Do You Belong to a Social Network?

Are you on Facebook? Do you tweet? What about Blogging? Or do you believe that this entire social media is just a fad that will eventually fade away? No matter what your beliefs, here are some interesting facts concerning Facebook and Social Media in general:

• By 2010 Gen Y will outnumber Baby Boomers….96% of them have joined a social network
• 1 out of 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met via social media
• Years to Reach 50 million Users:
• Radio - 38 Years
• TV - 13 Years
• Internet - 4 Years
• iPod - 3 Years
• Facebook added 100 million users in less than 9 months
• If Facebook were a country it would be the world’s 4th largest between the United States and Indonesia.

 As you may have heard numerous times, the numbers don’t lie. With statistics’ such as these, it’s hard to believe that Facebook and the social media blitz is just a fad. Many have described it as a “Social Media Revolution”. Describing it more as a fundamental shift in the way people communicate.

 

Whether you are a business owner, a manager for a large corporation, a soccer mom or even a married couple trying to make ends meet, the way you communicate is very important. There is no doubt that our society has lent itself to always being on the go and little time to effectively communicate. Therefore, to become more efficient, the way we communicate must change. This is why social media has become so popular. It’s fast, effective (communicating to hundreds or thousands at a time), it can be done virtually anywhere with the advances in cell phone technology, and best of all, it’s FREE!

It might be as simple as keeping up with old high school friends, communicating with relative’s miles away, advertising specials that your business is offering, connecting and communicating with your church group or even posting pictures of your new grandchild for everyone to see. It doesn’t take long to get up and running with social media and the cost couldn’t be better.

So if you are not part of the Facebook crowd, or you and/or your company is not on LinkedIn, take a few minutes to learn more about what they can offer you. Although I typically work with small business owners to become more strategic, I encourage everyone to explore the fast growing universe of social media.

Another interesting fact: The fastest growing segment on Facebook is 55-65 year-old females.