1^st Social Media Misconception: My Customers Don’t Do Social Media

On top of the list is probably the most shocking of them all, there are actually a lot of businesses who say, “My customers don’t do social media.” Such a revenue losing statement obviously has not seen the numbers behind this cultural sensation.

Facebook alone has over 400 million users worldwide and growing. The site’s user demographics? From ages 2-100 years old and that’s to say the least. And, let’s not forget there are a number of other notable social networking sites out there too, each with their own respected user base. In a word, it’s encompassing and there’s no reason your potential customers are not on it.

To boot, social media’s coverage doesn’t just end with Facebook or Twitter either. There are also a range of forums where people have been interacting even before the term “social media” has been coined. That’s at least another hundred million more informed consumers for your business to communicate with.

Enform believes there no denying that social media has become part of our daily lives just as the internet has and its potential as a marketing platform is becoming more of a necessity than an option.

Source: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/top-5-social-media-myths-debunked/

Chris Nuttall and David Gelles have reportered in the Financial Times  (Published: March 16 2010) that social networking website Facebook has capped a year of phenomenal growth by overtaking Google’s popularity among US internet users, with industry data showing it has scored more visits on its home page than the search engine.

In a sign that the web is becoming more sociable than searchable, research firm Hitwise said that the two sites accounted for 14 per cent of all US internet visits last week. Facebook’s home page recorded 7.07 per cent of traffic and Google’s 7.03 per cent. Some other highlights;

• Facebook’s membership has more than doubled in the past year, passing the 200m mark last April and 400m in February.

• Google has responded to the ascendancy of the social networking site with its own Buzz service last month. Buzz allows users to add status updates, friends, pictures, videos, location information, comments and links to other networking sites.

• Internet users worldwide spent more than five-and-a-half hours a month on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter in December 2009, an 82 per cent increase over the previous year, according to the Nielsen Company research firm.

Enform believes that this points to Facebook becoming the ubiquitous home page for more users in place of search engines and other social media sites. In fact, it suggest the evolution of social media away from its perceived position as simply another kids thing to that of a multi-modal contact and virtual “touch-point” for connected individuals and usomer’s.

They used to say “you have to be on Google” to make it on the web… now Facebook?

Just a quick little test of the new Wordbook plugin for Wordpress that allows direct post of blogs onto your Facebook page… pretty cool!

Some interesting recent stats on Facebook Everything You Never Knew About Facebook, also summarised below. 

Meanwhile sub 18 year olds are leaving or avoiding Facebook and fragmenting into other sites that are yet to register on business radar. Arguments are starting over kids rejecting parents as “Friends” and the whole thing is starting to migrate toward a more mature mainstream media channel albeit with 2 way connection and classic social media charcteristics (so all you social media cynics shouldnt get too cosy) .

That’s both good and bad news as MySpace revenue has shrunk again and concern is that the core 18-25 and emerging pre-teen demographic is not staying on these channels and will go somewhere else. However, the upside is that a core demographic for many “traditional” brands and those with disposable income are joining up and is the largest growth sector.

Facebook has more than 250 million users, 120 million users log on to Facebook at least once each day

People 35 years old and older represent the fastest growing demographic.

1 billion social objects (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photos, etc.) shared each week

About 70% of Facebook users are outside the United States

30 million users currently access Facebook through their mobile devices

 Taken from http://www.conversationalcurrency.com/732/everything-you-never-knew-about-facebook/