The internet took us by storm and changed the way we live our lives. Social media came along and had nearly the same type of impact. In business, it could be argued that social media is the biggest paradigm-shifting element that has come along in a decade, even more important than ecommerce.

Has the way that we use social media completely changed the way that we see and interact with advertising? We certainly hope so.

Advertising a business has always been about broadcasting a message to a wide-range of people. It’s always been about exposure, branding, and penetration. Today, thanks to social media, there’s a new element that was once very minor but that has taken center stage in nearly every level of advertising: sentiment.

Today, businesses can no longer advertise simply for the sake of getting out their message. It just doesn’t work as well. They have to take social media into account when crafting their message and the methods through which they’re able to broadcast it. Then, they have to be pro-active and conscious about the sentiment online to make sure that their message isn’t missing the point, striking the wrong cords, or touching the wrong nerves.

Take the Motrin ad from a couple of years ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmykFKjNpdY

This was an absolute debacle and could be considered a case-study about how not to anger the social media masses. This was launched (and removed immediately) over 2 years ago. Imagine how it would have played today.

Keeping social media in mind from a business perspective is no longer a side-endeavor. It’s not something that businesses of any size can simply pawn off on the tech-savvy nephew of the accountant. It must be considered through every move, particularly advertising.

This infographic by our friends at MDG Advertising breaks down some of the things to consider when looking at social media and its effects on advertising. Click to enlarge.

(H/T: Social News)