Social media can be used as an effective marketing tool for businesses. It allows for interactive communication and sharing of user-generated content through various platforms like blogs, social networks, photo sharing, and video sharing. An example is how social media was integral to organizing protests during the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011. For businesses, social media provides ways to build brand awareness, distribute information, create an engaged community around their products or services, provide low-cost customer service, and potentially boost sales. Popular social media platforms for marketing include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.