Social media represents a new way for companies to communicate internally and externally.
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By Tim Greene
Intense market competition means printing companies cannot remain successful by doing things the same way now as they did just a few short years ago. No matter what types of initiatives print-service providers undertake, it is critical to communicate efforts and improvements to clients, prospects, associates, and employees in a way that is convenient, modern, and engaging. Social networking presents a powerful opportunity to communicate.
Why social networking?
Two words: fast and free. I’m not going to be one of those guys who goes on and on about how every printing company in the world simply has to jump onto every technological fad that comes along—but I will say that the statistics that exist on the adoption of social media are simply amazing. There are three major social-networking sites that have become the leaders at this point: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Let’s look at some of the numbers on these three:
Facebook has more than 500 million users worldwide. Half of those users log in every day. There are more than 200 million Facebook users just in the U.S., which means that more than two thirds of Americans have a Facebook account. More than 200 million tweets are sent every day. In October of 2009, LinkedIn announced that it had 50 million users. Just 18 months later, the company surpassed 100 million users.
Are these people just killing time online? Not exactly. A recent study conducted by Performics involved surveys of nearly 3000 people who use social media. It concluded that 50% of users actively seek purchase advice and 50% of users actively give advice on social networks. Of users surveyed, 60% indicated that they are somewhat likely or more likely to take action on a product, service, or brand recommended by a social contact; 59% who follow a company or brand are more likely to recommend that company or brand; 58% are more likely to buy the products of that company themselves; 53% use social networks at least frequently to provide feedback to a brand or retailer; and 53% say that companies should communicate using social networks at least once a week.
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