickets for a show so I’m able to learn that show exists.
However, I agree with John Mark. It’s absolutely a double-edged sword. Also, I absolutely cannot stand online advertising.
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