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By Ted Janusz
Q:
I hear people talking about Web sites
like Twitter, MySpace and Facebook.
What are they? And, even more
importantly, should I be using them to
promote my business?
Tools like Twitter, Facebook and MySpace
are components of something else you may
have heard people talking about:
Web 2.0,
which is a popular term for Internet
applications for which the users are
actively engaged in creating and
distributing Web content.
Web 1.0 probably consisted of the Web
sites you saw back in the late 90s,
which were nothing more than fancy
electronic brochures. Web 1.5 would
have been something like Amazon or eBay,
sites on which you can buy, sell and
leave reviews. What Web 3.0 will look
like is anybody's guess!
Let's look specifically at the three
applications mentioned.
Tweet, Tweet
Twitter
- "Twitter is like text messaging, only
you can also do it from the Web," says
Dan Tynan, the author of the Tynan on
Technology blog. "Instead of sending a
message to just one person, you can send
it to thousands of people at once. You
can choose to follow anyone's update
(called "tweets") simply by clicking the
Follow button on their profile, or
vice-versa. The only rule is that each
tweet can be no longer than 140
characters."
Former CEO of Twitter Jack Dorsey once
accepted an award for Twitter by saying,
"We'd like to thank you in 140
characters or less. And we just did!"
According to ComScore, Twitter is the
fastest-growing major Web site in the
United States with 17 million registered
users. That's up 3,000% from a year
ago.
This is fine, but what is the business
application of Twitter?
In the past, companies would need to
spend hundreds of thousands of dollars
on marketing research to find out what
consumers were saying about them. Now
companies like Comcast, Dell, HR Block,
Kodak, Southwest Airlines and Whole
Foods can "follow" what real customers
are saying about them in real time. And
they can answer questions and resolve
complaints from real customers
immediately, if they so choose.
The Toledo Blade even sends
tweets that are fast-breaking headlines,
along with "tiny URLs," which are links
back to the full story.
Top Web sites
According to Google Trends, the number
one Web site in the United States is
Yahoo,
followed by
YouTube.
The third most visited site, in a tie,
is
MySpace
and
Facebook.
YouTube
was started by three former
employees of PayPal, and then sold to
Google about a year later for $1.65
billion dollars. (Wouldn't you like
to know what they're going to do next?
You'd probably be willing to lend them a
few sheckles to invest in their future
venture.)
Unlike the other sites we'll discuss
that allow for the posting of words and
photos, YouTube is the number one
video-sharing Web site. Best of all,
you can post your video on the site for
free. A simple Flip video camera
(priced at under $150 on Amazon.com) can
do the trick for you.
What is the business application of
YouTube?
Let's examine some successful examples:
-
Blendtec
- a Utah-based manufacturer of
blenders posted a series of videos
entitled "Will it Blend?" In these
videos the company attempted to
pulverize items such as golf balls
and iPods. The first eight episodes
resulted in three million downloads
in a week. Even better for Blendtec,
they sold out of the $600 blender -
in the first 24 hours.
-
Diet Coke + Mentos
- Check out the geysers this
combination creates in a series of
videos on YouTube by typing "Diet
Coke + Mentos" in the search box at
www.youtube.com.
While Coca-Cola stayed away from
promoting this phenomenon (perhaps
out of fear of litigation), Perfetti
(the maker of Mentos) jumped in with
both feet, posting both a large link
to YouTube on its Web site and
sponsoring its own contest. In the
process, they sold a lot of
mints.
The key to business success on YouTube:
Do not post a video of your
company president in a head shot saying
blah-blah-blah. Nobody will view
it. To be noticed on YouTube, be sure
to be
humorous,
offbeat
or
very personal.
MySpace
- Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe
designed a Web site to provide a service
at no charge to regular people looking
for a way to connect with others having
similar likes and dislikes. The site
was initially popular with bands, who
didn't want to go through the hassle of
creating and maintaining a Web site, but
sought a way to distribute their music,
photographs, videos and other
information to their fans and would-be
fans. MySpace usage has since spread
like wildfire to people of all interests
and ages.
Yes, MySpace initially appealed to
teenagers, but now half of the
visitors to the site are age 35 or older
as the site's demographic composition
continues to shift.
What is the business application of
MySpace?
Successful marketing using any of the
Web 2.0 applications means an ad
cannot look like an ad or else it
will be rejected immediately by the
social networking visitors. Your
customers on average are subjected to
1,500 to 5,000 advertising impressions
each day. Since they have successfully
learned how to block most of these
interruptions, they are six times more
likely to read an article from you than
an advertisement.
To see how companies have successfully
launched a presence on MySpace, check
out Cartier International (www.myspace.com/lovebycartier).
But for my favorite, look for Miss
Helga, a spokesperson for Volkswagen (www.myspace.com/misshelga).
According to ComScore, in June 909,
Facebook
for the first time tied MySpace in the
number of users in the United States, at
70 million apiece. However, Facebook
stands alone as the number two Website
in the rest of the world (behind
YouTube), surpassing MySpace
internationally in April 2008. Since
its usage has doubled in the last year,
total Facebook users outnumber MySpace
users worldwide, by 200 million to 125
million.
Facebook was originally created by Mark
Zuckerman, intended for use by his
fellow students of Harvard University as
"The Facebook." It was meant to be an
online replacement of the book one
receives as freshmen when entering
college or university containing photos
and other information about our new
freshman classmates. Within 30 days,
about half of the students of Harvard
had a profile on the site. Facebook
soon spread to other Boston area
colleges. Presently, approximately 85
percent of all college students have a
presence on Facebook.
Facebook has been able to overtake
MySpace as the number one social
networking site in the world because it
no longer has the stigma that it is
"just for high school or college
students." Anyone may now join Facebook.
Sites like MySpace and Facebook are so
popular because social networking allows
so much more than e-mail or text
messaging. In addition to writing on
someone else's "wall" on Facebook,
sharing photographs and videos. With
over a billion photos and over 14
million added each day, Facebook is the
number one photo-sharing site on the
Internet. At a glance, you can see what
all of your "friends" are up to. And
because you choose your friends on
Facebook, you can virtually eliminate
spam, spam composes up to 90% of all
e-mail.
What is the business application of
Facebook?
People have a "profile" on Facebook,
whereas a business has a "page." You
and I can have "friends" on Facebook,
while a business has "fans." Businesses
on Facebook can really benefit from on
Facebook is: the trusted referrals of
their friends, which is something
missing from the monologue of
advertising.
How can you put it all together?
According to USA Today,
Harley-Davidson's corporate profiles on
MySpace (36,000 friends) and
Facebook (175,000 fans) let it
solicit comments from fiercely loyal
customers. Harley also uses Twitter
(@harleydavidson;
4,000 followers) and produces videos of
its motorcycles on YouTube.
But there is a danger for businesses to
view the social networking sites as the
new television, but a business can
advertise on them for free.
"If you are going to go there, you had
better go for the right reasons," says
Seth Godin, author of the best-selling
book on marketing, Purple Cow.
"And if your reason is to sell more
stuff, please don't bother. It's not
going to work. People don't care about
you. They just don't.
On the other hand, if you can use social
networking sites as ways to connect to
real people, just for that sake alone,
not because you want to sell anything,
then it's a great way to spend a half
hour a day."
Godin concludes, "And what we are
finding, as a by-product of that . . .
yes, in fact, your business will do
better, because you are a trusted member
of the community. Not because you are
trying to sell stuff."
# # #
Copyright @ 2009 Ted Janusz
Ted Janusz is a professional speaker,
author and entrepreneur, who presents
"Web 2.0 - How to Harness the Power of
Social Networking to Promote Your
Business." Janusz has been invited to
appear on the
Geraldo
show on FOX News Network. A speaker at
the 2008 International Association of
Administrative Professionals conference,
he has also presented dozens of Creative
Marketing Conferences across the country
for Rockhurst University. His Website
is:
www.januspresentations.com |