9. A perceived second-generation of web-based communities and hosted services (such as social-networking sites, wikis, blogs, virtual worlds and folksonomies) which aim to facilitate creativity, collaboration, and sharing among users. --Wikipedia Because customers have lost trust in traditional sales, marketing and service (the three areas commonly referred to as CRM). According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, “ the most credible source of information about a company is now ‘a person like me,’ which has risen dramatically to surpass doctors and academic experts for the first time.” --Dovetail Software Blog What is “Web 2.0” Why is “Web 2.0” so Powerful?
10. Examples of Social Media Social Graph & Demos Renters and Social Media You and Social Media Your Guide to Social Media
11. Social Graph & Demos Renters and Social Media You and Social Media Examples of Social Media Your Guide to Social Media
22. … consists of 47,000 college, high school, employee, and regional networks. … handles 600 million searches and more than 30 billion page views a month. … is the sixth most-trafficked site in the United States , according to comScore Media Metrix. … is the biggest photo-sharing site on the Web, with, according to comScore, more than 1 billion photos stored on the site and 6 million uploaded daily. … is growing 3% week over week , measured by number of users. … demographic profile of visitors to Facebook.com reveals strong skews toward users 18-to 24-years-old. 100,000 age 64+ 310,000 age 45--63 380,000 age 35--44 3 million age 25—34 13 million age 18-24 Fastcompany.com – February 2007 Active Users in Millions (Registered users who have visited the site in a given month)
23. Social Graph & Demos Renters and Social Media You and Social Media Examples of Social Media Your Guide to Social Media
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25. Gen Y is Taking Over. Who are They? The generation of young adults that's composed of the children of Boomers, Generation Jones, and even some Gen X'ers, It’s the biggest generation since the Baby Boomers and three times the size of Gen X.
26. They’re Plugged In The term " digital native " applies to most Gen Y'ers. Those in Gen Y grew up around computers, the Internet, mobile phones, video games, and mp3 players. They are web savvy multi-taskers, able to watch TV, surf the web, listen to music, and talk or text on their phones, often performing several of these things at the same time.
27. TV Isn’t King Anymore Gen Y'ers spend more time surfing the net and using other devices, like iPods and Xboxes, even when it cuts into TV viewing. For them, TV is often just "background noise."
28. Don’t Like Advertising When it comes to making decisions, Gen Y tends to rely on their network of friends and their recommendations, not traditional ads. “ Ads that push a slogan, an image, and a feeling, the younger consumer is not going to go for,' ' says James R. Palczynski, retail analyst for Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Instead, they respond to "humor, irony, and the unvarnished truth." They're also somewhat distrusting of ads, which is why grassroots efforts can also work. Don't get too comfortable, Gen Y doesn't have brand loyalty - they're quick to move the next big thing.
29. Work Isn’t Their Whole World For Gen Y, work isn't their identity. It's just a place. Gen Y sees no reason why a company can't be more accommodating, offering benefits like the ability to work from anywhere, flex-time, a culture that supports team communication, and a "fun" work environment. Sometimes dubbed "Generation Why?" they need to "buy in" as to why something is being done. Gen Y hasn't known much unemployment and they're not going to put up with being treated poorly just for sake of a paycheck
30. They’re Socially Conscious Gen Y cares about the world. They pay attention to politics, the economy, social causes, and environmental issues. They think they're a force to be reckoned with in elections and follow the candidates online on social networks. They read the news, but not in newspaper format, which is is going to hurt that industry even more as time goes by.
31. Social is King…But They Want Control Gen Y thinks a truly "private" life is a crock . 54% have used MySpace, Facebook, or some other social network . Most of Gen Y had to learn the hard way about the perils of posting everything online. They're happy to continue over-sharing with friends, but also learning how to protect their updates and set their profiles to private. They're also wary of old folks , like their boss, trying to "friend" them in their social space, especially if they're tragically un-hip wannabes.
32. Marketing to Gen Y Because Gen Y is media savvy and conscious of being marketed to, brands that succeed in the future will be those that open a dialog with their customers, admit their mistakes, and essentially become more transparent Companies' web sites that want to attract Gen Y'ers will become more like today's Web 2.0 sites. Social networking will be just a feature. Blogs will be standard ways for companies to reach their customers. Today, savvy companies might be using Twitter , but that could change at any time if Gen Y moves on. Companies will have to keep up with Gen Y and not get too comfortable using any one format.
33. No more long boring text! Thanks to constant media input, Gen Y has shorter attention spans and their "grasshopper minds" leap quickly from topic to topic. Gen Y will be happy to adopt the mobile web - they are practically glued to their phones . Currently, Gen Y is using the mobile web to socialize, not search. Steve Ives, Taptu CEO, in a company whitepaper, Making search social: Unleashing search for the mobile generation , concludes that "...Generation Y, who sees the mobile as a social device first and an information device second, is not using today's mobile search as much as expected. But Generation Y is using mobile phones to access social networks." Marketing to Gen Y
54. First things first: Go to Google and set up alert emails with your company keyword, your name and your URL. Then go to Technorati and do a search there as well. Keep these searches fresh. Learn who is talking about you, what they're saying and create an action plan based on what you're reading. Once you are fully committed, start reaching out to customers (happy and, most importantly, not happy) and join in.
55. Analyze each medium: Every tool is different and this is another place where marketers can go wrong. Blogging is not Twitter is not Flickr is not Facebook. The rules change from one to the other and you have to know what they are before engaging. How do people get value in each network and how can you add to it?
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57. Start slow: Do NOT go out and sign up for a Facebook page, Twitter account, blog, flickr profile and MySpace page all in one day. Social media burnout is for content creators as well as content consumers. Pick the most strategic medium to belong to and start slow. As you become more comfortable you can ramp up and add networks into the fold. Any additions should compliment your effort and be on strategy.
58. Be transparent: This is a no-brainer, but it's surprisingly tricky. You need to decide where your conflicts occur, how you'll deal with them and how you introduce yourself. The mom test works well here. If you wouldn't tell your mom what you're doing, it's not transparent. You cannot be too transparent here. More is better.
59. Don't stop: This is the killer. It's worse than not having started at all. How many companies have you seen start using a tool and later abandon it. How many dead blogs and Twitter accounts litter the information superhighway? Just don't let it be you.
60. Finally, embrace it: Imagine having a built-in feedback loop. That’s what social media is…to the consumer, and to you the business/advertiser. Invest in a social media manager, someone who swims in these pools every day. Think of ways you can actually integrate contributed content and social networking into your own websites and business practices.
