Posts Tagged ‘Staggering Proportions’

Sometimes even the experts get it completely wrong. In the same way that very few people managed to predict the phenomenal growth of the internet, today it is ‘social networking’ that is taking the on-line world by storm. Social networking is a catch all phrase for the way we use the internet to communicate socially and is one of the fastest growing trends in the computing industry.

Even a year or two ago social networking was still in its infancy and most of the websites that offered this facility were considered as nothing more than time wasters for teenagers. How things have changed! Today websites like “Facebook”, “My Space” and “You Tube” are considered to be mainstream applications and are only the tip of a rapidly growing iceberg that business is just waking up to.

So why exactly should businesses take an interest? The answer is simple if you take notice of the figures. Today two thirds of the global internet population visit social networks and it is the fourth most popular online activity, which incredibly, makes it more popular than email. In short, if your business is not operating in the social networking ‘space’ then it is not being seen. By utilising the power of social networking as an essential part of your marketing mix, and as part of a wider strategy, your business can be made accessible and visible across the globe 24/7. It can open doors to new customers and new sectors of the community and will also keep your business at the cutting edge of this revolution in communication.

Choosing which social networking sites to adopt is the first challenge. From humble beginnings the pioneers of social media have grown to staggering proportions but their dominance is now being challenged by new social media sites launching at the rate of approximately five per week. With this amount of new opportunity opening up it might seem difficult to know which sites to focus on so the best option is to start with some of the more established social networking sites. Let’s take a look at some of the market leaders.

Since its creation in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Twitter, more than any other social networking site is considered the front runner. So what exactly is ‘Twitter’? In essence it is an “instant” messaging channel that allows you to spread your message, whatever that might be, within the constraints of 140 characters (which can shortened by subscribing to http://bit.ly.  The number of ‘tweets’ that are posted now average 27.3 million per day and rise significantly when a major news story unfolds. For example, when Michael Jackson died the explosion of tweets temporarily shut the Twitter site down with over 22% of all tweets related to the announcement of his death.

LinkedIn was founded in late 2002 by Reid Hoffman and has steadily grown in popularity reaching 55 million members in over 200 countries. It is more business focused than other social networking sites and is an excellent place to start if you want to create a business profile. It is a very easy site to navigate around, provides the opportunity to make recommendations and allows you to link up with friends and colleagues who you may have lost touch with.

So both Twitter and LinkedIn are social networking sites that are worth looking into as part of your overall marketing strategy but a word of warning first – don’t just jump in and start selling. It is a mistake that a huge number of businesses make and, believe me, nothing will turn people off as much as blatant sales chat. In the world of social media you need to stop thinking of the online community as prospective clients and be a little more creative. Instead, you need to learn from the experts – the people who are reaping enormous successes from using social media – by adopting a very important principle and it is this. Stop thinking ‘campaigns’ and start thing ‘conversations’. The online community is just that – a community, and communities are all about open and honest communication and interaction. The best way to raise your profile therefore is simply by raising interesting topics of conversation and posing questions. Don’t even consider ‘making a sale’ just be as interesting and engaging as possible. Getting people to listen to what you have to say is the key to success. The sales will follow naturally in time.

So the message is clear. Firstly, wake up and join the social networking revolution before your competitors beat you to it. Secondly, have a clear strategy so that you are clear about what you want to achieve and how you are going to achieve it. Thirdly, choose the social media that best meets your needs and fourthly – as the title of this blog makes clear – think ‘conversations’ rather than overt ‘campaigns’.

Don’t forget that if you want any further information on any of the above topics then please do get in touch. On The Go is already helping successful businesses implement their social networking strategies from helping them set up a consistent company profile through to scheduling their media messages giving them a 24/7 web presence.

In the next blog we are going to cover some more important social networking sites and how they can be used to grow your business and grow your profile. So do come back soon!