As our client base grows and we continue to provide social media strategy and implementation services, we realize that some people are confused by the various offerings from each of the unique social media sites.  By conglomerating our knowledge into a single document, we wish to educate our clients in an attempt to better their understanding of how social media can help achieve their goals.
 

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Although many people don’t realize it, the first use of the Internet was aimed as a social one.  ARPANET was created by the government in order to help scientific projects share data. As the Internet slowly developed, we started using profiles to track personal information.  As the early 1990’s rolled around, we began allowing features like friends of profiles. One of the first modern forms of social media in recent memory is MySpace.  While it held many years in the number one spot, this giant of the early 2000’s has slowly faded and been pushed aside for newer, more refined social networking sites. Now, our market is filled with multiple contenders such as Facebook, Twitter, and Linked In; and while these social networking sites have far surpassed the functionality of MySpace, each one best-serves a unique function fit for a specific audience.
 
The ultimate goal for any organization’s social media plan is that they eliminate the social barriers that make them appear as an organization.  The “social” part of social media is about conversing and interacting with others; everyone that “follows” you on social media is largely hoping that you’ll do the same for them.  This give-and-take concept has been one of the driving factors behind social media’s grasp on our generation. By giving every individual a voice, we further spur people to participate, take action, and truly invest in your organization.  While many organization’s simply look for a raw number to determine a financial return for an action, social media opens you up to see a return from society by informing others of what you do.  While this portrayal can be used as a driving force behind financial gains, it can also be a key point to developing your company’s image.  By developing your social media network, you can expand your business and meet your goals in a way that establishes yourself as a fixture of the surrounding community.
 
Every social media outlet offers different features that help set it apart from its competitors.  We have noticed that some of our clients are unsure of how to properly leverage some of these unique features to make the most out of their social media program.  Here we overview many of the differentiating features of the most common social media sites to help better inform our customers and expand their knowledge base.
 
Facebook
 
By far the most popular and commonly used social networking site, started in 2004, Facebook has exploded over the past 8 years to have over 900 million active users.  Facebook allows users to create a profile that they fill out with specific information about themselves.  They’re then allowed to develop a “Friends List” of profiles that you keep in contact and share information with.  On top of your friends list, Facebook also allows the ability for users to “Like” certain types of profiles created to represent brands, ideas, or famous individuals. 
 
Most businesses and nonprofit organizations have Facebook pages to help tap into this vast audience.  By developing a Facebook following, that business can share anything from links and photos to simple text with all of the users that like their profile.  Facebook has also added functionality to allow users to develop custom applications on the Facebook platform. Although Facebook is a fantastic way to develop an audience your organization can keep in constant contact with, it can be a somewhat one-sided form of social media, preventing users from giving their input.
 
Twitter
 
One of the most notable and newsworthy forms of social media in recent years, Twitter has been the base of many current news stories and political movements such as Arab Spring, the current political uprising occurring throughout many countries of the Arab world. Seen as one of the major pioneers of modern social media, twitter introduced the concept of micro-blogging to the masses. Blogging allowed people to post journal-like updates to the Internet for everyone to read on a daily to weekly basis; micro-blogging, on the other hand, aims for multiple, shorter, more frequent updates throughout a single day. Twitter has gained 500 million users since its creation in 2006 and has become one of the top 10 most visited sites on the Internet.
 
 
Twitter users develop a much more basic profile than Facebook and send out short messages and updates, referred to as tweets, to those that choose to follow them. These tweets are compared to broadcast Internet text messages; they’re limited to 140 characters, they can include links, and they’re aimed at a target audience. Users can view tweets from other users that they choose to follow and rebroadcast tweets through what’s known as Re-Tweeting. Twitter has also introduced hash tags to the world of social media.  One can implement a hash tag by using a pound sign followed by any combination of words, allowing a user to tag their post as relevant to a given realm of topics, causing it to show up in searches.
 
Linked In
 
While many social media networking have focused on allowing anyone as part of their user base, Linked In has gone with a different approach.  Although Linked In only has 161 million subscribers compared to the aforementioned giants, their advantage is their unique client base.  Since Linked In is only servicing users with professional occupations, it becomes a great way to access other businesses or individuals with professional goals. Linked In allows these individuals to build a list of professional contacts from their past experience. These individuals can upload their resume, apply for jobs, and build their list of recommendations all via their network.
 
Linked In also allows you to create a profile to represent your company.  With this profile, you can list all related information about your organization along with links to your other sites.  For employees, you can post any job openings on your company profile, and any current employees are able to link their profile to your organization. You can flush out your organization’s profile by adding a list of products or services you offer, which can then be reviewed, along with your organization, by any other Linked In members who you’ve had business relations with.
 
Google +
 
Google Plus is Google’s attempts to enter the world of social media.  Since Google is already a fixture of the online community, they’ve tried to expand their presence by allowing users to develop personal profiles and connect with others.  Anybody with a Gmail account can register a Google Plus account, and doing so further integrates them into the Google freeware suite.  Google plus attempts to combine a few features from Facebook and Twitter while incorporating it into the products that they already have.  In Google Plus, you’re given a wall that can hold links, pictures, or text that will be distributed to people in your audience, which Google refers to as a “circle”.  Google also includes some Twitter features like trending hash tags and topics that allow users to broadcast to an expanded, yet targeted, audience.
 
With a Google Plus account, organizations can then access the benefits of Google Places.  Google Places indexes a fixed geographic entry that holds all related information about your organization. With this account, you can publish information to people who take interest in your organization and allow others with a Google Plus account to post reviews about your products or services. Since Google places a priority on content in their network, these reviews are highly valuable and help boost your website’s position in Google search results.
 
YouTube
 
YouTube is one of the most commonly used sites online, but it’s often overlooked as a form of social media. Since Google’s acquisition of YouTube in 2006, all of its video content receives priority in Google searches.  Hosting your videos on YouTube is a great way to include any video content about your organization in a vast network of people who are interested in taking the time to watch it.  YouTube allows users to create a page for their profile and gives them the opportunity to dictate a few of the key aesthetic points.  Similar to other social networking sites, YouTube allows you to follow other user’s profiles to make sure you’re kept up to date on any recent action with their account.  It also gives people the option to comment on videos, allowing you to collect feedback on any content you publish.
 
Although YouTube is the most popular video hosting website, its rival Vimeo has gained quite a bit of popularity in recent years.  Although a stripped-down free version of Vimeo is an option, to access many of the same features available with YouTube, you need to pay for a Vimeo Plus account. Although a Vimeo Plus account allows a number of features that enhance usability for the average user, such as an enhanced search function, many don’t see the need to pay for it with all of YouTube’s free offerings. Even though there are some benefits to choosing Vimeo, YouTube is preferred and is much better optimized for returning your video content with Google searches.
 
Pinterest
 
Pinterest is extremely unique in that it only focuses on users’ photographic content. It allows users to create a “board” about a related topic to which they can “pin” relevant pictures that they find from various sources online.  As they continue to use the site, they develop massive boards with photos from countless different sources.  Other users are allowed to “like” pictures or “re-pin” the picture to another board that they own, expanding the audience of people who see it. Pinterest has included some features particularly for e-commerce sites.  Any items for sale that are re-pinned have an option to include a banner that state’s the price and links the user to a site where they can purchase it.  One of the most notable features of Pinterest is the disproportionately large number of female users; quoted at about 80% of their user base in January of this year. Although Pinterest includes minimal textual content to support most of the photos, its popularity has exploded and only seems to be on the rise.
 
While some clients don’t believe that social media is a proper investment of their time and effort, it can prove true if their attempts lack the required planning and coordination.  Here at Inexo, we are able to help you syndicate your message and properly portray it through modern forms of social media so you can see the optimal return on your investment.  Social media is proof that technology is constantly helping organizations expand their audience and grow their business.
 
If you have any questions or would like further information regarding our services, please call 602-200-0110 and select Option 1 or email us at sales@inexo.com.
 

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