According to new figures from Nielsen, the amount of time spent surfing social networking and blogging sites had tripled since last year, suggesting a major change in the way the Internet is used.
This change in consumer behavior has had dramatic impact on the online advertising industry. Advertisers used to be suspicious of social media, but now that the numbers are speaking so clearly, companies are increasing spend on social networks (especially Facebook) and blog advertising even as they are decreasing spend on overall advertising.
I’d like to point out that the implications of these numbers go far beyond spend on advertising. As a social media consultant, these numbers tell me that there’s a huge opportunity in social media- people are there, they are using it every day, and so should you. If your company is not participating in social media, you are missing out on an incredible opportunity to grow your business and gain more visibility.
Tapping into the power of social media can be done via ads, of course, but it can also be done by simply joining the conversation, starting social media accounts, creating a blog, and working to establish and maintain relationships and conversations with your target market.
Social media is a powerful marketing tool. Use it.
I'm Vered, a blogger for hire and social media consultant. I create and implement social media campaigns for my clients, with the goals of increasing brand awareness and loyalty, improving search engine rankings and driving targeted traffic to my clients' websites.
