KAREN BLOTNICKY SMALL BUSINESS
Sun. Aug 2 - 4:45 AM
A RECENT SURVEY by comScore revealed that social media are fast becoming a frequent pastime for many consumers. The study revealed that 1.1 billion people went online in May. Three quarters of the web surfers visited social media websites like Facebook. Canada rounded out the top three in terms of global online presence for the amount of time spent on social media websites. Canadians spent an average of 5.6 hours per month on such sites, having viewed an average 649 pages. Canadians outsurfed their American counterparts, spending nearly two hours more each month at such sites, and averaging more than 150 pages more per person. Russia topped the list, with 6.6 hours per person per month, averaging 1,307 pages each. Brazil was second with 6.3 hours per person per month, and an average of 1.220 pages. Columbia had the lowest consumption rate for social media, averaging 4.1 hours a month per person online, and 473 pages. Globally, people averaged 3.7 hours on social media websites monthly, surfing on average 525 pages. The study also revealed that the number of pages browsed has little to do with the amount of time spent online. Spain and Finland both had higher numbers of page views than Canada did, but their residents spent less time online. Spanish web users logged 5.3 hours monthly, but they visited 968 pages. For Finland, users visited an average of 919 pages monthly, while spending only 4.7 hours online. Facebook is arguably one of the most popular social media websites. According to Facebook’s own statistics, more than 120 million people around the world log in daily to their Facebook account. Thirty million of those users log in from cellphones and Blackberries, and those who do are 50 per cent more active than those who do not use mobile devices. These statistics underscore the importance of using social media to communicate with the market, regardless of whether the market is local, regional, national or global. Social media sites are designed to be electronic networks, linking individuals and other networks, in a dynamic and interactive medium. Users can visit the site as often as they wish. They can engage in on-site discussions, send messages, and invite others to visit or become online friends. Social media such as Facebook, Myspace and LiveJournal, are often updated many times daily. The result is an engaging and highly interactive forum for sharing ideas, concepts, images and videos. Facebook offers the opportunity to create online groups that like-minded individuals can join and can participate in daily. Facebook statistics indicate that each user has an average of 120 friends who also have Facebook sites of their own. Thirty million Facebook users update their online status at least once a day, and on average, five billion minutes are spent on Facebook worldwide each day. Social media require different kinds of programming and monitoring than corporate websites do. While corporate websites must be monitored regularly to be sure that information is current and that their designs are appropriate, social media sites must be monitored daily due to their interactivity and dynamic content. Not all of the information on such websites is positive. While one person might post positive comments about a good or a service, others will be inclined to post negative comments. This ability to express oneself in an open and direct way can create a challenge for firms that do not regularly monitor their social networking sites. Entrepreneurs who choose to avoid using social media are not necessarily spared negative feedback. The open nature of social networks ensures that free expression is maintained. Freedom of expression means that even entrepreneurs without their own social networking site may be featured in negative online discussion through other sites. Failure to engage in social media also results in a failure to engage the market. The online market is huge and growing. It is important to consider the Internet to be more than just an advertising medium. The web is a social medium that can be creatively used to link buyers and sellers through more than online sales and auction sites. The Internet is an opportunity to interact daily with current and potential clients who are seeking information and feedback. It is also an opportunity to build relationships which, unlike face-to-face interactions, have the power to cross borders and oceans. (kblotnicky@herald.ca) Karen Blotnicky is president of TMC The Marketing Clinic and a professor at Mount Saint Vincent University. Found:
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1135542.html
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