SOCIAL MEDIA and the Distribution of Information

 WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA?

Social media is certainly the buzz of today, but what is it, how can it benefit you, and why do you really care? Glad you asked. First, let’s stress that if you think social media is a fad that’s going to disappear you couldn’t be further from the truth.

Social media is a phenomenon and it’s taking the internet by storm.

Those who were quick to jump on the bandwagon and take the time to understand social media marketing have already taken their businesses miles ahead of the competition. Over the next decade, we can expect social media’s role in marketing and business to grow by leaps and bounds.

SO WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA? By definition (Wikipedia), social media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into interactive dialogue.

SO HOW BIG is social media? It’s huge! To give you an idea of how huge here are some recent stats.

There are more than 750 million active users on social networking site Facebook.

There are more than 156 million blogs.

There are more than 490 million YouTube videos.

SOCIAL MEDIA by Characteristics

The best way to understand social media is by grouping by characteristic.

Openness:

The majority of social media venues promote leaving comments, voting, sharing information, and removing barriers making content open to everyone. Connectedness: Social media thrives on being connected with other people, resources, sites, blogs, etc. Conversation: Traditional media is one way communication whereas social media is more of a two-way conversation.

Participation:

Social media promotes everyone to contribute and provide feedback. Media and audience blur together.

Community: 

Social media sees communities quickly sprout up based on common interests.

5 BASIC FORMS of Social Media

If you’re wondering when we are going to get to the meat and potatoes of social media marketing, we are already on our way. To get the most out of this e-book and concepts we’ll discuss, you need to understand social media and its components. If this is all rather boring to you we encourage you to skip forward.

• • •

Social Media Marketing Explained!

THERE ARE five basic forms of social media. Let’s have a look at them.

1. Social Networks

These are sites where people build personal and business web pages and then connect with their

Friends and/or family to communicate, share content and share photos. There are a many social networks although most of us think of Facebook right away.

2. Forums

Forums came before social media and were an important prede-cessor that remains important today. These are sites were online discussion are around a specific hobby, topic, or interest. Information is shared and exchanged and online communities are built.

3. Blogs

Blogs are a well known and popular form of social media. A blog is like an online journal. It can be personal or business. They can be based on a specific topic such as fashion or real estate, or they can be more like a diary discussing daily events or news. Blogs

4. Content Communities

Content communities organize and share based on a specific type of content such as videos or photos. YouTube is the biggest content community. There are others such as Flickr or del.icio.us.

5. Microblogging

Microblogging combines social networking and micro blogs, which are the equivalent of little sound bites. It’s the perfect way of sharing information for mobile devices. Twitter is an excellent example of microblogging and they are considered the leader in the microblogging arena.

SOCIAL MEDIA and the Distribution of Information

Social media has grown at a phenomenal rate, faster than any other area of the internet. It wasn’t that many decades ago that the ability to create content and then distribute it to the masses was limited to those with access to television, radio, and print.

If you wanted a video, you would call a television station, which would have employed thousands of professionals who would create, compose, and bring to air your video. If you wanted print material, you would call up a newspaper or magazine that also had teams of writers and editors who would put together your copy and bring it to print.

The internet opened the door to creating one’s own content and distributing that content. But still even a decade ago, it was still beyond the technical skills of most. However, today anyone can create their own content and easily distribute it to the massed. Anyone can take advantage of social media and the powerful marketing tool it presents, whether that’s using a blog, Facebook, Twitter, or any number of other social media avenues.

HOW SOCIAL MEDIA Networks Work

Social networks grow and prosper when web surfers find a social media network they want to join, so they sign up, create their profile, and begin to connect with friends, family, coworkers, and contacts. They invite others to join the social network, and those people invite more people and suddenly the social media network has exploded in popularity.

MYSPACE

A great deal of MySpace popularity is because of its music services, and with more than three million musicians/bands registered, it should be no surprise that there are more than 200 million registered users.

Facebook

With more than 750 million users Facebook has quickly sky rocketed to the position of #1 in the social media world. Whether you want to play a game of Scrabble with friends, send a virtual gift, or wish someone a happy birthday, it’s as easy as 1,2,3. The business side of Facebook is quickly growing as more and more companies recognize it for the powerful marketing tool it is.

LinkedIn

Of the many social network sites LinkedIn is the one most use to build professional contacts and grow a business. It has received some disapproval for being too closed to the public and for the fees it charges for some of its services, but it is also the second most popular social network site, next to Facebook.

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

Social media marketing, is often referred to as SMM. It is a type of internet marketing that focuses on branding to create product and brand recognition, and creating marketing strategies using the various social media networks that are available. Social media describes the activities that occur including photos, videos, content, and social interaction.

It’s easy to get so excited over the technology and the internet that sometimes we fail to plan or create the necessary roadmap for your online business to be successful. Social media is a powerful tool that can aid your business in reaching their highest goals.

Increased traffic to your page

Conversion to a sale

Sales tracking

Page exposure

Increasing brand awareness

Business development

HOW TO CREATE Activity With Social Media

The internet lets you interact with web surfers and you can create and promote your content by using the right strategy. You can reach targeted traffic and key influencers with social media. Let’s look at some important tips that can help you get a better understanding of social media marketing.

1. Process

Don’t become a follower trying to keep up with every idea that comes along. Instead set your goals and establish your own processes, such as keyword research or content analysis, then map out your plan. Far too many companies will move too fast before they’ve ever put a plan in place. If you don’t put a plan into place you are not going to see any good results.

2. Assistance

When it comes to social media helping others is key to success. People fail with their social media marketing because they are too about “me,” and not enough about “them.” Always remember that this should be about those who are visiting your social media marketing page not about you.

3. Connect

You can reach out to those who are influencers in the market-place. You’ll be surprised how brand advocates can help you in your niche. Remember to always be polite and sincere.

4. Contribute

You need to create content that is of the highest quality. As important as social media is, content remains the most important aspect of your online business and marketing campaign. There are a number of opportunities waiting for you.

5. Position Yourself

To create a powerful connection to your brand and your company, learn how to position yourself amongst consumer passion.

6. Blog

A blog is so easy to set up and it is one of the most powerful social media tools out there. As more and more people discover their value they a beginning to grow at an astronomical rate.

7. Links

Don’t be afraid of linking. Linking to other websites and blogs can be a powerful tool for you to build a targeted audience. Search engines are built on links. Learn how to use them to your advantage to drive traffic to your website.

8. Videos

Video is one of the fastest growing sectors of the internet. You have the potential to reach millions when you use video correctly. For a wider distribution there are other tools that you can use such as vidmetrix.com to aid in automating distribution of your videos. You’ll draw the most viewers with videos that are funny, weird, and controversial in nature.

9. RSS Feeds

RSS feeds are an excellent way to spread the word. You can easily distribute update notices, headlines, and content change. People like to be kept in the loop and know what’s going on. Subscribing to an RSS feed allows them to do that. There are all kinds of RSS feeds that people subscribe to including My Yahoo Web and iGoogle, as well as many others. Make sure you take advantage of what an RSS feed can do for you.

10. Micro Communities

There are all kinds of micro communities that pertain to your

business. In fact, there’s a micro community for almost every interest. For example, gardenweb.com, education.com, shoetube.com, etc. If you want to have your voice heard micro communities are a much better option than trying to get noticed on one of the large communities such as Digg.com. Create relevant remarks that are link worthy and don’t forget to connect with the top influencers online.

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