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Social Networking
What is Social Networking?
Officially, social media is “an umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos, and audio.” (Wikipedia)
“It’s also a fancy way to describe the zillions of conversations people are having online 24/7” (Marta Kagan)
Social Networking Statistics:
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3 out of 4 Americans use social technology – Forrester, the Growth of Social Technology Adoption, 2008
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2/3 of the global internet population visits social networks – Nielson, Global Faces and Networked Places, 2009
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Visiting social sites is the 4th most popular online activity-ahead of personal e-mail - Nielson, Global Faces and Networked Places, 2009
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Time spent on social networks is growing at 3X the overall internet rate. Accounting for 17% of all Internet time. – Nielson, Global Faces and Networked Places, September 2009
Social Networking Facts:
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13 Hours – The amount of video uploaded to YouTube every minute
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412.3 Years – The length of time it would take to view every YouTube video
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100,000,000 – The number of YouTube videos viewed per day
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3,600,000,000 – the number of photos archived on flickr.com as of June 2009 – That’s roughly 1 photo per every 2 people on the planet
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1382% - The monthly growth rate of Twitter users from January to February 2009
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3,000,000 – The average number of tweets per day on twitter.com
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5,000,000,000 – The number of minutes spent on Facebook each day
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35-54 Year-old set – Fastest growing group on Facebook
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If Facebook were a country it would be the 8th most populated in the world just ahead of Japan – Mark Zuckenberg, January 2009
Getting started:
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Make sure your company website is up-to-date with company information, driving directions, promotion and products
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Make sure the company is doing pay-per-click emarketing or listed on Google or Yahoo for organic searches
Sites to start on
o Have a personal and a business Facebook page
o Add a 140 character promotion for your business
What Else is Available?
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YouTube – for posting video or linking to other video already posted
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Flickr – online photo gallery, upload pictures to post on your blog or have pictures printed
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LinkedIn – a social networking site for networking with other professionals
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MySpace – While far behind Facebook and Linkedin for popularity MySpace is still 3# for on-line popularity. Run a MySpace account like a Facebook site
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Craigslist – modern day classified adds. Great place to promote your website
Adjectives with Social Networking
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Public Relations – Keep your past customers informed on business developments
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Customer Service – Educate your customer base and give them an opportunity to respond to your business
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Loyalty Building - Keep business in the forefront of your customers’ mind and by educating them to increase the strength of you company’s brand
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Networking – Make inroads with other business professionals
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Customer Acquisition – Of course. People are looking for your business. Social networking is one more net to reel customers in.
“For companies, resistance to social media is futile.
Millions of people are creating content for social Web. Your competitors are already there. Your customers have been there for a long time. If your business isn’t putting itself out there it ought to be.”
- BusinessWeek, February, 1999
Tip: Don’t assume social media is the answer to everything. It is just one of many options to use to promote your business.
Sources:
NewsWeek February 20, 2008
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/feb2008/db20080219_908252.htm
Marta Kagan,
What the F**K is Social Media- one year later
www.brandinfiltration.com
http://www.slideshare.net/mzkagan/what-the-fk-is-social-media
http://www.slideshare.net/mzkagan/what-the-fk-is-social-media-one-year-later
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Additional Resources
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