Social Networking

The World of Social Networking

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Social Media Marketing -- How it Affects Your Business

Published on Sep 17, 2013

Social media has emerged as a very powerful online marketing force in today's internet driven world. Don't you think social media marketing is one of the essential keys to your business success? Read through these amazing statistics and then decide.

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Facebook Messenger Reaches 800 Million Users, Plans For Boost In Chats With Businesses

Forbes JAN 7, 2016 

Facebook’s popular Messenger app has hit 800 million monthly active users, up from 700 million six months ago, the social media giant said on Thursday.

The messaging app was the fastest growing app in the U.S. last year, according to Nielsen. And Messenger is now the second most popular iOS app of all time, behind Facebook, App Annie says. Facebook-owned Instagram has also seen rapid growth. The photo-and-video sharing app’s monthly active users grew by 100 million in less than a year, from 300 million at the end of 2014 to 400 million in September last year. By contrast, it took Twitter TWTR +1.99% a year to boost its monthly active users by about 30 million. Twitter now has approximately 320 million monthly active users, as of the third quarter of 2015, up from about 290 million in the third quarter in 2014.

The social media giant’s vice president of messaging products, David Marcus, wrote a Facebook note about big-picture communication trends he expects to see this year, as well as some of Facebook’s broader plans for 2016. Marcus said the versatility of messaging tools that allow users to express themselves in a range of ways in one place, whether through stickers, photos, videos, voice clips, GIFs, or through video and voice calls will cause a decline in SMS and text messages. Marcus also said messaging apps will start to replace isolated apps, saying that users will prefer to take care of tasks such as talking to customer service, or buying airline tickets, rides or flowers through the same app instead of turning to Web sites or individual apps.

Facebook’s limited rollout of its new digital assistant tool “M” last year, which can complete tasks such as making dinner reservations or ordering a stroller, and Messenger’s recent integration with Uber, which allows users to call a ride without leaving Facebook, make it clear Facebook plans to keep expanding the functionality of the app.

“The Messenger team’s mission is to make Messenger the best place to communicate with all the people and businesses in the world,” Marcus said. “We believe we have so much more opportunity ahead of us, and these are still the early days of Messenger.”

One of the most concrete plans Marcus described was an intent to boost communication on Facebook between businesses and users. The number of messages sent to businesses on Facebook doubled over the past year, the company said.

“Our early tests in 2015 with brands are showing that interactions will happen more and more in your Messenger threads, so we’ll continue making it easy for you to engage with businesses,” Marcus said. “And we’ll also do more to enable additional businesses and services to build the right experience in conversations.” 

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Your virtual friendships come with privacy risks, campaigners warn

Damien Gayle  Friday 19 February 2016

Most social media users unaware of potential threat of surveillance under snooper’s charter, rights groups say many Britons are exposing themselves to surveillance and fraud risks, privacy campaigners have warned after a poll found that almost half of people surveyed preferred to keep in touch with friends virtually rather than in person.

The survey of 2,000 people also found that 79% maintain friendships they feel would wither without being linked through social media, and a further 72% believe online networks have strengthened their friendships.

But many people are not aware that sharing information over services such as Facebook – which 80% said they do – hands ownership of their data to organisations which are not transparent about the ways that they use it, campaigners warn.

They added that with the return to the legislative agenda of the investigatory powers bill, which has been labelled a snooper’s charter, British users of online platforms could find their communications laid open to the state.

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The Experts' View: Top 6 Social Media Marketing Trends for 2016

SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS Richard Sunley

2015 has been another exciting year for social media with all kinds of fascinating new developments and milestones (some of which our experts predicted last year). We’ve seen the rise of live streaming on social with platforms like Periscope coming to the fore, Facebook hitting the 1 billion mark for users in one day and even Google making changes to its search to reflect the importance of social posts.

It’s a constantly changing field, but as we head into the last days of 2015 the big question is: What does next year hold in store?

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Marketing Trends You Must Know Before 2016

It's not too late to get up to speed on the latest marketing trends that will impact all businesses in 2016. Use this information to your advantage and take the necessary steps to grow your business over the next decade.

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Safer Internet Day: Young ignore 'social media age limit'

By Sean Coughlan Education correspondent 9 February 2016

More than three-quarters of children aged 10 to 12 in the UK have social media accounts, even though they are below the age limit, a survey for CBBC Newsround suggests.

The study, marking this year's Safer Internet Day, also suggests more than one in five has faced online bullying.

The global event encourages "safe and responsible" use of the internet.

Social media network Instagram said if anyone suspected accounts were run by under-13s, they should report them.

The Comres survey for Newsround, based on 1,200 young people aged between 10 and 18, found social media to be an important part of everyday life.

'Unkind' words

Among 13- to 18-year-olds, 96% were signed up to social media networks such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Whatsapp.

Among under-13s, 78% were using at least one social media network, despite being below the age requirement.

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Top 5 Social Media Trends of 2016!

It's that time of year...time for my top 5 social media trend predictions! Check out what the major trends I expect to see this year.

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How social media is transforming the fashion industry By Katie Hope Business reporter, BBC News (5 February 2016)

Model behaviour The influence of social media has also rapidly changed how models are chosen. Kendall Jenner, who shot to fame thanks to the Keeping Up with the Kardashians reality TV show, has been dubbed the "ultimate Instagirl" for her huge social media fan base: 48 million followers on Instagram and 15.3 million on Twitter.

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4 Social media trends you need to know going into 2016

Even if you’re not ready to explore live broadcasts, videos are still critical to your social strategy. We’ve said this hundreds of times – but  it’s worth repeating that video isn’t a can’t miss-trend for social marketing. Consider that:

Videos average 62% more engagement than photos

Video shares increased 43% at the start of this year

Facebook just announced it sees an average of eight billion views a day from 500 million people.

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Social Network Demographics: Key Takeaways

Embedded in these six pie charts is some very valuable information. If you’re not a data-person, we’ve got a few observations of our own for you to chew over. Below, you’ll find my two key takeaways from this chart.

Facebook grows and shrinks at opposite ends of the demographic spectrum. In 2016, Facebook will experience the largest percentage share increase in the Ages 65+ demographic. During that same period, eMarketer data suggests that the Ages 18-24 demographic share will decrease slightly.

What it means?

This trend has already been going on for a few years, as younger social media users migrate to mobile platforms and networks that don’t have an older crowd (i.e. parents). (For more on this, see “Your Teen Has 78 Friends They’ve Never Met. Here’s Why.”) Will a demographic shift on Facebook lead to the network’s decline? Far from it.

Facebook is the “gateway drug” that has brought an older generation into regular social media use: sharing, free giving of personal information, connectivity, connection with mass-brands and retail, etc. With the breakdown in privacy barriers nearly complete, Facebook (read: “its advertisers”) is ready to step in for the kill. In 2015/2016, expect advertisers to wage highly targeted, post-demographic campaigns… (The kinds where they know you’re having a baby before you do.)

Instagram advertising is going to roll out… soon! When you look at the numbers –the incredible growth over the last couple years – it’s inevitable. Instagram is projected to have 60.3 million U.S. users in 2015.

What it means?

Of course, advertising has already been around for a few months on Instagram; but it’s only been made available to select brand partners. By late 2015, I expect we’ll see geo-targeted/local advertising options made available to more small- and medium-sized businesses, especially in the retail, dining, and entertainment sectors. For Instagram, the challenge will be ensuring that the high standards their social media users expect are met.

By Bob Hutchins • Business2Community

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Social Media Marketing 2016 - Complete Certificate Course

This course will take you from social zero to social hero using our proactive and practical approach. It is arguably one the most comprehensive online courses of social media; giving learners a great grounding and skill set to enter the world of social.

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10 Laws of Social Media Marketing

Leveraging the power of content and social media marketing can help elevate your audience and customer base in a dramatic way. But getting started without any previous experience or insight could be challenging.

It's vital that you understand social media marketing fundamentals. From maximizing quality to increasing your online entry points, abiding by these 10 laws will help build a foundation that will serve your customers, your brand and -- perhaps most importantly -- your bottom line.

1. The Law of Listening Success with social media and content marketing requires more listening and less talking. Read your target audience’s online content and join discussions to learn what’s important to them. Only then can you create content and spark conversations that add value rather than clutter to their lives.

2. The Law of Focus It’s better to specialize than to be a jack-of-all-trades. A highly-focused social media and content marketing strategy intended to build a strong brand has a better chance for success than a broad strategy that attempts to be all things to all people.

3. The Law of Quality Quality trumps quantity. It’s better to have 1,000 online connections who read, share and talk about your content with their own audiences than 10,000 connections who disappear after connecting with you the first time.

4. The Law of Patience Social media and content marketing success doesn’t happen overnight. While it’s possible to catch lightning in a bottle, it’s far more likely that you’ll need to commit to the long haul to achieve results.

5. The Law of Compounding If you publish amazing, quality content and work to build your online audience of quality followers, they’ll share it with their own audiences on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, their own blogs and more.

This sharing and discussing of your content opens new entry points for search engines like Google to find it in keyword searches. Those entry points could grow to hundreds or thousands of more potential ways for people to find you online.

6. The Law of Influence Spend time finding the online influencers in your market who have quality audiences and are likely to be interested in your products, services and business. Connect with those people and work to build relationships with them.

If you get on their radar as an authoritative, interesting source of useful information, they might share your content with their own followers, which could put you and your business in front of a huge new audience.

7. The Law of Value If you spend all your time on the social Web directly promoting your products and services, people will stop listening. You must add value to the conversation. Focus less on conversions and more on creating amazing content and developing relationships with online influencers. In time, those people will become a powerful catalyst for word-of-mouthmarketing for your business.

8. The Law of Acknowledgment You wouldn’t ignore someone who reaches out to you in person so don’t ignore them online. Building relationships is one of the most important parts of social media marketing success, so always acknowledge every person who reaches out to you.

9. The Law of Accessibility Don’t publish your content and then disappear. Be available to your audience. That means you need to consistently publish content and participate in conversations. Followers online can be fickle and they won’t hesitate to replace you if you disappear for weeks or months.

10. The Law of Reciprocity You can’t expect others to share your content and talk about you if you don’t do the same for them. So, a portion of the time you spend on social media should be focused on sharing and talking about content published by others.  

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“Everyone should build their networking before they need it”

- Dave Delaney

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The new app, made by two former Google employees, became a huge hit in the US because of its covert design by using no names or profiles

A new anonymous social network has launched in the UK after becoming a huge hit in America.

Secret is a new breed of social networking that allows users to "speak freely" by making all of their posts completely anonymous.

Arriving in the UK today, the app has had tremendous commercial success in the US - making $8.6 million venture capital within two months of its release.

Created by two former Google employees - Chris Bader and David Byttow - Secret hopes to provide a space for people to post authentically about their lives without feeling judged.

Unsurprisingly, however, the app has already proved itself as a hotbed for use by potential whistleblowers.

Earlier this month, it was leaked that Nike were planning to fire their Fuelband development team days before it actually happened.

In a similar event, news of the imminent resignation of Vic Gundotra, Google+ former head honcho, wildly circulated when Secret posts claimed he was interviewing for other jobs.

Users are forced to add three friends before they begin posting to ensure anonymity, but once you like someone else's post, it is shared with all your friends.

The creators claim that this allows "great ideas to spread" quickly and effectively - but it also allows gossip to move quicker than ever before.

Similar concerns have also been raised about the contribution Secret could have to spread of bullying, with one CNN writer commenting: "They may eventually enable hateful and defamatory gossip about people.

"There's also concern that people will post secrets and news that are just plain wrong, but get spun into the record as gospel."

Although currently only available on iPhone, an Android app is in the pipeline - with launches also happening in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand today.

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How Social Networking Has Changed Business

Social networking is the most significant business development of 2010, topping the resurgence of the U.S. automobile industry. During the year, social networking morphed from a personal communications tool for young people into a new vehicle that business leaders are using to transform communications with their employees and customers, as it shifts from one-way transmission of information to two-way interaction. That’s one reason Time magazine just named Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg Person of the Year.

A year ago, many people poked fun at Facebook as a place where kids shared their latest party news. Today more than 600 million users worldwide are active on the site. The most rapidly growing demographic is people over forty. More than 300 million people spend at least one hour a day on Facebook. Approximately two hundred million people are active on Twitter in spite of — or because of — its 140-character limitation. Another 100 million use LinkedIn. None of these social networks even existed at the beginning of the decade.

Leaders like IBM’s Sam Palmisano, PepsiCo’s Indra Nooyi, Apple’s Steve Jobs, Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer, Carlson’s Marilyn Nelson, and Harvard Business School Dean Nitin Nohria are all active social network users. Why? Because these social networks are a unique way of broadly communicating real-time messages to the audiences they want to reach. They can write a message anywhere, anytime, and share it with interested parties without any public relations meddling, speech writers, airplane travel, canned videos, or voicemail messages. Now their words are much more authentic and can be remarkably empowering.

Social networking is also flattening organizations by distributing access to information. Everyone is equal on the social network. No hierarchies need get involved.

The biggest threat presented by social networks is to middle managers, who may become obsolete when they are no longer needed to convey messages up and down the organization. The key to success in the social networking era is to empower the people who do the actual work — designing products, manufacturing them, creating marketing innovations, or selling services — to step up and lead without a hierarchy.

Consumer marketing companies are lining up to use these networks to reach their tailored demographics with highly personalized messages. Already they are revolutionizing marketing by shifting dollars from purchased media advertisements to building their own outlets and content. Kraft Foods, for example, is now one of the largest publishers of food-related materials. IBM is launching thought leadership communities. PepsiCo uses social networks to reach millions of social entrepreneurs in lieu of advertising at the Super Bowl. From a leadership perspective, social networking is making authentic leadership a reality and a necessity for 21st century leaders. You can’t hide on your social network when you’re revealing who you are and what you really believe. Transparency is essential here.

Even more important, this new phenomenon is enabling business leaders to regain the trust and credibility they have lost over the last 10 years. That’s why social networking is the most important business development of the year.

Bill George is Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School.

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The term social network was originally coined to distinguish between networks that were used for business purposes and those that were used for socializing. The term has been extended to include interactive websites with message boards, chat rooms or the ability to leave comments and have a discussion with other people.

“Social media is changing the way we communicate and the way we are perceived, both positively and negatively.  Every time you post a photo, or update your status, you are contributing to your own digital footprint and personal brand.”   -Amy Jo Martin

It’s important for people to talk and get beyond the wall of Facebook and social media.   -Billy Corgan

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What Is Social Networking?

Social networking is the grouping of individuals into specific groups, like small rural communities or a neighborhood subdivision, if you will.  Although social networking is possible in person, especially in the workplace, universities, and high schools, it is most popular online.

his is because unlike most high schools, colleges, or workplaces, the internet is filled with millions of individuals who are looking to meet other people, to gather and share first-hand information and experiences about cooking, golfing, gardening, developing friendships professional alliances, finding employment, business-to-business marketing and even groups sharing information about baking cookies to the Thrive Movement.  The topics and interests are as varied and rich as the story of our universe.

When it comes to online social networking, websites are commonly used. These websites are known as social sites. Social networking websites function like an online community of internet users. Depending on the website in question, many of these online community members share common interests in hobbies, religion, politics and alternative lifestyles. Once you are granted access to a social networking website you can begin to socialize. This socialization may include reading the profile pages of other members and possibly even contacting them.

The friends that you can make are just one of the many  benefits to social networking online. Another one of those benefits includes diversity because the internet gives individuals from all around the world access to social networking sites. This means that although you are in the United States, you could develop an online friendship with someone in Denmark or India. Not only will you make new friends, but you just might learn a thing or two about new cultures or new languages and learning is always a good thing.

As mentioned, social networking often involves grouping specific individuals or organizations together. While there are a number of social networking websites that focus on particular interests, there are others that do not. The websites without a main focus are often referred to as "traditional" social networking websites and usually have open memberships. This means that anyone can become a member, no matter what their hobbies, beliefs, or views are. However, once you are inside this online community, you can begin to create your own network of friends and eliminate members that do not share common interests or goals.

As I'm sure you're aware, there are dangers associated with social networking including data theft and viruses, which are on the rise. The most prevalent danger though often involves online predators or individuals who claim to be someone that they are not. Although danger does exist with networking online, it also exists in the real world, too. Just like you're advised when meeting strangers at clubs and bars, school, or work -- you are also advised to proceed with caution online.

By being aware of your cyber-surroundings and who you are talking to, you should be able to safely enjoy social networking online. It will take many phone conversations to get to know someone, but you really won't be able to make a clear judgment until you can meet each other in person.  Just use common sense and listen to your inner voice; it will tell you when something doesn't feel right about the online conversations taking place.

Once you are well informed and comfortable with your findings, you can begin your search from hundreds of networking communities to join. This can easily be done by performing a standard internet search. Your search will likely return a number of results, including Google+, MySpace, FriendWise, FriendFinder, Yahoo! 360, Facebook, and Classmates.

By: K. Brown