What the HELL is social media - in 2 minutes
Last week I hosted the first event industry TweetUp of the year at Madame Tussauds. Well over 150 guests attended from caterers and venues to corporates including JP Morgan Cazenove, Ernst & Young, Wellcome and Credit Suisse as well as marketing agencies such as RPM, Tamar and Market Sentinel.
A special presentation commissioned for the event was shown during the evening which explained in less than 2 minutes 10 key reasons why social media is important to the events industry.
For those savvy in all things social media none of this will be too surprising but for the many people, including the majority of those event professional who attended the Madame Tussauds event and are not yet using social media, this presentation gave a jolt of future shock.
Transcript from What the HELL is social media - in 2 minutes
Social media is an umbrella term which defines the activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos, and audio.
(Wikipedia)
More simply it just describes the millions of conversations people are having with each other on-line across the world 24/7
Why the HELL should I care? Here are 10 really, REALLY good reasons…
REASON #1
Because social media is now the number one online activity beating porn and personal email to the top spot.
(Nielsen Wire)
REASON #2
Because 2/3 of the global internet population visit social networks.
(Nielsen, Global Faces & Networked Places)
REASON #3
Because time spent on social networks is growing at 3x the overall internet rate, accounting for 10% of all internet time.
(Nielsen, Global Faces & Networked Places)
REASON #4
Because online including social media has become the most influential source in helping consumer make purchasing decisions.
(Weber Shandwick Inline Research)
REASON #5
Because millions of people are creating their own content for the social web.
Your competitors are already there.
Your customers have been there for a long time.
If your business isn't putting itself out there, it ought to be.
(Business Week)
REASON #6
Because the next 3 billion consumers will access the internet from a mobile device.
People will update anytime, anywhere.
Imagine what that means for bad customer experiences!
(Wired Magazine UK)
This is called the super-fresh web
The ‘super-fresh’ web will force brands to engage with its customers
REASON #7
Because Facebook is now the operating system of the social web. It has won the social networking war
If Facebook were a country it would be bigger than the USA and 3rd largest in the World
Facebook added 200 million users in less than a year
Facebook adds ½ million users every day
On target for ½ billion users by December 2010
5 billion: The number of minutes spent on Facebook each day
1 billion: The amount of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photos, etc.) shared each week on Facebook.
Additional note: 350+ million Facebook users as of January 2010 out of which 50% log on everyday.
(Facebook)
REASON #8
Because Twitter believes it will have 1 billion users by 2012.
If this happens it will become the pulse of the planet
(Twitter)
REASON #9
Because one way marketing has had its day!
Stop thinking “campaigns”. Start thinking “conversations”.
Listening first, selling second
REASON #10
Because in almost all cases social media is free.
All it will cost you is time.
Social media playtime is officially over
This presentation was inspired by the genius work of…
Marta Kagan author of WHAT THE F**K IS SOCIAL MEDIA
Read her blog http://bonafidemarketinggenius.com
Follow her on Twitter http://twitter.com/mzkagan
Read his blog http://socialnomics.net
Follow him on Twitter http://twitter.com/equalman
