Social Media Guide
July 23rd, 2009 by jordan mechlingSocial Networking: Why You Can’t Survive Without It
Summary
The fastest growing online marketing avenue – Social Networking. Expected to earn almost $2 billion in ad sales by 2010. Almost 60% of Americans interact with companies on a social media website. 93% of Americans believe a company should have a presence in social media. 56% of American consumers feel both a stronger connection with and better served by companies when they can interact with them in a social media environment. Statistics like these should do one of two things: open your eyes for the first time to the vast and generally free-of-charge platform that is social networking, or help reinforce and rejuvenate the desire to dive back into your blog posts and status updates.
At first glance, social networking and social media seems like it’s not for everyone. Thus the goal behind this report is to help you understand and get excited about the different types of social networking, and figure out which one(s) would assist your company in reaching that teeming mass of potential customers called social networkers.
What started as a college students-only private network has exploded into a social empire of more than 200 million users and a brand name that has become a verb in modern-day English. Surprisingly, the fastest growing demographic are 35 year olds and older. Despite being able to keep up with family across the country like they live across the street, Facebook has also helped push online marketing to the next level, offering some of the most focused marketing available according to age group, country, even by radius according to where you and your company are located.
Why?
Here are some statistics from Facebook’s press information page:
More than 5 billion minutes are spent on Facebook each day (worldwide)
More than 30 million users update their statuses at least once each day
More than 8 million users become fans of Pages each day
Through creating either a profile or fan page for your company or just your product/service, you have the chance to have 24-hour free advertising in a form of media that allows for the implementation of pictures, videos, event invitations and reminders, and any other information you might want to share. By joining a network, you can easily connect with local customers as well as vendors who might be willing to carry your product or service.
Facebook Marketplace has quickly become a cross between eBay and Craig’s List, and is a possible, yet risky, opportunity to not only advertise your product or service, but also look for potential employees.
Facebook’s Contact Importer is a simple to see if any of your business contacts are also on Facebook by importing their information and having Facebook do the rest. There are a plethora of options available to business owners listed in this article.
Why not:
Facebook is mainly for business-to-consumer interaction. If you are looking to interact more with other businesses, then Facebook might not be the best option for you, as it is usually blocked on company servers, Facebook is often seen as a more casual approach to marketing, which might also make other companies look down on you as a potential business partner. To buy a direct facebook.com URL is expensive, and if you opt to just use the free URL that comes with a profile, it is long and full of symbols and numbers intertwined with page keywords (a.k.a. very inconvenient).
Bottom line: If you are business-to-customer oriented, and want to have a variety of media at your customer’s fingertips, then introduce Facebook into your marketing plan.
Isn’t it just a bunch of status updates? How do you use it? What’s with the bird?
These are some of the questions most commonly asked whenever Twitter is introduced as a topic of conversation. From tweeting (writing a message on Twitter) to interacting with fellow tweeple (people who write tweets), Twitter has, like Facebook, become its own unique empire comprised of users whose median age is 31 and who are very mobile-friendly, reading the vast majority of their news from either their smartphone or Internet. In May of 2009, it was the fastest-growing Web brand with an increase of 1,448% over a year.
Why?
You might think that Ashton Kutcher and Ellen DeGeneres are the only reasons that people log on to Twitter, but there is actually a lot more of a marketing pull than you think. Companies like Comcast, Kodak and Whole Foods Market are using filters that monitor tweets and see who’s talking about them, their products, or something similar. (read more in this article) While it might seem like a creepy, invasive idea, a way to combat this is to make your posts personal and not mass produced, and also have a picture of either your CEO or marketing director on your company’s Twitter homepage. Another invaluable tool that you can use for your company is a simple one: write a message, or tweet, on your wall. This gives you the opportunity to update your customers on new products, promotions, or events within seconds.
One more reason: 18.2 million unique visitors last month alone.
Why not?
Like Facebook, this is not a formal way of communicating in a business sense. The language used in tweets is not the type that you would use when conversing with your CEO, for example. So if your target audience is Fortune 500 companies and their leaders, then either they won’t take to your Twitter language or they won’t be on Twitter at all.
Another problem that has arisen is Twitter’s learning curve. Compared to Facebook, it is not as simple to figure out at first, which keeps many users from coming back after the first week. Many of these are 40 and older, which leaves everyone younger making up the Twitter masses. If this isn’t who you’re targeting, then Twitter is not the most efficient route for you to take.
Bottom line: Twitter is the new hip and cool way of keeping up with the Jones’, so if your company is willing to adapt to this youthful feel, then it’s time to tweet your heart out.
Ning
In the Chinese language, Ning means “peace”. This is exactly what this social network provides: a haven from all of the hustle and bustle of traditional social networks. Ning allows its users to create their own network based on what they want it to be. This can be anything from an interest to an idea to a brand, which is where this comes in handy for companies looking to have a focused control over how their product or service is presented to the public.
Why?
Quoted as “Facebook done right” in an article on the blog Produsge.org, Ning offers its users more freedom and tools than Facebook, all the while making the experience feel more personal and genuine. The average user is in the 18-34 age bracket, and the second largest group is 35-49. While Ning looks like you would need to be a computer programmer to use it, it is relatively simple to set up and maintain, thanks to its user-friendly settings.
Ning offers two levels of membership, free and paid. With the standard free version, the features aren’t any different from the paid version, except for the fact that Ning controls the ads displayed. If you choose to pay to control the ads on your Ning, you can either not have any at all or you can only have your own ads shown, all at a very reasonable cost.
Why not?
The free version of Ning only offers you 10 GB of storage and a monthly data transfer bandwidth of 100 GB. Once you hit these, you have to pay to get more of each. This also means that you can only support 1,000-2,000 users a month before having to switch over to the paid subscription, which is still a good value.
Ning is relatively new, and therefore not as popular as its competitors. So if you were to choose this network as your main campaign tool, you might be disappointed with the results. This requires more marketing initiative on your own, but also provides you much more flexibility in content and formatting.
Bottom line: Ning is a great way to get a community built up around your company, so if you want to take the time to keep up with content and bandwidth, then this just might be an edge over your competition.
Visit a sample Ning page: https://chilloutandabout.ning.com/
Have you ever wondered what happened to that guy that used to doze off in the seat next to you in Microeconomics? Did you forget to grab the business card of that advertising executive that presented to the board last week? Want to find a job closer to home with better pay and co-workers you’ll actually get to know? If you answered yes to any of these questions, LinkedIn deserves at least a passing glance from you.
Why?
LinkedIn is a superb way to connect business-to-business. “Connections” is LinkedIn’s name for a user’s list of contact details of people they’ve met through business transactions. These Connections can then be used to gain additional contacts through your contacts. Employers can list jobs available, and can cut down on the interview process by reviewing the applicant’s listed information on their LinkedIn profile. In turn, those seeking jobs can view the profile of the person hiring, and see if they have a common contact who can introduce them.
Sales leads are another big benefit of LinkedIn. Say you find out that a vendor you have desperately been trying to get in contact with is actually a contact of one of your close friends. An introduction, which potentially could have taken two weeks of back-and-forth emails and scheduling hassles to set up, can be handled in about five minutes with your contact’s referral to the vendor. This personal endorsement will opens the door to your first meeting. Bingo, you are on your way to a new business venture. The key to success with LinkedIn is joining Groups and expanding your Network.
Why not?
LinkedIn is a vital service if you want to keep up with the business world, as it will keep you in contact with current and potential business partners, but don’t go into LinkedIn expecting to generate as much consumer business as say Facebook can generate. This is not meant to be a business-to-consumer network, this medium is designed to keep up with your contacts, to advertise job openings, and search for new business connections.
Bottom line: No business person in their right mind is without a LinkedIn account, just don’t use this tool for advertising.
How often should I update a social network?
This is a common question among bloggers old and new. The answer might be slightly frustrating: there really isn’t an answer. There are guidelines, but ultimately it is up to you as a blogger to feel out your audience and blog topics, and decide how often you should update.
The main rule to live by when it comes to blogging is consistency. Regardless of what time schedule you choose to put your blog on, it needs to be a timely and consistent one. Followers of your social network will be much more apt to keep on top of your posts if they know exactly when they will pop up on the Internet. Once-a-week posts should always be on the same day. Once-a-day posts should always be at the same time. Think of your blog posts as developing a relationship with your readers. Relationships take time and effort, why shouldn’t your posts be the same?
As far as content goes, this is another gray area that can really only be determined by you the blogger. Most readers of blogs do it on their free time or breaks, so overly long posts will be passed over for shorter, more concise posts. Of course, if you have no choice but to post a long post, then do so, but perhaps but a disclaimer or warning at the beginning explaining the length. Make sure to keep your posts as engaging and authentic as possible; people will respond better to this than just a general, lackluster blog.
Ok, I read this whole thing…now what?
If you still aren’t fully grasping the importance of social media to your company, just go online and give media and advertising news headlines a passing glance, and you will quite possibly feel your jaw drop a little. More and more reputable companies and brands are throwing more and more proverbial social media eggs into their media plan. To leave yourself out of this mammoth marketing egg hunt would be just plain foolish.
Understandably, the idea of embarking on a social media business endeavor is an intimidating one, at best. If you recall, however, so was making the switch to fax, cell phones, and Internet. You made it through those, didn’t you? Well, the social media jump will seem like more like a skip in comparison.
Rock, Paper, Scissors is no stranger to social media, and we are constantly expanding our horizons. If you would like any help/information about any of the networks mentioned in this report, do not hesitate to give us a call or write us an email. Better yet, if you’ve found another social network which we neglected to include in this report, and you’d like us to analyze it, just let us know and our team will work to get you our best and honest opinion of the network for you and your company.
Call TODAY! Holly Harper – 678-442-1825 or holly@123shoot.com
Footnotes
Facebook. “Facebook Statistics.” Facebook.com Web.23 Jul 2009. <http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics>.
McCarthy, Caroline. “Facebook debuts ‘fan box’ tool.” cnet news 108 Jul 2009 Web.23 Jul 2009. <http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10282529-36.html>.
Schroeder, Stan. “Facebook’s Clinically Precise Advertising.” Mashable: The Social Media Guide 112 Mar 2009 Web.23 Jul 2009. <http://mashable.com/2009/03/12/facebook-radius-advertising/>.
Inside CRM Editors. “The Facebook Marketing Toolbox: 100 Tools and Tips to Tap the Facebook Customer Base.” Inside CRM 1(2008) Web.23 Jul 2009. <http://www.insidecrm.com/features/facebook-marketing-toolbox-012308/>.
Baer, Jason. “Should Facebook Dominate Your Social Media Strategy?.” Convince & Convert 107 Apr 2009 Web.23 Jul 2009.<http://www.convinceandconvert.com/social-media-marketing/should-facebook-dominate-your-social-media-strategy/>.
PCMag.com. “Definition of Twitter.” PCMAG.com 1(2009) Web.23 Jul 2009. <http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=Twitter&i=57880,00.asp>.
Solis, Brian. “Is Twitter Evolving from the Facebook to the Myspace of Microblogs? Analyzing Twitter trends and demographics.” PR 2.0 104 Jun 2009 Web.23 Jul 2009. <http://ow.ly/d52p>.
Nielsenwire. “Twitter Grows 1,444% Over Last Year.” AdWeek 123 Jun 2009 Web.23 Jul 2009. <http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/digital/e3i4bd3d37ca0da05dc31e076edaef92aaa>.
Unknown. “17 Ways You can Use Twitter: A Guide for Beginners, Marketers and Business Owners.” DoshDosh 1(2009) Web.23 Jul 2009. <http://www.doshdosh.com/ways-you-can-use-twitter/>.
King, Rachael. “How Companies Use Twitter to Bolster Their Brands.” Business Week 106 Sep 2008 Web.23 Jul 2009. <http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/sep2008/tc2008095_320491.htm>.
Bradshaw , Tim. “Twitter do’s and don’ts for brands.” Financial Times 120 Jul 2009 Web.23 Jul 2009. <http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9f569d94-7546-11de-9ed5-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1>.
Snurb. “Social Networks on Ning: A Sensible Alternative to Facebook.” Produsage.org 116 Apr 2008 Web.23 Jul 2009. <http://produsage.org/node/25>.
Rampy, Alexandra. “Social Media Highlight: Ning is Great, but waiting for Relevance.” Social Butterfly 122 Jun 2009 Web.23 Jul 2009. <http://fly4change.wordpress.com/2008/06/22/social-media-highlight-ning-is-great-but-waiting-for-relevance/>.
Lenin. “Advantages and Disadvantages of Ning’s Free Social Networks & What You Need to Know About Hosting Your Sites.” Cute Writing 10 Oct 2008 Web.23 Jul 2009. <http://cutewriting.blogspot.com/2008/10/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-nings.html>.
Saleem, Muhammad. “Does LinkedIn Really Need to Worry About Facebook?.” Pronet Advertising 26 Jun 2007 Web.23 Jul 2009. <http://www.pronetadvertising.com/articles/does-linkedin-really-need-to-worry-about-facebook34373.html>.
Unknown. “LinkedIn CEO touts growth of network.” SFGate 23 Nov 2008 Web.23 Jul 2009. <http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/22/BUAI141O97.DTL>.
Unknown. “LinkedIn vs. Facebook .” Nothing To Say 04 Sep 2007 Web.23 Jul 2009. <http://nothingtosay.firstround.com/2007/09/linkedin-vs-fac.html>.
Lunn, Bernard. “Why Does LinkedIn Still Have Facebook Envy?.” Read Write Web 18 Dec 2008 Web.23 Jul 2009. <http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/why_does_linkedin_still_have_facebook_envy.php>.
Owyang, Jeremiah. “What makes a Successful Marketing Campaign on Social Networks?.” Web Strategy 19 Feb 2008 Web.23 Jul 2009. <http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2008/02/19/what-makes-a-marketing-campaign-on-social-networks-successful/>.
Deckers, Eric. “How Often Should You Post?.” Deckers Marketing 10 Feb 2009 Web.23 Jul 2009. <http://deckersmarketing.com/2009/02/10/how-often-should-you-post/>.
Nicole, Kristen. “Building a Brand Through Social Networks.” Mashable: The Social Media Guide 08 May 2007 Web.23 Jul 2009. <http://mashable.com/2007/05/08/brand-social-networks/>.
Odden, Lee. “25 Must Read Social Media Marketing Tips.” Online Marketing Blog 27 Apr 2009 Web.23 Jul 2009. <http://www.toprankblog.com/2009/04/social-media-marketing-tips/>.
Bernoff, Josh. “To Use Social Technologies in Ad Campaigns, Get the Rhythm Right.” Groundswell 26 Jun 2009 Web.23 Jul 2009. <http://blogs.forrester.com/groundswell/2009/06/to-use-social-technologies-in-ad-campaigns-get-the-rhythm-right.html>.
Pfanner, Eric. “Luxury brands discover social networks.” The New York Times 27 Jul 2008 Web.23 Jul 2009. <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/technology/27iht-ad28.3.14810511.html?_r=1>.
