Your customers are using social media – so should you
A big part of my job is helping my clients promote themselves online. This covers a broad range of tactics from SEO (search engine optimization), paid placements, email marketing and "word of mouth" campaigns. I strongly encourage my clients to use all the resources available to them and put social networking pretty high on the list. If you think that your clients and customers aren't on sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, consider the survey released in January by Ore Internet and American Life Project. The survey found that 35% of all Americans have profiles on social networking sites (up from 8% in 2005). Adults make up the majority of users with the average age of LinkedIn users is 40 and most Twitter users are 35 and over and people from 35-54 are the biggest group of users on Facebook.
Read the full report here: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1079/social-networks-grow
Stats aside, I have witnessed the impressive growth and value of social media. Most of my friends parents now have profiles on Facebook. (There is even a rather humorous website about this phenomenon). I have found new products, links and music because my contacts on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn mentioned them. I sold a kitchen table, got help with programming, and met up with friends when visiting other towns simply by updating my status. It is a powerful medium, and used correctly, can help your expand your network and your brand.
If you aren't using these valuable resources, you should be. I know, I know. You don't know how, you don't have time. I promise, you will get the hang of it if you just start using it. Read blogs (like this one and this one or this one) that provide all kinds of helpful hints that make it easy to track your contacts and keep your profiles up to date.
Oh, and once you sign up, add me as a friend/contact. I'll reciprocate and post a message to you.
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On a related note, I just read an interesting article that emphasizes how we need to engage our target audience with dialog. There are lots of ways to do this and social networking is a great start. Here are some snippets:
"One of the first big shockers in Ruder Finn's new survey and online "Intent Index" tool about why we go online is the relatively low status of shopping. Only 33% of users surveyed said they go online to buy things and even fewer (28%) say they log on to compare prices. Compare that gauge of online intent to the motive for socializing, where 92% of users say they are here to connect with others, "share" (86%) or "discuss" (76%). "
"As a marketer, I can't just sell by pushing and selling," says Schubert. "I have to engage and entertain. These people are not coming to buy but to do these other things." In fact fully 100% of users admit that one of their main reasons to be online is to "pass time" and 82% are here to be entertained.
Read the full article: http://bit.ly/TeARO
Want more proof that Facebook is diverse? A recent study done by iStrategy shows that there has been a 513% growth with users 55 years and older. That same study also showed that the use of college-aged students has dropped 21.7%.