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So the last couple of weeks I have been banging on to you guys about, “how the world is changing” and “get involved in social media” (you need to know that in my head I was saying that like a medieval jester announcing the arrival of the King…something along those lines anyway…sorry, I’m digressing slightly!).

Well I wasn’t lying…in fact a big dog in the marketing world, located on the other side of the pond, has reviewed social media for businesses in 2009.  In fact, by all counts it seems to be a rather poor performance for businesses.

It was found that in 2009 businesses struggled to keep up with their customers on social media networks.

When the ball started to roll for social media there was only a handful of sites to keep track of, but now there are so many, companies need a social media marketing plan to ensure they don’t miss a trick.  Not only are there so many sites to keep track of, there are so many users using them.

The recession hit everywhere pretty hard, and it was responsible for making marketing budgets a bit on the short side so what did the most intelligent of companies do? They turned to the internet of course.  Whoever the bright spark that came up with that idea was should have either got a bonus for thinking of it or sacked because they didn’t think of it earlier!

Facebook itself boasts a huge 350 million users.  That alone is greater than the population of North America.  So think of the amount of people these companies have at the touch of a button.  So many that can be exposed to a brand and all for the cost of an internet connection to start with.

Realistically, it is slightly more complex than that.  Social media marketing shouldn’t be taken lightly.  Businesses should be careful not to focus specifically on Facebook promotion or Twitter promotion or agencies that push for these kinds of strategies.  It should be a strategy that targets the consumer with the aid of social media.

Social media is a fast, constantly varying industry and it is very difficult to have particular targets for social media when it comes to forecasting a marketing plan.  Focusing on specific technologies can prove to be detrimental.  It’s the overall trend that requires the most attention.  It is a rising trend that customers are using these social media sites more and more, and therefore, companies should react to this positively with an open mind.

Social Bookmarking is a term thrown around by online marketing companies or social media companies to clients, but what does it actually mean? Yes, it sounds pretty good, when said in an enthusiastic tone, but when you stop and think about it, it doesn’t really explain an awful lot.  It’s rather like some comedians…you either get it, or you don’t!

Look no further, i will turn your thoughts into a language everyone understands.  Peter Kay language! You’re probably thinking, what on Earth…but stick with me…may you be shown the light through the tunnel of confusion and directed off “The Road To Nowhere.” (“Now, we’ve started, now we’ve started!”)

1. What is it?

Now the term ‘bookmarking’ is commonly used as a way of saving or tagging a web page so that you can quickly access it again.  Well ‘social bookmarking‘ isn’t much different.  It can be defined as:

“the practice of saving ‘bookmarks’ to a public web page and ‘tagging’ them with keywords.”

These bookmarks are uploaded or shared onto social media sites so that other users can view them as well.  Users can create a collection of these bookmarks, just by signing up to these social media sites, such as Digg, Delicious, Stumbledupon and Mixx to name a few.

Users often log on, read these articles or bookmarks and often reference them on their own blogs or websites.

2. Who Is Doing It?

Everyone is doing it, that is because Anyone can do it.  The question is, if you aren’t doing it, why not?  From online marketers, to university students, social media has become the realm of all information.  Whether its gossip you’re looking for, factual information or even a ‘How To’ guide, there is something for everyone.  In a nutshell, there are users looking for useful information, and there are other users looking to share it with you.

3. How Does It Work?

The creators or the writers of these bookmarks assign ‘tags’ and categories to their articles (just like I do with this blog post…you see at the bottom…tagged keywords!) to make searching for information easier for the user.  Instead of crawling through pages and pages of content, searching by keywords or categories makes things so much easier.  Not only that, but each bookmark provides access to other bookmarks by that particular writer that you may find interesting.

Searching via Twitter can help as well.  Often users of the social media sites post their bookmark names with links on Twitter.  This can make it easier for you to follow the people you want to follow, and read what interests you most.  This is especially useful if you are searching for information or users in your business industry.

4. Why Is It Significant?

The significance of this is that it is very easy to tune into, what I call, ‘tunnel vision’.  By that I mean that, you may not be aware of other perspectives, and the social media network can help you broaden your horizons and see a new light.

The social media network is becoming rapidly the greatest source of education.  The World Wide Web can provide you with all the information you need about anything, it’s just a case of picking it out.  So learning more about different industries is all at the touch of a mouse…and a few buttons as well then.

These significances are responsible for users signing up in the first place, but also returning once they have signed up.  This keeps information current, active and engaging.  Everything you need for a good browse on ‘t’internet’!

5. What Are The Downsides?

So all that seems well and good, but to put a bit of a black cloud over it, it’s all just a bit amateurish way of informing the world of your expertise.  There’s no right or wrong way of ‘tagging’ or categorising something, which can make searching quite ambiguous and as a result leading to inconsistency.  Also, with all these different points of view flying around, how can you be sure what your reading is true or not…in fact, thinking about it, how do you guys know I’m not just feeding you a load of codswallop…you don’t…but I can assure you I’m not…or am I…you see, you have no idea…sorry guys, but, “it’s spitting, everybody in!”

6. Where Is All This Going…Tenerife?!

Once you have put your foot through the door of the social media gateway, after taking a deep breath, you will find it’s not a difficult concept to grasp really.  Anyone can do it.  As I mentioned last time, times are changing, sources of information are expanding and new systems and new resources are being developed as a innovative method of managing information.

So what’s it going to be?  Are you one of those people that thinks, the old ones are the best, like some of the classic Peter Kay jokes I’ve managed to slip in? Or are you willing to dive in and give it ago…be innovative, creative, find something new because, “I tell you this for free,” (well I’m not going to charge you) just like garlic bread was…”It’s the future!”…(sorry I couldn’t resist!)

Social media websites have been around for a number of years now. Without you even knowing about them they are there. You may have even used such sites long before the Facebook and Twitter.

Social media websites and networks come in all sorts of forms. From web forums to social blogs, instant messaging to emailing. However, the term ‘social media’ has only been around since about 2004, when LinkedIn launched their social network application and the term has stuck and has gradually risen since. Now there is even a whole new market for social media marketing, that I am proud to say I’m apart of.

Here are 5 ways that social media has changed your daily life, and I bet you haven’t even thought about it.

1. The source of fresh news

I use the term ‘news’ fairly loosely, because I’m not talking about BBC news or CNN but I’m talking about the news that is more concerned with your personal life ie. what your friends are up to. If you’re like me then checking your Facebook over breakfast, lunch and dinner becomes more of a priority than the latest headlines.

2. Starting or Improving Business

Some people see these sites as a waste of time, but again, if you are more like me, I see them as an opportunity. Recently I have set up a Custard Media Solutions Fan Page on Facebook. The amount of people that you have access to on your profile is immense. If you think, there’s your friends, your friend’s friends, you get the idea. And if you can gain brand awareness from it then for half an hour of your time to set up and then daily updating is not really that much to ask.

3. Staying in touch

This is probably the most recognised ways and that’s staying in touch with friends. More often than not though, Facebook users for example probably don’t talk to 70% of their friends on Facebook, but you would be lost without them all. It has provided a medium whereby we can stay in touch with people all around the world, and in a way it has provided us with another means of entertainment, which to an older generation is quite sad, but to us it has become the epitome of how our lives have changed.

4. Revealing of Lives

As well as catching up with friends, starting up businesses and keeping up to date with news, we also provide news for other people. From being stuck in traffic with no petrol left and on the verge of breaking down (that was my piece of news this morning!) to whereabouts in the world you are. Obviously, what we reveal is completely up to us, and often we just reveal things about our lives that other people would find funny or interesting and things that people can interact with.

5. The Ability to Influence

X-Factor is one of the biggest TV shows in the country, love it or hate it. Each Christmas you can expect the Number 1 to be the track that the winner has released. Well all that changed this year, and I hate to say this, but it was all Facebook’s fault! Now, I wasn’t a Joe McElderry fan but I am certainly, definitely, in no uncertain terms, NOT a Rage Against The Machines Fan. However, I am a Facebook user and, I have to admit, a lover. I love what it has achieved, a Facebook petition for stopping that Number 1 spot being taken over by X-Factor…and it worked!

There are always new trends, fashions, tastes and changes to everyday life. The social media ‘trend’ is expanding rapidly and there is no sign of it slowing. They do affect our lives, whether we like it or not. So those of you, who think it is a waste of time, my advice, is to jump in, check it out before you miss the biggest social phenomenon since the mobile phone and let’s face it, you all have one of those!

What do Barack Obama, Stephen Fry and Britney Spears all have in common? They are all Twitter users.

Cyberspace is an ever changing world, and just as you’re getting to grips with Myspace and Facebook, a new phenomenon makes it’s big entrance.

For a craze that seems to have emerged from nowhere, Twitter has taken the world by storm, and proved particularly popular with celebrities, allowing them to frequently update their fans on their minute, by minute, hour, by hour activities.

But despite hearing about it in the news every week, a lot of us are not quite sure what Twitter is, and why it is so damn indispensable.

Read more…