Buying Shoutouts Changing the Nature of Social Media

When Mark Zuckerberg and friends thought of creating Facebook, it was meant as a personal social networking tool. You would put your pictures and personal data on your profile page to be “liked” and commented on by friends and anyone else you have given access to view your page.

While social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, maintain that personal touch today, that is not primarily how they make money. These sites gain majority of their revenue from advertising, some of it from individuals but a good deal of it from targeted and branded advertising by companies and anyone else with deep pockets.

According to a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PwC”), U.S. Internet advertising revenues for the first six months of 2014 was estimated at $23.1 billion, a 15 percent increase over the same period in 2013. Of that figure, $5.3 billion relates to mobile advertising for the Jan-June 2014 period. And while overall online advertising showed a 15 percent increase during the first six months of 2013 and 2014, the figure for mobile advertising jumped a whopping 70 percent for the same period (from $3 billion to $5.3 billion). Of all social networking tools, Instagram, which is now owned by Facebook, counts for the largest advertising revenue. Such masie advertising also brings more people for users to connect with.

How do individuals tap into this massive market? You either have massive following online or you buy it through buying shoutouts. When you buy Instagram shoutouts or buy Twitter retweets, you gain access to the profile page and followers of someone else. You will then “like” some or all of those users, hoping they would “like” you back or write something on your profile page, which you then capitalize to gain more following on your page.

If you happen to be espousing a “cause” or a business or want to draw attention to something or someone special, buying shoutouts allows you to create specialized branding and marketing, which brings revenue or support.

There are now companies specializing in selling targeted shuotouts. On www.buyashoutout.com, for example, you can buy Instagram shoutout for an expansive variety of topics, ranging from fashion and fitness to pets and photography. You can buy Twitter tweets for the same range of topics. Depending on what company you purchase those from, you get variable prices and different number of followers that come with it.