Social Media: For Business or Pleasure?

What’s up, I’m Monique, the latest addi+ion to the digital-telepathy intern team! My short time here at DT has already been filled with some amazing insights and great experiences. When presented with the task of blogging about anything, my heart raced as I realized I had never written anything online that anyone really cared about. Of course there was an occasional MySpace blog about “words that look weird when spelled out,” or the event e-vite I diligently scripted and e-mailed to all my digital friends inviting them to my annual Ugly Sweater Holiday Bash, but I had never blogged about something worthwhile to the community. I started thinking about topics and my credibility to write on these topics, and the first thing that came to my mind was social media.

For the past couple weeks, I’ve been researching some of the popular social networking websites (StumbleUpon, Mixx, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc.) for digital-telepathy. While sifting through blogs and comments, two different types of social media users emerged: those using these sites for business and those using the sites for pleasure. I thought it might be interesting for myself (and hopefully you too!) to figure out some of the diverse motives these different groups have for using social media tools. Interested? Read on.

For Pleasure:
Building relationships: People are interested in making friends and meeting people. Whether it’s sharing your Fourth of July photos on Flickr with your friends, finally finding someone that loves carrot-eating hedgehogs as much as you do or even micro-blogging your status on Twitter (Txt me L8er. 27 Dresses, DUH!), there is a place for you in the social media world. Interactions and discussions are at the heart of social media. There is a community out there for everyone.

Learning and Knowledge: Educating yourself on the latest trends, products, or applications has never been easier. Not sure about the new iPhone? Google it and find reviews from thousands of owners. Want to find out how many calories were in that double soy no-sugar-added Latte you gulped down this morning? Someone else was counting, guaranteed. Is your newest girlfriend really into famous paintings and you need to learn how to fake an appreciation for art? Head to Howcast and they’ll bring you up to date. You don’t have to be an experienced techie to participate in the social media world either. Even grandma has figured out how to upload photos to her Facebook, and she is tagging you left and right. Thanks for the crocheted leg-warmers G-ma, and yes they really bring out my calves in that holiday photo.

Creative Release: Expressing yourself is easy to do through the latest tools of social networking. People can blog about anything and everything and there is someone out there that wants to read your thoughts. Customizing your favorite social networking site, posting photos from your kayaking trip, or writing a travel journal about your semester abroad is easy, fun and therapeutic for many. Surfing these sites also makes the time pass more quickly, which is great when you’re trying to avoid productivity.

For Business:
The Customer is Always Right: Improving customer, partner, and employee communications has never been more important. Businesses are using social media to target their customers more efficiently and cost effectively. Building communities within the company website that give customers the opportunity to give suggestions for improvement, ask questions, or just providing them with a place to rave about your product can be really beneficial for a business. Companies can find out what people are saying about their product and develop a relationship with their customer before, during, and after the actual exchange has occurred. There is no guessing what the customer wants; it’s in the forum titled “What Woman Want in Gadgets.” This information can create a powerful platform if, and only if, the business is solving their customer’s needs. This word-of-mouth marketing and the buzz created around your company and product can create enthusiasts that actually become your salespeople (free of charge!) through their positive reviews and suggestions. Long gone are the days when the marketing department controlled the messages surrounding the product and company. Warning: if you aren’t providing a great product and great service, beware of the harsh effects of social media.

Keeping Everyone Updated: Businesses are beginning to take advantage of the social media environment by advertising their newest products and keeping people up to date on the company via blogs and press releases. Businesses can choose specific social media sites to advertise their product on based on very targeted demographics. For instance, in my interests section on my MySpace, I say I like Diet Coke. The next page I click on, a tiny advertisement for Diet Coke pops up. Genius. Businesses even donate products to successful bloggers, hoping they will use the product, like it, and write a positive blog about it. Businesses are hoping this word-of-mouth referral will gain attention and trial from early adopters. Businesses may also take advantage of their own company blogs by writing about new products or contributions they made to the community. Social media marketers must remember to write content that is newsworthy and interesting to the readers and customers.

Networking: “Rely on your network” the booming voice of the professor of my final class on my undergrad journey advised us on our last day of class. The “network” used to mean your dad’s friends that could get you a job or that one manager that supervised you during your summer internship, but today it includes this and much more. Now, there are tons of professional networks you can join, like LinkedIn, AdGabber for anyone interested in advertising, or Sermo for licensed physicians, to name a few. Social networking sites are making it simple to stay in touch with your old network and are making it even easier to connect with people that might share similar professional interests.

I know this list is far from complete, and I would love any comments that would provide addi+ional insights for me and the rest of the gang at digital-telepathy! Thank you for reading!