Obama and the social networks

Social media are becoming increasingly important for advertising and PR. More and more organizations create positions for people that take care of communication with customers/members through social networks.

The American President, Barack Obama, already created such a position a while ago. Now, this position as a social networks manager is available, as Mia Cambronero does not want to do it anymore.

Getting paid for hanging around in facebook, twitter, myspace and others all day? That sounds too good to be true.
However, it is not completely clear, what qualifications are required for such a position. Of course you will need experience with social networks - but how much experience can anyone have with something that has not been around for a long time? Social networks are not yet matured and keep on developing. Those people having to do with social networks have to acquire new knowledge quickly, in order to make sure they do not miss any trends an are up to date all the time. Of course, you will need a certain experience in writing thrilling and motivating articles. Correct orthography and phrasing are always important in a job like this. Also, marketing knowledge and experience, as well as creativity might come in handy. You should be able to develop new social media strategies. Managing social networks is not a 9 to 5 job - you are always working...

But now let me go - have to send my applicaion to Obama real quick!

Social networks for small businesses and organizations

Every day we exchange lots of information through social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Youtube or Xing. So why not use these online communities as a marketing tool? Millions of people gather in social networks to share information or videos, and to make photos available for others. Companies and associations can also make their news and information available in these online communities.

Effective advertising through marketing mix

The most effective way to attract customers is a mixture of online and offline media - which connects real life with virtual life on the Internet. This combination could become your success!
A very positive aspect is that companies and organizations can create more personalized advertising through clusters (identification of groups). In the various social networks this could be distribution by age, gender, region, or interests such as hobbies, work, etc. Therefore, social networks should be used to promote niche products with very specific and individual target markets. It is not easy to sell everyday products with this approach. The identification of groups should be an easy task, since many people add everything about their lives in their profiles in online communities.

The average facebook user is not a teenager

According to a study by Royal Pingdom, about 25% of all social media users are between 35 and 44 years old. Only 24% of the users are under 25. The average user is 37 years old.

The company also looked at the age structure of facebook and found out that the averag age of facebook users is about 38, the average age of LinkedIn users is 44, and the average age of MySpace users is 31 years. The average twitter user is about 39 years old.

In another study the company conducted in 2009, it was found that 84% of all social network sites (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace,…) have more female than male users. 64% off all MySpace users are female. However, the ratio male-female among facebook users (57% female) and twitter users (59% female) is relatively balanced.

If you already advertise through social media, or you intend to do so in a near future, make sure to consider these statistics. Make sure, you really reach your target audience!