Social Networking Blog
Another timely blog from Marcy Design on Social Networking.
The Social Networking Phenomenon
The Internet has come a long way from being just a repository of information. Cyberspace has become a dynamic place where many types of interaction among its users not only exists but is flourishing. It is this dynamism among Internet users that has given rise to the success of social networking.
The power of social networking has significantly changed the way companies conduct their marketing strategies today. Traditional marketing – telling consumers what they should want – no longer works as efficiently today as it used to.
If there is a lesson that companies should learn from the social networking phenomenon, it is this: Consumers have gained more power to communicate what they want. And successful companies will not ignore what their customers have to say.
Why Traditional Marketing Is Not the Only Answer
In traditional marketing, companies get to dictate consumer trends based on the strategies they implement. Social networking is two-way communication. And traditional marketing actually can work more efficiently today with the addition of social networking. Advertisements shown on television, flashed on the radio and posted on billboards connect the product being advertised to a basic need in the consumer’s mind. Today, the consumer can now connect with many social networking web sites such as: Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn and voice their opinion.
The social networking phenomenon has made it difficult for companies to dictate trends these days, unless they have become adept at utilizing the power of social networking themselves. The reason is that a consumer no longer has to accept what is given to him with nary a peep. Because of the depth and breadth of the information a consumer can glean from various social networks, he or she has learned to doubt what marketing strategists claim as true.
More importantly, the social networks that the consumer is a part of is more than capable of informing because some consumers now trust their networks more than they do marketing strategists. Nowadays, if a company wants to sell their products, they usually have to target specific social networks and earn the trust of these networks’ members.
Feedback Is Powerful
Earning the trust of the social networks to which their targeted consumers belong is a tricky deal and earning trust begins with coming up with a good product in the first place. This is another lesson from the social networking phenomenon that companies are beginning to learn.
Companies can no longer afford to hide a shady product behind a shiny marketing strategy. The social networks have become as sensitive as hound dogs, and they have become efficient in sniffing the bad products out. What is more is that consumers are no longer afraid to speak out.
It only takes a few disgruntled consumers with MySpace accounts and blogs for the word about a bad product to spread out. And bad news spreads quickly in cyberspace. Links to these blogs and MySpace accounts can be shared through blogs; other MySpace, Facebook or similar accounts; through websites like topix.com, YouTube or Digg; or through instant messenger relays. Negative feedback in forums like somethingawful.com and 4chan.org can also add to the damage.
The social networking phenomenon has given marketing strategists a new playing field, and in this playing field the consumers have more leverage. It is a leverage that companies cannot afford to ignore if they want to continue improving consumer confidence and sales.
Social Networking Is the New Wave of Online Marketing
Got Myspace? Indeed, who would have ever thought that a website that aims to connect people will be such a hit, with millions of members from all over the world? What’s more, this is not the only one—there are plenty of them. In fact, Facebook is coming in close to Myspace in terms of market share.
Business wise, though, this only means one thing: you have a huge potential market in social networking websites. Making your marketing ploys a lot easier is the fact that there are several built-in applications that you can use to promote your products and services. To give you an idea, read below:
1. You have the blog. Admit it, people will always be hungry of information, whether it is about the weather, social issues, your business, or even about the life that you live. Your entries can be read by your friends, and if it is good, they can even be passed on from one person to another. Simply put, a blog can offer you a very effective free publicity.
2. You can set up groups. Would you like to have a very good idea about the size of your target market? Try to set up an online group right at your chosen social networking website. In here, only those who have interest in what you are offering would definitely like to join. You cannot really expect many, but you know that they will be ones that are the easiest to convince. You can update them about your business, share more information, or invite them to your mailing list, which then allows you to promote your products through their e-mail.
3. You can build up your authoritative character. Why are there some ridiculous products that still get sold every day? Well, it only proves that in business, it is not really what you have per se but how you are able to present them to your market. There are a number of social networking websites that have message boards that you can participate in. If you can just check on them, there could be some questions that you are relevant to your chosen niche. You can share your knowledge and expertise to others, thereby increasing your reputation as an authority in your own field. When there is trust, there is no way that you will not be able to persuade them to accept your business and make it part of their lives.
4. They are free. When you’re in e-business, social networking websites give you an opportunity to save yourself hundreds of dollars in advertising costs and yet be able to reach out as many people as possible. Most of these social networking websites, if not all of them, are completely free. All you need to do is to sign up.
5. You can choose your friends. If you’re using social networking sites to gain contacts, you might as well choose your friends. Fortunately, you can narrow them down by using the Advanced Search option. You can identify the profiles of your potential market.
Delicious is… well… delicious
I’m sure that you have used the Favorites feature in IE. Whenever you find a website that is interesting and you want to remember the location, click the Favorites button and a link is created for future use.
However if you save hundreds of website links, it can be difficult to remember where a specific website link might be hiding. Enter delicious.com.
Delicious.com is a social bookmarking website. Saving your links in Delicious allows you to create categories and tags for easy retrieval later.
The best feature of Delicious is the ability to share your bookmark selections with others. And of course you can review bookmarks from other users. This social networking feature is great because you can find links to websites that are highly rated by the Delicious network.
Can you digg it?
I’m sitting on the beach near Charleston, SC listening to the Cars on my iPod Touch. I am also writing this article from the same iPod. While that’s pretty cool in my book, that’s not what I’m writing about today.
I have used a website service called Digg.com for over a year now. Digg is an aggregate service for blogs and other RSS enabled websites. Users of Digg send links of articles that they think are interesting.
If that were the end of the story, Digg wouldn’t provide any value. But once someone posts a link to an interesting article, other users vote and comment on the selected article. If users like the article they will cast a positive vote called a Digg. If users don’t like the article then they cast a Bury vote or they don’t vote on it at all.
The amazing thing is if an article becomes popular with positive votes, the original website will be flooded with thousands of visitors in a very short period of time. Maybe your next blog article could become popular via a Digg submission.
Social Networking on the Fly
Today I am writing this article on an iPod touch which is really a mini-computer. I am also listening to Elvis, A Little Less Conversation, while writing this article as well.
Many companies are hard at work on Social Networking applications for networking and sharing with friends. All of the popular applications can be used on any computer with Internet connection. However an amazing transition is taking place.
Websites such as Facebook, Twitter and Digg are building apps for mobile devices such as cell phones. Or in my case, the iPod touch. The Internet along with SMS just got a whole lot more interesting.
Social Networking is the Next Big Thing
To the uninitiated, social networking is changing the landscape of the Internet. Social networking is a place where people develop networks of friends and associates. Websites that use social networking allow you to connect with people of similar interests or hobbies. Popular websites such as Facebook and MySpace let you create profiles where you can post photos and information about yourself such as location, interests, etc. And other users can link to you and share information.
Think of social networking websites as highways connecting people of similar interests. The users of these websites generate content by communicating with each other. And networks are formed quickly by users linking together. There many different types (from aggregate to bookmarking) of social networking websites.
