Top 10 Reasons Your Business Needs to be Part of the Social Generation

It is amazing to think that just over a decade ago, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and the unbelievable bevy of burgeoning blog sites were but a glimmer in the eyes of hopeful entrepreneurs. Today however, social networking is the #1 most used marketing method. While being viral used to suggest the kinds of things that would get you sent to a quarantined colony, it is now THE way to boost your sales, maximize traffic to your site, manage or build your reputation. All this in a way that is fast, effective and makes you easily accessible – way better than being quarantined!

But in case you are still not convinced, here is a subset of recent data compiled by comScore…which I have extrapolated into my top 10 reasons your company needs to join what I call the social generation.

Years to reach 50 million users: radio (38 years), TV (13 Years), Internet (4 years), iPod (3 years)…Facebook added 100 million users in less than 9 months…iPhone applications hit 1 billion in 9 months…

Don’t make me have to hit you with the big hammer on this one!

178 million U.S. internet users watched online video content during July and Americans viewed 3.6 billion video ads in July.

How many of us would rather watch a creative 60 second video ad as opposed to sifting through massive amounts of content eventually feeling sensation akin to watching paint dry on the side of a barn? Good videos travel fast and can turn a modest marketing effort into an overnight web sensation.

93 million internet users visited Twitter.com in June, an increase of 109% from the previous year.

Tweeting is not just a luxury of the rich and famous, despite the insidiously vapid Paris Hilton postings, it is a version of “microblogging” that has taken word of mouth to an entirely new level. Content is sent in milliseconds with under 140 characters; a free, easy to use, extremely time effective method of reaching the largest possible audience in the least amount of time.

This year, 68% of social network users have become a fan or friend of a product, service, company, or group on a social networking site.

Social networking sites’ impact on business is growing. You can’t be tagged, friended, fanned, or otherwise referred, in the fastest growing marketing medium in the US, if you aren’t even there. From brand definition to reputation management, social networking is an undeniable conduit to explosive recognition and growth.

47% of people age 50-64 and 26% of people 65+ now use some form of social networking.

Not only do these older generations still have some influence with their younger counterparts, in political and knitting circles alike, but they have decades of work and life experience and these informed and educated opinions can go far in helping establish and maintain brand perception.

Social media has overtaken porn as the #1 activity on the web.

Um…enough said.

25% of search results for the world’s top 20 largest brands are links to user-generated content.

Many search engines including Google weigh the value of each link and the overall content of those links as they relate to your website. Even if you subscribe to an over-processed fast food lifestyle, the organic nature of link generated traffic will ensure the only thing getting clogged is your inbox full of inquiries.

34% of bloggers post opinions about products & brands.

This is the Viral Word of Mouth (VWM) hat allows your content to potentially zip through the online world. Once picked up it can gain tremendous momentum in a non-invasive manner; so users don’t feel like it’s forced on them and they trust the content even more because it was given to them virtually by referral.

24 of the 25 largest newspapers in the US are experiencing record declines in circulation because we no longer seek out the news, the news finds us.

No business can afford to sit on its collective keister and wait for the phone to ring. While you still need to maintain focus on your valuable existing customers you also need to be proactively targeting new customers. If YOU are not where THEY are looking, the only benefit you will gain is potentially slimming your back end while chasing them down – after your competition has scooped them up.

More than 1.5 million pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photos, etc.) are shared on Facebook…daily.

Social networking has become the straightest, most effective path to reach not only your existing audience and the target audience you were seeking, but potentially new crowds you didn’t even know could be of benefit to your business. Unless you’re looking into a second career as a “flasher,” overexposure is never a bad thing. Social networking is NOW (until the next big thing comes along). It’s time to embrace the NOW.