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| What's all this hype on Social Networking about? |
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| Jul 02, 2009 Published in the medium 2.0
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| Keywords: Social Media, Social Networking, Web 2.0
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 The Buzz
‘Social Networking’ is the current buzzword ruling the world of online content. “Web 2.0” network (social networking, grassroots media, consumer-generated content, online community building, etc.) has helped transform the relationship between the customers and brandowners. Did you know that E-mailers, advertising and word-of-mouth around an online survey conducted by exchange4media.com in January 2009 resulted in a total of 590 started surveys; a response count of 363; and 267 completed surveys?
The results are there for all to see – the humdrum, the buzz, the referrals pouring in from all quarters, all create the requisite curiosity and interest in minds. In all, 79.2% of those surveyed felt that these portals were most effective in terms of connecting with consumers and the media, while 65% saw them as a means of engaging employees and “influencers”. An encouraging 35% reported that the primary result of using the medium was an upturn in sales. Joining the bandwagon is free social networking and micro-blogging service Twitter’s recently announced commercial venture—ExecTweets—aimed solely at the corporate sector with CEOs, such as Cisco’s PadmaShree Warrier. Amongst the Indian companies who have joined Twitter are TCS, Acer, AOL India, Big Oye, Kingfisher Airlines, Fastrack, Wipro, Zapak and India Today. PepsiCo, the US soft drinks giant, too has recently launched a new blog and online community, called BlogHer, which is sponsored by its juice brand Tropicana, and focusses on women to express and share their “best ideas on better living”.
You, Me and Socializing
People – who are regular party-goers and even the non-party geeks who scream ‘Eeks!’ at the slightest hint of physical socializing – find it easy enough, in fact just a little more than a split second to join a community such as copperstrings.org or create one to share all their common interests, ideas, opinions, photos, videos, blogs on everything that one can think of, even on their own organization.
Organizations too do it and try and make the transition. They just join in to discuss issues facing their customers, the latest happenings and give their take on the newest brands and products which their companies are launching. This, inadvertently, increases web traffic and helps in monetising their content. Embracing such ‘social media’ helps in not merely marketing their brands, but also in becoming more interactive and effective with a two-way (rather multi-way) communication. Throwing their ware open to feedbacks further helps in bettering their products. Information gathered in this manner can then be analysed to get cues about preferences.
Because it’s Worth it!
Social media has become extremely popular because it allows people to connect in the online world to form relationships for personal, political and business use. Social networks are in fact, sites that connect people with shared interests, backgrounds, unsettling fetishes and choices, etc. Businesses also refer to social media as user-generated content (UGC) or consumer-generated media (CGM). In fact, in terms of usage, 83% people are watching videos, 73% are reading blogs, 63% are viewing shared photos, almost 55% are using a social network and equal number of people i.e., about 55% are commenting on blogs, according to Universal McCann Wave 3 (April 2008) survey. Blogs are now a standard source of news and info, with above 77 million Americans visiting blogs and 346 million blog readers worldwide as per the Technorati State of the Blogosphere 2008.
I guess it’s actually worth making the transition. You give and find ideas galore and realise at the end of it that it was good having spent all that effort and time reaching out. The impact is much more than what is visible. |
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