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Seven Truths of Social Networks
Seven Truths of Social Networks
While mainstream use of social networks is only a few years old, we already know a
lot about how consumers use them. besides, a few years is a generation in Internet par-
lance anyway. here are seven truths of social networks that you can rely upon. If you
are going to bookmark one page of this book, bookmark this page because these truths
should guide your thinking regardless of what you do with social media:- social media is the preferred way for people in younger demographics to com-
municate with each other. Nothing else comes close. - social media is based on the concept of friends, but that term today is very
loosely applied. similarly, profiles are loosely defined and can be used in a vari-
ety of ways by people, companies, brands, and so on. - the more active a consumer is on the Internet, the more likely they participate in
multiple social networks. oftentimes, these people are influencers within a circle
of friends and have a tremendous impact on the opinions of others. - once information is shared on a social network, it is out there and can’t easily
be contained. everything is out in the open and largely visible for other people
to see. - social media is best applied in addition to existing Internet marketing programs
and alongside other Web assets. When building a strategy, you must think
comprehensively. - the rules are still being made. social media “etiquette” is still relatively imma-
ture. tread carefully.
and the seventh and final truth involves the factors that contribute to social
media usage. everyone on social networks is motivated by some combination of the
following human needs:
Love Finding love, keeping up with loved ones, and so forth
Self-expression/emotion s haring life’s details with friends
Sharing opinions/influencing friends Using social media as a platform for influencing opin-
ions, usually about politics, religion, or other things we don’t typically debate in person
Showing off sharing life’s successes and/or achievements with others
Fun/escapism/humor Using social media to get a good laugh
Memories and nostalgia catching up with old friends and sharing old stories
Making money Using social networks primarily to support professional pursuits
as you can probably tell, the motivation for using Facebook varies significantly
depending on your customer. Most companies with mature marketing departments
spend a lot of time on customer personas to understand who customers are and how
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