Social media has become one of the most powerful marketing tools in the business world. What makes it particularly effective is the fact that it allows for the rapid dispersion of information across a wide range of individuals at very affordable prices. One of the areas that has seen an enormous boost in sales is the medical device market with such products as pulse oximeter devices and stethescopes. A good example of how social media works is that with a simple platform as Facebook the medical device companies can actually keep tabs with thousands of customers in a very cost effective way. Further, whenever they desire to introduce new products or offers they can quickly send this information to all their Facebook friends in order to gain more market share. In the past, companies had to resort to expensive mailers or email marketing which many times would automatically go into the spam filters. However, now they can simply with the click of a button reach thousands of customers or even potential customers. This in fact is what makes it so powerful to use social media to market company products and services. One of the prime examples that has been used by many proponents of this marketing tactic has been the introduction of portable
pulse oximeter devices. Last year several companies got involved in introducing a revolutionary new technology known as a pulse
oximeter. This device with its innovative technology was destined to truly change the home medical device market however it required a very effective marketing tactic that would be able to reach millions of individuals quickly and cost effectively. Its basic premise was the fact that it actually monitors an individual’s pulse rate and oxygen levels while on the go. Thus, if a person is suffering from asthma they can easily take it with them wherever they desire to go and keep a close monitoring of their oxygen levels in order pto prevent an asthma attack. As a result, these companies turned to using social media as their major marketing platform to target potential customers. With the use of Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace within a few weeks over 1 million potential customers became aware of the introduction of this great product. The other great benefit is the fact that once the individual actually gets the information through these avenues they can click through and go to the site that is advertising the product and they can directly buy from them.
