Social Media Primer

Social Media Primer Definition of Social Media: Social media is a set of Internet tools that enable shared community experiences, both online and offline. It allows people and companies to tell stories, build communities, sell products, build market share or reach new audiences through the use of blogs, podcasts, video podcasts (usually called Vlogs), photo sharing and wikis. The conversion prism shown below details the influence and effects of social media. As a communications or service professional, you'll find yourself at the center of the prism - whether you're observing, listening or participating. The Conversion Prism The conversation map is a living, breathing representation of Social Media. If a conversation takes place online and you’re not there to hear or see it, did it actually happen? Indeed. Conversations are taking place with or without you and this map will help you visualize the potential extent and pervasiveness of the online conversations that can impact and influence your business and brand. Social Media Tool Definitions: Blog – A blog (short for weblog) is a personal online journal that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption. Blogs are defined by their format: a series of entries posted to a single page in reverse-chronological order. Blogs generally represent the personality of the author or reflect the purpose of the Web site that hosts the blog. Topics sometimes include brief philosophical musings, commentary on Internet and other social issues, and links to other sites the author favors, especially those that support a point being made on a post. The author of a blog is often referred to as a blogger. Many blogs syndicate their content to subscribers using RSS (Really Simple Syndication), a popular content distribution tool. Podcasts – (iPOD broadCAST) An audio broadcast that has been converted to an MP3 file or other audio file format for playback in a digital music player. Although many podcasts are played in a regular computer, the original idea was to listen on a portable device; hence, the "pod" name from "iPod." Although podcasts are mostly verbal, they may contain music, images and video. Vlog - (Video bLOG) A Weblog (blog) that includes video clips to be downloaded and viewed immediately or transferred to a portable player. Also called a "vog," "vid-blog" and "movie blog," the vlog can be exclusively videos with text used only for captions, or text entries may be included. A venue for people who like to remix audio, video and graphics in some artistic expression, as well as novice and experienced videographers and movie makers, the material is distributed in popular video formats such as Windows Media, QuickTime and Flash. Photo Sharing - Photo sharing is the publishing or transfer of a user's digital photos online, thus enabling the user to share them with others (whether publicly or privately). This functionality is provided through both websites and applications that facilitate the upload and display of images. The term can also be loosely applied to the use of online photo galleries that are setup and managed by individual users, including photo blogs. Wikis - Wiki - a Wiki is a type of website that allows the visitors to add, remove, and sometimes edit the available content. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for collaborative authoring. Dashboard - the Dashboard is the Wiki's front page, where all project spaces that are open to the public are listed. Children - 'Children' is the Wiki name for the subpages that are listed under each project home page. Current Usage in Corporate America The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research recently conducted one of the first statistically significant, longitudinal studies on the usage of social media in corporations. The new study is the result of a nationwide telephone survey of those companies named by Inc. Magazine to the Inc. 500 list. The same study was done in 2007. That study was as used as baseline. Among the 2008 findings were: The research proves conclusively that social media has penetrated parts of the business world at a tremendous speed. It also indicates that corporate familiarity with and usage of social media within the Inc. 500 has nearly doubled in the past 12 months. The social media that continues to be the most familiar to the Inc. 500 is social networking with 57 percent of respondents in 2008 claiming to be "very familiar with it" (compared to 42 percent in 2007). Familiarity is related to usage. It is interesting to note, however, that even those forms of social media less familiar to the participants are still used by at least 20 percent of them. Not only is this widespread adoption being driven by strong familiarity but also from the recognized critical role of social media to a company's future success in today’s online world. When queried on the importance of social media, 26 percent of respondents in 2007 felt that social media is "very important" to their business and marketing strategy. That figure rose to 44 percent in approximately one year. It is clear that this group of fast-growing companies considers the use of social media as a central part of its strategic plan. Social Media Websites: Facebook – Currently has over 110 million users. Started by two then Harvard University students as way to keep up with classmates after graduation. Approximately three years ago was opened to the general public. It has an advertising component that many companies are moving into. Some estimates say that by 2011, it will have over 500 million users. Twitter – It has estimated eight million users. Nielsen Company says it is the fastest growing social media site. The tracking company determined that Twitter grew by over 350 percent in one year. LinkedIn – A website used primarily by professionals. It is used for group discussions, prospecting, and job seeking. YouTube – One of the oldest social media sites. The sites allow uploading of user-produced videos. Many companies are now placing videos there for access by customers and potential customers. There are a number of other sites: FriendFeed, Plurk, Digg, and Reddit are among them. One site lists 48 social media sites. However, as in the early days of search engines, it is fair to say many of those will eventually close down for lack of users or capital. The following chart details Twitter use, but it can be applied to any form of social media. 1