Social Media and Online Branding
Whether its social networking or social bookmarking, social media is creating a paradigm shift in the way we consume media. This is not a mere blip on the radar, but a tsunami of sorts. But don’t mistake social media as another advertising channel. Marketer’s need to realize its more about talking to, and not talking at.
By knowing your audience you can leverage this medium. Note that its not a trend and your marketing efforts should include social media for your online marketing or branding strategy. Consider watching the following video to get a better understanding of social media’s influence.
A prime example of social media acceptance is a site you may know of called Facebook (a social media favorite) with over 250 million uers. It sees more than 1.5 million pieces of content (Web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photos, etc.) are shared on its site daily. In fact, the way we interact and socialize has undergone surprising changes, with one out of eight couples married in the U.S. last year having met via social media. Although you might be surprised to learn that the fastest growing segment of Facebook are 55- to 65-year-old females.
About 25% of search results for the world’s top 20 largest brands are links to user-generated content. With about 78% of consumers trusting peer recommendations, and only 14% trusting advertisements. Furthermore, 34% of bloggers post opinions about products and brands. Another interesting fact – 25% of Americans in the past month said they watched a short video… on their phone .
Social media, bookmarking, and citizen journalism may jeopardize the future of print media. Its estimated that 98% of the largest newspapers are experiencing record declines in circulation because we no longer search for the news – the news finds us.
If you’re serious about online branding and engaging with customers, you need to include social media in your strategy.
August 20th, 2009 at 2:50 am
Great info! I’ve underestimated the clout of social media!