Certain websites also help companies find partners, investors and help entrepreneurs find all the useful resources they might find useful in their new business. These websites also help connect unemployed professionals with people working at their possible employers to find out more about the working conditions. This is also helpful in operating trade unions.
Videoconferencing and Instant Messaging:-Since videoconferencing is cheaper than travel businesses use it to communicate. This way a formal meeting environment attained while still keeping the costs low. Many companies that depend mainly on teamwork and rely on real-time data for their business operations use instant messaging so that businesses can operate at the most efficient rate possible. Through video conferencing small entrepreneurs throughout the world can collaborate and share ideas and promote a more friendly business environment.
Marketing: - As the number of people using social networks throughout the world is huge businesses can easily promote their products online. As companies can target customers of specific demographics through these networks by knowing their interests and ideas, it has become a useful and cost effective way of advertising.
Examples and uses of some of the social networks
LinkedIn
This social network operates with the aim of bringing professionals and businesses together. This is a one platform where businesses and professionals from all fields come together. The users here can discuss various work related issues and maybe give and take professional advice. The users can also find and meet potential employees and employers. The companies and professionals using this website can also communicate with others on the website and find out more about the background, the vision and the mission of the company.
Facebook
This is a social networking site that is meant for the people. The users of this website can share personal information with others. This is also the most popular website on the internet. Facebook gives special importance to businesses and supports business marketing operations. When a business advertises through Facebook, they can target customers through their personal data, interests, likes and preferences. People on Facebook can also be classified according to demographics. This is very beneficial to businesses as they can save the cost of advertising for the mass and still manage to achieve the same if not better results.
Ecademy
This is a social networking site that is meant purely for businesses. Their statement of purpose is ‘connecting business people’. This statement itself tells us how important and helpful this website might be to businesses.
Foursquare
This is a social networking website that synchronizes the location of its users in real time. This website is mainly made for mobile devices with a GPS connection. The GPS synchronizes the location of the user and gives the user an option to check-in, every time he/she is located in a recognized area. If the area is not recognised the users can add it manually. The statistics that are generated from this website can be used by the business as a form of market research. Also using this foursquare can recommend the users new places which are similar to the ones they often visit.
Blackberry Devices
Another social networking based technology, interface, or service has had a major impact on the society is the Blackberry Messenger. Blackberry messenger is a real-time messaging service that can be used my many ways for corporal purposes. It’s very popular blackberry messenger service can be used by event organisers and other people where real-time communication and data transfer and synchronization is needed. In-fact this service has received a positive response from all its users from the very time of its launch. This service was previously considered a service only for corporate but increasing popularity and launch of new low price range models made it popular amongst the teenagers. Corporate people rely on blackberry devices for its fast and reliable email transmitting technology called push mail. Push mail technology is a way of communication on the internet in which the client and the server are both in constant connection through another server. This server consumes less bandwidth and maintains a very fast connection with the both the email server and the client. Also the emails and other blackberry messages are encrypted so the safety and privacy of the consumer is not compromised. The security, privacy, reliability and the speed of data transfer on these devices made them the most popular social networking device for corporate and personal use.
Twitter
It is a micro-blogging site. The users can ‘follow’ their friends, favourite stars, brands etc. By endorsing the celebrities with a large number of followers brand can influence the posts of the celebrity and also create an impact on the followers of the celebrity.
Important facts and reasons for the need to change to social ways
Numbers of users on Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn,
The population of world today exceeds 7 billion. And the number of people around the world using social networking too has increased. In a survey done by Experian marketing a few key statistics were found out.
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Facebook is the world’s most popular social networking site with over 800 million active users; 200 million of those were added in 2011. This is almost 11.5 percent of the world population.1
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The average number of friends per user on Facebook is 130. Also an average user is connected to about 80 events and pages.1
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75 % of the users of Facebook are from outside North America and accounts are available in 75 different languages.1
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It is also estimated that 91% of the adults in United States of America use some form of social media each month.
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98 % of the 18 – 24 year olds use their social accounts monthly.1
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The users of Social Media and Social networks are more influential and active when offline.1
- When an average adult internet user was compared to an average adult social networker following key results were found out.
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19 percent of the users were more likely to attend sporting events.1
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47 percent of the users tend to be heavy spenders on shoes, clothing and other accessories.1
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32 percent of active social networkers follow a celebrity.1
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53 percent of active social networkers follow a brand1
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In a report released by comscore, a brand on social network that posts at least once every day will reach 22% of their fans in a given week.1
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50 percent of small business owners said that they gained new customers through social media, especially through Facebook and LinkedIn.1
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51 percent of Facebook users and 64 percent of twitter users are likely to buy products of the brand they follow.1
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60 percent of the small business decision makers do not spend 100 dollars on social media and social networks and 74 percent of businesses’ do not employ anyone to manage their account.1
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In a survey done by zoomerang it was found out that 44 percent of small business decision makers use social networks.1
Facts about the social networks meant for corporate use.
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49 % of the users on LinkedIn have an income of more than 100,000 American Dollars.
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41 % of the people using LinkedIn plan on spending at least 1000$ on consumer electronics.2
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82 % of the people on the site believe it’s important for a business to be present on social networks.2
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92 % of them said they would prefer buying an electronic item preferred by their colleague.2
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29 % and still growing base of skilful employees use social networking as their primary tool when looking for jobs.2
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45 % of the companies’ surveyed plan to increase their investment in social networking in 2012.2
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Companies use social networking to run background checks on potential employees.2
To see if these survey results stand true in a technologically backwards country like India, I conducted a survey on 20 people and the results I got were as follows.
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89% of the people surveyed use social networking websites.3
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70% said their personal information was mostly accurate.3
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45% said they follow a brand or a celebrity online.3
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45% said they would like to help their companies improve by filling in their survey sheets.3
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90% said that that the use of these website improves their awareness.3
These statistics mostly agree with the collected statistics.
Implications and possible uses of the statistics related to Social Networks
Facebook the most popular social networking site around is used by 11.5 percent of the population of the world. This means for businesses using mass marketing it is the cheapest way to promote their product. The high average number of friends on Facebook is another stat that may be useful. If an account on Facebook follows a business or products related to it, the friends will be intrigued to know more about the product and this may lead to a very quick viral marketing that maybe beneficial to the business. The various languages available on these websites have made it easier for non-English speakers to use it. This way the businesses that operate on a small scale can make their businesses more attractive by giving it a more cultural feel and more appealing to the local customers of the business. By dividing the network users by the language they use on the network marketers can target them and interest them into products that maybe interesting to that particular group. For example the literature in the language might be interesting to the people that are able to read the language. As adults are the families’ decision makers regarding expenditures; their increasing presence on social networks is a very useful for the suppliers. On social networks their opinion about products can be changed and maybe make them brand loyal. This can also help the business improve its products by knowing the honest opinions of potential customers, about their products. And also improve its public image by supporting social causes online and other causes that may bring about a positive change in the society. This will also highlight the Corporate Social Responsibility (responsibility towards society) of the firm and increase their fan base.
The companies can use sporting events as a way of promoting their events as social network users are more likely to attend them and majority of the population uses social networks. Also it was found out that the users of social networks are more likely to be heavy spenders on clothing shoes and other accessories this means that by promoting their brands here the companies can influence their potential customers more. About 32 percent follow a celebrity; the celebrity with the maximum following can be endorsed by the companies to target the group of customers following the celebrity. 53 percent of the users follow a brand on Facebook who can be kept updated about the latest products, services or any offers. They can also be given prizes through internet. 50 percent of the small businesses that are on a social network, said that they gained new customers. 51% of Facebook users and 64 Percent of twitter users are more likely to buy products of the brand they follow. This means that their word of mouth and other viral marketing methods also have a great influence on marketing the firms’ product. 50 % of the small business owners said that social networking helped them gain customers; this is a good sign for all the small businesses as social networks are very cheap to use.
Social Networking for corporate use
Forty nine percent of the users of LinkedIn have an income of more than 100,000 dollars. This means that a lot of people using the network could be helpful in doing business. This could also be the reason for the high income of the users. As it is a network of professionals and businesses from all fields the cost of finding and negotiating businesses and investors that would be interested in the products is reduced. A high number of users of corporate social networks plan on spending more than 1000 $ on consumer electronics and about 92% said that they would prefer to buy a product that is recommended by their colleague. This is another important reason for the businesses to target the users of these websites. A majority of people on the websites believe that it is very important for a business to be present there; this implies that social networking is not just a mean of leisure but it can be used for serious businesses work also. The 29 % and rapidly growing number of skilful people around the world use these social networks to search for jobs. This way they can also communicate with other employees already working for the business and find out about the actual working conditions within a company. The employees can also about the working conditions of within the company. More than 45% of the people surveyed plan on spending more on social networking in 2012. This means that the seriousness of companies regarding social networking and its possible benefits is increasing.
Social networking has also influenced online retail in major ways. The increasing integration of all the networks and websites online has helped e-commerce. Whenever someone buys a product using these websites the friends of the user are notified on the social networking sites. This could get some of the users interested in the products and could also increase the product sales. One of the examples of such a notification service is beacon which is developed by facebook the most popular social network website.
Facebook can be also used for event promotion. As the social networks are increasingly synced with people’s smart phones and their calendars, businesses can use this synchronization to their benefit by keeping the users updated about business developments and any public events. If a user chooses to attend the event it will be added to his calendar and his friends will also be able to see it, this kind of viral marketing helps the business improve its products. Through social networks everyone that is involved in the process of buying-selling and getting employed and criticizing the product is brought together. This way the entire process is speeding up. All the consumers benefit as they get better products and the businesses benefit as they get higher consumer satisfaction. All this can be done fast, through social networks and a win-win situation for all is created.
The increasing integration of social networks with gadgets means that social networks can also be made capable of accessing the other features of the device. Due to integration of social networks with one of the most popular features of the phones today- GPS (Global Positioning System) tells the friends on the networks about the places that the user is checking into. Businesses can use this data to build statistics and target the people or areas where they have low popularity and promote their product. This way a lot of money can be saved.
Another use of social networking based technology is video conferencing. Using video conferencing technologies business can create a formal meeting environment at a very low cost and also save countless hours of skilful labour. The pollution due to the travel is also reduced.
The excessive and hidden use of social networks during working hours has hampered productivity. Due to this, businesses nowadays block these websites on the company networks and also have started prohibiting the use of these services during office hours. Also employees are asked to take special care of the accounts as anything negative from broadcasted from these accounts might lead to negative publicity of the business.
The development and introduction of social networking has also had an impact on the economies. These networks have created more jobs and this has helped its country of origin as the use of these services in other countries will bring money in the home country. The increasing popularity of these services has also created job opportunities for developers for these websites.
Conclusion
Social networks have had a major impact on our lives in a lot of major ways. Due to their increasing popularity and the ability to communicate with around the world fast is helping the rate of globalisation everywhere around the world. Talent is gaining recognition is deserves faster than before.
The one major area of its impact is business and employment. The amount of positive impact the use of social networks has had on businesses is far greater than its negative impact. The number of jobs created, the amount of precious man-hours, skilful labour time and money that’s been saved tells us that our efficiency and resource allocation has improved. Also it is helping the consumers get better products and businesses deliver better. Also the widespread use of these networks has increased consumer awareness. Professionals from various fields now have a commonplace which anyone can access easily and where anyone can share their thoughts. The increasing popularity has also made it a medium through which consumer relations and corporate social responsibility of a business can be taken care of. These services are also proving to be very helpful in job-finding for employees from various fields. The fast and reliable real-time communication speed that these networks offer has also made it another reason for business to adapt to them.
In my opinion the use of social networks is making the world a better place to live. As the purpose of every kind of technology is to make living easier, social networking can be called a step towards a better future.
Appendix 1.3
26 Promising Social Media Stats for Small Businesses
By Phil Mershon
Published November 8, 2011
Is your small business “all in” with social media? New research shows incredible opportunity for small businesses.
Keep reading to discover why social media is changing small business for the better.
Six months ago, I highlighted many , but several new research articles add urgency to this message.
Swiftly Changing Landscape
Social media marketing is a rapidly changing environment, as we all know. But the good news is that your customers are embracing social media as a normal part of their lives. Even the over-50 population is adapting at staggering rates.
The following 26 stats should impress upon you the importance of developing a social media strategy for your business.
#1: There are now more than 800 million active Facebook users, with over 200 million added in 2011. Notice the growth trend traced by .
Facebook is growing rapidly. Which side of the wave are you on?
found the following in their :
#2: Over 80% of all Americans use a social network.
#3: Americans spend more time on Facebook than any other U.S.website.
#4: Approximately 40% of social media users access their accounts through mobile devices.
#5: Nearly 23% of online time is spent on social networks.
#6: Facebook is the top destination among social networks and blogs:
Nielsen found U.S.users spend nearly 10x more time on Facebook than Twitter or LinkedIn.
#7: Social media users are more active and influential offline:
Social media users are more active offline and have greater influence than their peers (Nielsen).
Key Takeaways:
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Be sure you empower your online fans to be offline advocates;
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Given the growing number of mobile social media users, consider how to best engage your mobile customers when you craft your posts for Facebook and LinkedIn (e.g., requiring shorter responses will get higher engagement).
What Does Facebook Say About its Users?
At Facebook’s recent F8 Developer Conference, Facebook shared the following statistics:
#8: More than half of Facebook users log in every day – that’s more than 400 million people.
#9: The average user has 130 friends and is connected to 80 pages, events and groups.
#10: There are 900 million objects that people interact with (pages, groups, etc…).
#11: Facebook hosts over 7 million apps, and over 20 million apps are downloaded each day.
#12: Around 75% of Facebook users are outside of North America with accounts available in 70 languages.
Key Takeaway:
The previous five statistics show the strong competition for eyeballs. A critical success factor for getting seen is consistency. There is a cumulative effect to your social efforts. The next stat highlights this.
#13: released a earlier this year that showed how business brands that post at least once every day will reach 22% of their fans in a given week.
Comscore shows the impact of consistently posting to Facebook.
How Are People Using Social Media?
recently released their . The following trends help paint a picture of how people are using social media.
#14: Experian estimates that 91% of online American adults (approx. 129 million) access some form of social media each month.
#15: And get this: 98% of 18- to 24-year-olds access social accounts monthly.
#16: This confirms their stat that college towns log on to Facebook the most.
#17: The average Facebook user spends 20 minutes on his or her account during each visit.
Note that Facebook users spend nearly twice as much time on the platform as Twitter users. The jury is still out on Google+, as data hasn't been accumulated to show the effect of the public release.
#18: A majority of Facebook users log in 3-4 times per week.
Notice that Twitter users are nearly as likely to login once per week as they are three to four times per week.
#19: One out of 5 social network users is likely to visit another social site after leaving one.
After visiting a social network, 45% of users will visit another social site, a multimedia site like YouTube or use a search engine.
Key Takeaways:
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If college students are part of your target market, be sure to find them on Facebook;
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Because many customers show a tendency to stay on social media sites, find ways to keep them engaged.
Small Businesses Moving Toward Social Media
So what are business leaders doing in light of the obvious shift toward social media in online behavior?
interviewed 1,180 small- to mid-sized business (SMB) decision-makers and 500 consumers in September to release this in an attempt to answer that question.
#20: The 3 most important reasons small businesses leverage social media are:
- Connecting with customers
- Visibility
- Self-promotion
81% of small business leaders use social media to get in front of customers and find new customers.
#21: 44% of SMB decision-makers use social media.
This graphic highlights how important it is to integrate social media with your website, email and direct mail efforts.
#22: Of those SMB decision-makers who use social media, 86% use Facebook vs. 41% LinkedIn and 33% Twitter:
Small- and medium-sized businesses are investing the most effort in Facebook.
Takeaway:
Be sure to integrate your social media efforts with your website and mail efforts (online and offline).
Small Businesses Getting Results Without Spending Much
Social media is good for business, not just relationships. published an produced by that reveals the following findings:
#23: 50% of small business owners reported gaining new customers through social media – most notably through Facebook and LinkedIn.
#24: 51% of Facebook users and 64% of Twitter users are more likely to buy from the brands they follow.
Twitter fans are more likely to buy from a brand they follow (Crowdspring).
#25: Small businesses don’t have to spend much to get results: found that nearly 60% of all small business decision-makers spend less than $100 on social media and 74% of businesses don’t employ anyone to manage their social media marketing.
Small business owners can get results without spending a lot of cash.
More Good News for Small Businesses
#26: has found it only takes 20 people to create meaningful many-to-many interactions and bring an online community to a significant level of activity. That’s something almost any business can achieve.
Key Takeaway:
Don’t use the excuses of having a limited budget or a small fan base to prevent you from broadening and deepening your social efforts.
How to Bring It All Together
There are numerous conclusions to draw from these statistics. Clearly, small businesses are increasingly leaning on social media to grow their businesses. Many of your customers are using social media almost every day. The opportunities to connect directly with your customers are unprecedented, but so is the competition.
Appendix 1.2
LinkedIn Audiences Highly Engaged, Active in Groups
continues to dominate the executive corner of the universe with a highly-engaged member base: 61% of registered LinkedIn users say LinkedIn is the social site they use most for professional , and 35% check the site daily, a survey from .
Another 32% of registered LinkedIn users check the site several times a week, and 16% check it a few times a month.
Some 8% of LinkedIn users log in whenever they get an email from LinkedIn.
LinkedIn users appear to be active in other social channels. Even though few LinkedIn users rely on Twitter and Facebook as their primary professional networking tool (4% and 22%, respectively), nearly one-half (46%) say they have a Twitter account and more than three-quarters (79%) have a Facebook account.
Below, additional findings from Lab42's survey of 503 LinkedIn users.
Most Users Keep Profiles Up to Date
Most LinkedIn users (42%) say they update their profile information regularly and 38% say they change it every now and then; only 7% have never updated their information.
LinkedIn Groups: Industry-Specific Most Popular
Most (81%) LinkedIn users say they belong to at least one group; among them 52% participate in group discussions.
Industry-specific groups are the most popular (45%), followed by employer-specific groups (33%), and groups related to educational connections (22%).
Looking for real, hard data that can help you match social media tools and tactics to your marketing goals? , a 240-page original research report from MarketingProfs, gives you the inside scoop on how 5,140 marketing pros are using social media to create winning campaigns, measure ROI, and reach audiences in new and exciting ways.
How People Use LinkedIn
Nine in ten LinkedIn users (90%) say the site is useful to them. Asked how they use the site most, LinkedIn members cite the following top 5 activities:
- Keeping up with old friends and contacts: 21%
- Networking with industry professionals: 20%
- Networking with co-workers: 19%
- Job hunting: 15%
- Business promotion: 12%
Professionals' priorities do tend to vary by job level. For example, entry-level professionals use LinkedIn for job hunting most (24%), whereas fewer top-level (9%) and middle-management (8%) professionals do. Industry networking, however, appears to be a top priority for roughly 20% of LinkedIn professionals, regardless of job level.
Updating Profile Photos
Only 18% of LinkedIn users say they don't have a profile picture.
Roughly one-third of LinkedIn users (37%) say they have a picture and update it frequently; another third (33%) rarely update their picture and 12% have never updated it.
Ads on LinkedIn
More than eight in ten (82%) LinkedIn users are aware of ads. Some 20% of user ssays they click on ads often, 40% click on them rarely, and 40% have never clicked on an ad.
Premium Services
Most (61%) LinkedIn users don't pay for a premium LinkedIn account. However, 26% do have a Business account (priced at $19.95/month), 8% have a Business-Plus account ($39.95/mo.), and 4% have an Executive account ($74.95/mo.).
About the data: Findings from a survey of 503 registered LinkedIn users, conducted by Lab42.com in July 2011.
Appendix 1.2
The recent 2012 Consumer Electronics Report announced the results of a user survey last month, and found some interesting statistics about LinkedIn users. Just about half (49%) have household incomes over $100,000, and LinkedIn users are more likely than the general population to own tablets and smartphones. Read on for more.
LinkedIn is a professional network and has been since the start, and there has always been a bit of cachet to the site. It feels like a place to go and do business. That’s why marketing in there can be tricky. At a recent conference I heard about Johnnie Walker’s Blue Label campaign on the network, and it focused on using the Johnnie Walker label on your profile to make yourself look classier — a pretty smart angle.
That’s why it’s important to look at some of these surveys now and see what kind of demographics are using the service. Some of the interesting statistics are given below.
Purchasing Plans: 41% of LinkedIn members plan to spend $1,000 or more on consumer electronics (CE) in 2012, compared to 29% of the online U.S. general population.
o For Commuting: LinkedIn members are 53% more likely than the average online adult in the U.S. to have Bluetooth in their car, and 31% more likely to have GPS.
o For Mobile: LinkedIn members are 51% more likely than the average online adult in the U.S. to own or use a smartphone. When it comes to tablet PCs, they’re 85% more likely to own or use one than the average online adult in the U.S. – that tablet PC is more than likely an iPad.
· Time Management: Technology is an essential tool for LinkedIn members – 93% of LinkedIn members agree that they rely on technology to manage parts of their lives, compared to 78% of the general online population.
o Productivity and efficiency are CE’s most important attributes for LinkedIn members. When asked which three aspects of CE are most important, their responses show an emphasis on efficiency at 51% compared to the online general U.S. population at 37%, and on productivity at 42% compared to the online general U.S. population at 25%.
· 82% of LinkedIn members agree that companies should have a presence in social media, compared to 75% among the online general U.S. population.
· 64% of LinkedIn members agree that companies should not only be present but also interact with their consumers via social media.
· 92% of LinkedIn members who plan to purchase at least one consumer electronics device in the next year say that they would listen to a colleague’s recommendation on which device to purchase, compared to 83% of the general online U.S. population.
Appendix 3
Survey conducted through google forms. Excel sheet with the results and question.
"26 Promising Social Media Stats for Small Businesses." Social Media Examiner. Web. 07 Mar. 2012. <http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/26-promising-social-media-stats-for-small-businesses/>. Appendix 1
"LinkedIn Audiences Highly Engaged, Active in Groups." MarketingProfs. Web. 07 Mar. 2012. <http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2011/5670/linkedin-audiences-highly-engaged-active-in-groups>. Appendix 2