Social Media
– you can’t put your head in the sand!
If you’re like me, the rapid take-up of social media has left you feeling a little behind the eight ball. It seems my kids are all over it already and I’m still struggling to get it. What I mean is I understand it alright – I just don’t get why it hooks people in so much… maybe I’m getting old!
It is, however, a powerful tool and, if you look at the trends and data available, companies today need to embrace it as another valuable sales and communication device.
We have just implemented all these social media activities across the shows and I have to say up front, it’s a lot easier to say ‘do it’ than then having to update it and keep on top of it. We considered the possibility of getting postings that knocked our events, but concluded that at least if we were in it, we could partly control the message, as opposed to not being in it and having people knocking their experiences there – and we were blissfully unaware of it!
So, depending on your level of knowledge, this month we look at the various outlets and the stats, as well as pros and cons for you to consider. This is, I guess, a new way of marketing because although it started as a communication channel, it has far greater potential once you get hooked. You may do this yourself and link to our sites, but one thing’s for sure – you can’t afford to put your head in the sand!
All stats are as up-to-date as we had at time for while preparing this newsletter.
is a social networking service that enables users to send messages called tweets to other users and read theirs. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author’s profile page.
Tweets are visible publicly by default; however, senders can restrict message delivery to their ‘friends’ list.
Users may subscribe to other author tweets – this is known as following and subscribers are known as followers. Your followers can respond to your tweets, either publicly or privately. All users can send and receive tweets via the Twitter website or by SMS.
Statistics:
- Twitter has 105,779,710 registered users worldwide
- 300,000 new users sign up per day worldwide
- As of April 2009, there are 679,000 Australians on Twitter
- Twitter receives 180 million unique visitors per month
- The average Twitter user is middle-aged – 45 to 54-year-olds are 36% more likely to visit the Twitter site than the rest of the population. (source:SMH)
- 75% of Twitter traffic comes from third-party applications ie, Tweetdeck
- 37% of active Twitter users use their phone to tweet
PROS:
- It’s free to join Twitter
- Low maintenance
- Easy to network with visitors
- Develops more character for the event, more personal
- Immediate response to feedback
- Another method of sourcing exhibitor leads
- You don’t have to open your web browser to send and receive tweets. Programs such as Twitterific or iTweet for the iPhone are available.
- Presence improves Google rankings for the event
CONS:
- Tweets are limited to 140 characters
- Usernames are limited to 13 characters
- Poor public relations can spread easily
- Twitter users don’t like the hard sell
- If not managed properly, a Twitter campaign can generate negative results
- The unstructured and spontaneous nature of the medium can lead to tweets that are not well thought through
gives you the ability to connect instantly with friends, relatives, former classmates and business associates.
Facebook allows each user to create their own personal profile, in which they can share basic information about themselves, such as home town, job information, political and religious views, relationship status, interests, TV, music and more.
Other ways to interact on Facebook are to share photos and video, create or opt to attend events, play online games and add applications.
Facebook is an easy and fun way to interact with the people in your life and to connect with others who share your interests.
Statistics:
- More than 400 million active users worldwide
- 50% of our active users log on to Facebook on any given day
- Average user has 130 friends
- Average user is connected to 60 pages, groups and events
- Average Facebook user is aged 18 to 25 years old
- There are more than 100 million active users currently accessing Facebook through their mobile devices
- People who use Facebook on their mobile devices are twice as active on Facebook than non-mobile users
PROS:
- Generates brand awareness. Facebook is becoming popular among various age demographics and can be a creative interception point for building our relationship with consumers and prospects.
- Viral Marketing – Facebook has millions of users and it’s growing at a rapid rate
- Offers an opportunity to find customers we may not have discovered otherwise
- Alerts visitors with up-to-date notifications about event features
- Cross-promotes events using the group walls
- Calculates how many Facebook guests are planning to attend each event
- Links visitors straight to websites or ticket sales
- Presence improves Google rankings for the event
- Offers an opportunity to advertise our events directly to target audiences
- Facebook pages can be linked straight to Twitter
CONS:
- Poor public relations can spread easily
- It’s time-consuming and high-maintenance for Marketing Teams
- Visitors can hide or block groups because they feel ‘spammed’ or overwhelmed with information
- Facebook could draw web traffic away
is a business-orientated social networking site.
It allows registered users to maintain a list of the contact details of people they know and trust in business. The people on the list are called Connections.
It can then be used to find jobs, people and business opportunities recommended by someone in one’s contact network.
Employers can list jobs and search for potential candidates. Job seekers can review the profile of hiring managers and discover which of their existing contacts can introduce them.
Users can now follow different companies and can get notification about new joining opportunities and offers available.
Statistics:
- LinkedIn has over 70 million registered users globally
- 875,000 of these are Australian users
- Average member age is 41 years old
- 1,000 Australian companies are using LinkedIn Talent Advantage to hire employees
- LinkedIn has ‘LinkedIn Events’, allowing users to create online or real-life events. Other members can then browse events and opt to attend if interested
So there you have it – social media is here to stay and will only evolve and grow even more. The challenge is keeping up with it and looking at how you can embrace it as a tool for your business and how it may work for an event.
IN A NUT SHELL:
Look and see what organisers at events are doing as the social media may be a way to increase your exposure with favourable results, as well as assess events you may wish to participate in.
