Sometimes change happens so quietly that you don’t notice until it’s already occurred. Sometimes change slaps you in the face on the way by.
A couple of years ago my wife and I made the decision that it was time for our daughter to have her first cell phone. She was fairly responsible, she could use it to call us after school and sports activities so it was good for our peace of mind, and she had done the prerequisite amount of begging. But I’ve noticed something strange about our family’s cell phone bills. My wife and I actually use our phones for talking, but my daughter rarely exceeds five minutes of phone time in a given month. Texting, well that is another matter, but it’s strange that this younger generation communicates without actually talking on the phone.
I got whacked in the face last week when I suggested that my daughter send a communication about a social event to her pals through e-mail. She looked at me as if I’d just landed from another planet (as teen-agers are prone to do) and informed me that e-mail was only for formal communication, everybody now communicates by text or through Facebook. Sorry, I didn’t get that memo.
So it should not have been a great surprise that a recent seminar hosted by Catawba Valley Community College’s Small Business Center on social media drew an audience of more than 50 people from a variety of small businesses, local government, and educational institutions. Social Media 101 was co-sponsored by several groups, including the city of Hickory, Catawba County, CVCC, Keyquest Consulting, and the Jackson Group, among others, and it provided participants with background on increasingly common social media vehicles and how businesses have started using them to build their brands and connect with their customers. After a general overview of how businesses have adapted social media as an inexpensive and effective way to reach their customers, participants spent half-hour blocks learning how to get started with Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare and use them for their business.
Some statistics regarding the spread of social media:
* Facebook now has over a half billion users worldwide; if Facebook were a country, it would be the third most populous behind China and India, ahead of the United States. At least half of these users check Facebook every 24 hours and approximately 200 million are using their mobile phone or device to check their account.
* There are 175 million registered Twitter users, and over 95 million “tweets” are posted each day. That is almost 4 million tweets per hour.
* There are more than 24 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute and there are more than 2 billion videos viewed on YouTube every day.
* LinkedIn, the professional networking site, now has over 100 million registered users and there are more than 1 million companies with LinkedIn pages. Nearly 2 billion people searches were conducted through LinkedIn in 2010.
Crazy big numbers, which are hard to wrap your mind around. But here is what you must remember — your job is to get your marketing message to your customer. And more and more customers are using social media as their way to communicate and get their information. Times are changing. Ignore them at your own risk.
Do you have a business question or topic that would make a good column? Send your ideas or questions to jeff.neuville@b-assistnc.com and share your business experience with others.
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