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As a technology trend, social networking software is leading the way to a better understanding of customer and business needs and interests. As a unique method to better target users through behavioral advertising, social networks offer a blend of communication from b2c and b2b as well a form of business intelligence. Social networks are quickly becoming a must-have (or must-use) for businesses to build trust and relationships with both customers and other businesses. Among some of the more popular places for businesses to establish presence are Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, and Linkedin.
Twitter is climbing in popularity dramatically, thanks to marketing boosters such as celebrity tweets, news and blog coverage, and international usage of the service (one particularly hot news item being the Iranian political protesters usage of the service). This social network is essentially a real-time messaging service that allows users to message from their computer or mobile device. The simple service lets users quickly send out 140 character individual "tweets" updating their profile "followers" with what they are currently doing or current news items. Although the service is very popular among businesses, Twitter is also quickly becoming a new way to establish presence by letting everyone in Twitter cyberspace know exactly what is new and interesting with you or your company.
Now a subsidiary of Fox Interactive Media, MySpace is among the top social networking websites, rivaling Facebook in user profile numbers. Although MySpace is mostly popular with music and videos as well as band/artist profiles, it also has a strong presence for businesses, particularly non-profits and social awareness groups. MySpace was originally the most popular social network, topping both visitors and profile numbers, but recent figures have shown that Facebook now tops MySpace in terms of visitors and user profiles. With almost 300 million user profiles, MySpace is on par with Yahoo! for effective behavioral targeting for advertisers, which is done through Google Ads.
Popular for its extensive groups and "poke wars," Facebook is quickly taking over the social network scene as a top competitor for social network traffic and user profiles. Originally it was used for colleges and then expanded to high school students followed by other assoications and organizations. Although Facebook attracts much of the MTV generation, there is also a strong business presence on Facebook, with Microsoft and Apple heading off the presence when businesses were first being allowed to create profiles. One of the key features that Facebook offers is the ability to connect with different schools and groups as a form of identity, allowing users to create personalized profiles that reflect their interests and affiliations. Facebook was courted by Yahoo! at one point for a possible purchase arrangement (going as high as $1 billion), but the sale was not accepted in the end.
 Geared toward business professionals, Linkedin boasts opportunities to connect with different organizations for possible future consultations, ventures, jobs, and more. Linkedin has already built up an employment section that allows users to identify companies where they might have different degrees of affiliation through friends, collegues, or clients. Arguably one of the most beneficial aspects of Linkedin in terms of advertising is the ability to target advertisements to profiles based on company size, job titles, location, and other criteria. Another unique offering of Linkedin is a section of searchable event listings for a professional community that includes seminars, tradeshows, fundraisers, and other business events. |