Principles of Internet Marketing

1. Principles of Internet Marketing Chapter 3 Social Media and Social Networking Sites

2. Objectives In this chapter you will learn about: • What social media is • How and why social media grew to play such an important role in the Web • The demographic breakdown of social media users and how their use of various applications differs • Various types of social networks, how social networking sites function, and how marketers use these sites to build an audience Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers

3. An Overview of Social Media and Social Networking Sites • Social media is umbrella term used to describe many different tools, each of which are used for various needs and levels of interpersonal connectivity • Social networks • File sharing (music, pictures, videos, etc.) • Wikis • Virtual worlds • RSS feeds • Product and service reviews Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers

4. An Overview of Social Media and Social Networking Sites (continued) Social media relies on users for ongoing collaboration and interaction Single site may use many different social media tools to engage an audience Because of ongoing user interaction, social media based sites are ever changing in terms of content Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 4

5. The Rise and Dominance of Social Media Modern social media evolved from early, more basic social media tools Some still play important roles in everyday use These allow for networking and interaction but hold limited communal capabilities: E-mail Instant messenger Newsgroups Chat rooms Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 5

6. The Rise and Dominance of Social Media (continued) AOL was one of the earliest and most popular resources for chat rooms Allowed social networking Limited social aspect Chat rooms: Had a maximum number of people Did not keep a record of conversations, so discussions were not ongoing and evolving Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 6

7. The Rise and Dominance of Social Media (continued) Figure 3-1: An early AOL chat room Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 7

8. The Rise and Dominance of Social Media (continued) Early forms of blogging began quietly in late 1990’s 1997 was first online diary by Jorn Barger Coined the phrase Weblog, later shortened to blog Early social networking sites such as Classmates.com and Friendster.com still exist Helped pave way for future social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace MySpace’s runaway popularity put social networking in media spotlight MySpace has since lost market share to Facebook Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 8

9. The Rise and Dominance of Social Media (continued) Social media tools provide numerous benefits to users, including: Ability to express oneself Blogging, file sharing, etc. Increased voice as consumer Product comments Rating systems Easy method of staying in touch with friends and family Ease of gathering news and other content Star power through file sharing (videos, etc.) Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 9

10. The Rise and Dominance of Social Media (continued) Social media optimization is marketing strategy by which companies distribute their content and information as widely as possible through social media universe Allowing content to be shared and seen by other sites Enabling videos to be embedded in people’s social networking profiles Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 10

11. The Rise and Dominance of Social Media (continued) Figure 3-4: Through social media optimization this site allows it content to be shared Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 11

12. The Rise and Dominance of Social Media (continued) Social media marketing utilizes social media as a marketing vehicle Typically divided into three categories: Public relations: Distributes news and information to interested parties through various social media outlets Well-known bloggers Online media outlets Feed info into social media groups or fan pages Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 12

13. The Rise and Dominance of Social Media (continued) Typically divided into three categories (continued): Marketing content generation: Deliberate effort of creating content for marketing companies through social media Relevant Interesting Links to referenced information, videos, etc. Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 13

14. The Rise and Dominance of Social Media (continued) Typically divided into three categories (continued): Viral messaging: Campaigns built to pique interest and encourage users to pass a message on to friends and family via social media tools Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 14

15. The Rise and Dominance of Social Media (continued) Social media provides numerous benefits to marketers, including: Cost efficiency Viral nature of social media reduces distribution costs Electronic media eliminates printing, packaging, and shipping costs Broader visibility Increased consumer trust, due to people’s ability to leave honest comments and reviews Increased revenue derived from increased trust, visibility and heightened brand recall Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 15

16. Who Is Using Social Media and How? Figure 3-6: Nearly all teens on the Internet (which is nearly all teens in the US) create content via social media. Content creation decreases as age increases Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 16

17. Who Is Using Social Media and How? (continued) Social media crosses over all age groups, but usage falls with higher age brackets Reading blogs ranks among the highest social media activity on Web, along with uploading photos Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 17

18. Who Is Using Social Media and How? (continued) • Table 3-1: A breakdown of various social media applications and the percentage of Internet users in each age group who have made use of each application at least once. Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 18

19. Who Is Using Social Media and How? (continued) Understanding how different audiences use various social media, companies can understand how to build their strategies most effectively 50% of all companies with over 500 employees are using social media as part of their strategy 75% of companies used 500 employees use social media marketing strategies Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 19

20. Social Networking Sites: Types and Audiences Numerous types of social networking sites, each with a different purpose Generalist social networks Broad-based Reach wide audiences Have something for everyone regardless of age, sex, race, or other demographic breakdown Allow users to meet new people and stay in touch with friends, family and associates Allow for self expression Creatively Artistically Intellectually Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 20

21. Social Networking Sites: Types and Audiences (continued) • A breakdown of a typical Facebook profile and the percentage of users that use some of the more popular features Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 21

22. Social Networking Sites: Types and Audiences (continued) Numerous types of social networking sites, each with a different purpose (continued): Generalist social networks (continued) Don’t typically generate much content Rely on users for content generation In order to be successful, require large numbers of people in order to generate revenue from advertising Because so many people are required, there is not a lot of room for many generalist social networks (Facebook, MySpace clear leaders) Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 22

23. Social Networking Sites: Types and Audiences (continued) Numerous types of social networking sites, each with a different purpose (continued): Generalist social networks (continued) Marketers note that people who use social networks display different habits Heavy users (top 20%) of generalist social networks are more likely to visit e-commerce sites Leisure-oriented retail sites most popular Music Books Movies Ticket sales Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 23

24. Social Networking Sites: Types and Audiences (continued) • Table 3-3: Most popular retail site categories visited by heavy users of social networks Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 24

25. Social Networking Sites: Types and Audiences (continued) Numerous types of social networking sites, each with a different purpose (continued): Generalist social networks (continued) Marketers often reach people on social networks through online banner and display advertising Because general sites draw such diverse audiences, sites such as Facebook provide tools to help marketers reach specific consumers Paid-for branded profile pages on sites such as MySpace, that provide product information and facilitate conversations abut the brand Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 25

26. Social Networking Sites: Types and Audiences (continued) • Figure 3-13: The MySpace brand page for the last Indiana Jones movie Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 26

27. Social Networking Sites: Types and Audiences (continued) Numerous types of social networking sites, each with a different purpose (continued): Niche social networks Based on a specific interest or topic geared toward reaching a specific demographic Interest and hobbies Business Dating Shopping Family and lifestyle Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 27

28. Social Networking Sites: Types and Audiences (continued) • Figure 3-14: SkiSpace.com is a social network for avid skiing fans Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 28

29. Social Networking Sites: Types and Audiences (continued) • Figure 3-16: LinkedIn is a social network that people use to expand business connections Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 29

30. Social Networking Sites: Types and Audiences (continued) • Figure 3-19: PlentyOfFish.com is a social network created specifically for dating and making romantic connections Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 30

31. Social Networking Sites: Types and Audiences (continued) • Figure 3-20: kaboodle.com is a shopping-based social network that lets users share information about their experiences with products Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 31

32. Social Networking Sites: Types and Audiences (continued) • Figure 3-21: BrandNewDad.com is a social network geared to allowing new fathers to share parenting experiences Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 32

33. Social Networking Sites: Types and Audiences (continued) Numerous types of social networking sites, each with a different purpose (continued): Social bookmarking sites Allow users to store, organize, and share sites, pages, and posts that they find interesting and want to share with others Very similar to bookmarks kept on Web browsers Made public on bookmarking sites Pages are searched and categorized using descriptive tags Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 33

34. Social Networking Sites: Types and Audiences (continued) • Figure 3-22: Digg is a popular social bookmarking site where users share their favorite pages and sites Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers 34

35. Summary • Social media is the umbrella term for a wide variety of tools that are used to bring online communities together, including blogs, RSS feeds, Wikis, social networks, and more • Social media allows users to share thoughts, opinions and experiences • Marketers use social media as an avenue for reaching consumers cost effectively Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers

36. Summary (continued) • Although users from every age group are part of various social networks, younger age groups use these sites more frequently • Heavy users of social networks are more likely to visit online retail sites • Social networks typically offer a number of different social media tools for their members to use, including blogs, file sharing, and ratings Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers

37. Summary (continued) • There are many different types of social networks: • Generalist social networks appeal to a wide audience and require large numbers of members to generate advertising revenue • Niche networks focus on bringing people together based on a specific topic • Social bookmarking sites let users share organize and comment on their favorite Web pages and sites Principles of Internet Marketing: New Tools and Methods for Web Developers