This is the age of SNS. Now that it is common for everyone to use SNS, communication among people around the world through SNS is increasing. People are creating and sharing their own contents and increasing their individual influence. As SNS influence grows in society, marketing through SNS is also increasing. This is because it has become easier to target consumers. Therefore, this marketing has brought a lot of changes to peopleʼs consumption. Typical examples are YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.

The first example is YouTube. YouTube is a video streaming site used by people all over the world. Putting advertisements in the beginning and in the middle of the video may be a marketing method, but the way they work these days is very different. These days, companies use methods to target YouTubers with many subscribers. Companies promote their products via YouTubers. YouTubers put images of them using or wearing the products in their videos. Alternatively, they may include comments praising the product directly. In other words, they naturally promote the product to their subscribers. Subscribers who trust the well known YouTubers are more likely to buy the products they promote.

The second example is TikTok. Nowadays, various kinds of “TikTok Callenge” videos are being uploaded. TikTok is an SNS that shares videos of between 15 seconds to a minute long, and they are usually videos that express themselves according to songs or filters that are uploaded. As TikTok users grow and its impact grows, song makers and singers use TikTok as means of new marketing. They do this to create a point dance that can be easily followed and start a “Challenge”. If singers succeed in attracting people, access to the song becomes easier, which affects the popularity of the song. Typical success examples are Old Town Road by Lil Nas X and The Box by Roddy Rich.

The third example is Instagram. When Instagram was first launched, it only shared individual photos, but its use is changing these days. As companies, brands, or private businesses use Instagram a lot for promotional purposes, more people buy and sell things on Instagram. In fact, the category “Shop” was newly added after Instagram was recently updated. There are many brands in the store, and if people follow the brand they are interested in, they can access the product on Instagram. Now, the brand is openly displaying products to Instagram users.

As peopleʼs communication culture changes, so does consumption pattern. SNS is a platform that shows this fact better than any other media. Even now, more marketing methods using SNS are being used, and actually experts predict that there will be more diverse marketing cases in the future.