Benefits of Social Networking and Advocacy
Not sure what social networking or media and advocacy is all about or how it can benefit you? Find answers to your questions on this page or Contact us.
Q: What is social networking?
Answer: Social networking is a relatively new phenomenon which allows you to reach a broad spectrum of people on an informal, more personalized level. Social networking makes use of many modern tools such as computers and cell phones to connect, via internet, with networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, your own personal website, blogs, forums, and many others.
Here is more information on several of the popular social media sites:
- What is Facebook?Arguably the most popular and widely used social networking site today, Facebook allows you to set up a personal profile, share photos and communicate with friends or all those you give viewing permission. Originally a membership set up for a university campus, Facebook now boasts more than 60 million active users around the world (a number that is growing exponentially and therefore always out of date).
- What is Twitter?Twitter is a free social networking service giving its users opportunity to send text-based messages up to 140 characters long via Twitter's website, SMS (short message service) and other 3rd party applications. These short messages affectionately known as "tweets" are used by millions to update friends or broadcast announcements to subscribers also known as "followers".
- What is YouTube?With YouTube you can upload your videos for sharing with other users around the world. Youtube is used for original videos, video blogging, or just to share favorite clips from movies and television.
Q: Why is social networking important to me?
Answer: Simply put, it is unwise to disregard the popularity and influence of social networking media. MySpace has over 110 million active monthly users. It grows by an average of 300,000 new accounts every month! Facebook has more than 60 million active users and that figure is doubling every 6 months. Twitter is the "new kid on the block" but has leapt out of the gate at an astonishing rate. Already it has an active user base estimated at 10 million and growing at the rate of 33% per month. All of these sites are global and pervasive, proper use of these tools is an incredibly inexpensive and effective marketing tool.
Q: I do regular advertising and marketing. Why would anyone care about the more mundane aspects of my life?
Answer: People need someone to look up to. Taking an interest in the lives of heroes or role models gives people the opportunity to draw themselves out of the complex or dull aspects of their own lives for a while. The 3,508,267 circulation figure of one of America’s top publications, "People" magazine speaks to this need. Your fans, friends, and followers do want to know more about you. They want to feel closer to you. They show that consistently by showing up for signings and lectures. Many won't miss an interview and watch carefully for any word on new material. Social networking and media serves all of these purposes in ways that conventional marketing simply cannot.
Q: Okay, so maybe I do need social networking. Why do I need an advocate?
Answer: There are 2 reasons that social networking advocates are important to your success with these new marketing tools:
- The first is effectiveness. It is entirely possible for you to undertake the task of building your own social networking structure. However, there is a vast difference between using these tools and getting the most out of them. Just as you are a specialist in your trade, we are specialists in ours. We have made it our business to thoroughly investigate every aspect of these diverse marketing tools and know how to optimize each one to your purpose. For example, while you might have a website and dabble in Facebook yourself, we would put together an entire package that allows each component to mesh with the whole and provide your fans with a pleasant, seamless interactive experience.
- The second reason is time. The amount of time required to keep this ball rolling smoothly can be considerable. Additionally, the time that it would take you to accomplish the same goals that you assign to us, could easily take 3 or 4 times as long. The reason for this is not entirely as a result of lack of expertise. Rather, it is simply that these sites are designed in ways to draw the user into spending as much time as possible on the site and they do it with deadly efficiency. Many people spend literally hours wandering through the heaps of interaction possibilities every day. This is often very pleasant but incredibly unproductive. Our professional detachment allows us to go in, accomplish your goals, and leave in as little time possible. Some of you may not need or want this aspect of our service. That is fine. We have options available for all needs and purposes.
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