Do you Twitter? Friend me! Let’s connect.
These – and more – are phrases we all hear every day in the business world. To social network, or not to social network? That truly is the question! And to keep it simple, the answer is “Yes!” – especially for business.
However, many folks have questions about social networking, including what it is. At its most basic, social networking is simply communicating with other people who may (or may not!) have similar interests as your own, via the Internet. You’ll also hear people call this “social media” but we prefer the term social networking, as media makes us think about newspapers, TV and radio. Social “networking” on the other hand, emphasizes the fact that this is all about networking; that is, building relationships with people who can help you do business.
So, why use social networking? Here are four reasons*:
- 35% of American adult Internet users have a profile on an online social network site – four times as many as three years ago;
- 61% of people with online profiles have annual household incomes of more than $50,000;
- 33% of people with online profiles are college graduates;
- 28% use social networking to make new business or professional contacts and/or promote themselves or their work.
Simply put, aren’t these the people you want to do business with?
There are literally hundreds of social networking Web sites, some of which focus specifically on an industry, country, ethnicity and so forth. Blogs and video-sharing sites such as You Tube are also types of social networking. However, for the purposes of this article, we’re going to highlight what we call “the big three” – Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Facebook: Several Harvard students got together back in 2004 and developed a program to help students communicate with each other. It has now grown to over 300 million active users and the fastest growing demographic on Facebook is people over 35 years old. It has developed into much more than just a Web site where mothers post pictures of their children and kids communicate with each other. Both businesses and individuals have discovered that Facebook is a great way to promote themselves to a huge audience.
LinkedIn: Founded in 2003, LinkedIn boasts more than 47 million members worldwide. with executives from all Fortune 500 companies as members. LinkedIn is predominantly a professional site, as users don’t post vacation pictures or play games. They network with others, frequently through the thousands of established groups – or they create their own.
Twitter: The “new” kid on the block, as it’s only been around since 2006. People communicate with their followers, using just 140 characters. Tweets have been compared to “water cooler conversations” – short, sweet, but often very valuable for building relationships. While privately-held, it’s estimated that by the end of 2009, Twitter will have more than 18 million users.
No matter what methodology you use, you must develop a strategy. And, you have to know how to best use these sites. We’ll detail how to best utilize social networking in upcoming issues of NewsWise.
*Pew Internet & American Life Project Survey, December 2008
