Isn’t Social Media Just For Teenagers?
Why Social Media Marketing Will Make A Difference To Your Company
Part 1 - LinkedIn
By Jess Joss
So what is social media?
In the spring of 2004, the term “social media’, was coined. While the definitions vary, all include these main points: Social network websites that allow individuals accessing the Internet to:
a) create a public or semi-public profile within a set system,
b) develop a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and
c) view and interact with their list of connections and those made by others within the system. These networks include LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, Digg and De.lic.ious. Social media uses various online technology tools that facilitate easy communication via the Internet, to share information and resources; including text,audio, video, images, podcasts, and other multimedia communications.
According to a social media report for the Social Media Success Summit 2009, 81% of all marketers indicate that their social media efforts have generated exposure for their businesses. Two thirds of participants reaped increased traffic, with an investment of 6 hours a week in social media marketing. More owners of small businesses with 2 - 100 employees saw the benefits, versus businesses of larger sizes, because it is a cost-effective tool to grow your firm’s profile. Over 50% of these companies reported, beyond the increased social networking exposure, increased search engine rankings were often a happy by-product. As you can see, there is a bottom line value proposition to engaging customers, potential clients, supplier and contacts through various social networking sites. Please feel free to download the full social media report from the Summit - www.insitefulweb.com/socialmediawhitepaper.pdf.
Whether you are looking to increase traffic and subscribers, source new business partners, generate qualified leads, or reduce your marketing expenses, there is a social media opportunity for your firm. This is not a medium for broadcast sales tactics, but social media used as part of an inbound or magnetic marketing strategy, will become a core part of your marketing mix. Through social media, you can make connections, share information, and create personal relationships. Although, a strong social media campaign alone won’t automatically propel you to Fortune 500 status, if done correctly, it will support and extend your other marketing initiatives and help you engage with your stakeholders.
LinkedIn launched in the spring of 2003, is a business-oriented networking site, allowing registered users to maintain a list of trusted contacts. The people in the list are called Connections. Users can invite anyone to become a connection. Users tend to be more senior - 44% are either management level, or director/VP level or above. Numerous individuals often dip their metaphorical toes into the social media water, by connecting with past colleagues, contacts from networking events and people in their profession through LinkedIn.
Through social media, you can make connections,
share information, and create personal relationships.
As of November 2009, LinkedIn had more than 50 million users worldwide, in 200 countries and territories on all 7 continents. This powerful global network has half its users in the United States. India is the fastest-growing country, and the Netherlands has the highest adoption rate per capita, outside of the United States, at 30%. LinkedIn facilitates networking and information sharing, locally and globally.
The power of LinkedIn is your ability to connect with those beyond your own circle – i.e. the connections of each of your connections, making your network grow exponentially. The “gated-access approach” (where contact with any professional requires either a pre-existing relationship or the introduction of a contact of theirs) helps to build trust among the service’s users. As well, through a very diverse group system LinkedIn allows users to establish new business relationships by joining industry, or professional and other relevant groups thus meeting other professionals tackling the same challenges or interests.
Add LinkedIn as a tool in your marketing strategy. There is quantitative value to your business to add social media to your marketing mix, to grow your exposure and make connections. Using a carefully crafted campaign, run internally or out-sourced, your business will benefit. Working in both B2B and B2C contexts, social media can help you understand your customers, and industry, reach many and develop personal relationships while your inform and educate your target market.
In the next issue, we will examine Twitter and the value proposition for tweeting!
Jess is a partner at Insiteful Solutions. At Insiteful Solutions, they are online results specialists. Using a proprietary and unique system for entrepreneurial business owners and their marketing decision makers, they provide the insite you need to attract and continuously engage your target audience.
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