15 Major trends...
2. Not only is SNS a venue for individual exchanges, it is a marketing platform for companies.
3. SNS will become an ideal advertising medium for companies to target their potential clients.
4. SNS is a threat to the traditional e-mail services.
5. SNS allows advertisers to communicate with their potential customers.
6. The SNS market will be further segmented and new websites will be created to target sub-groups and niche demographics.
7. Companies must discover the "leaders," a handful of influential members on SNS websites who can influence others' purchase decisions.
8. "Crowd-sourcing" means mobilizing the masses. It refers to recruiting an unspecific number of people at low wages or for free to develop products and services.
9. SNS creates more SNS entrepreneurs, and provides more business opportunities.
10. Social networks are connecting to each other, and more sites will begin to integrate their services with one another.
11. SNS may take a cue from computer manufacturer Apple, which introduced a feature in its iTunes software that recommends songs based on music library history. SNS websites may provide similar services for online retailers.
12. Twitter will be sold to Google.
13. Online, money can buy you friendship. Australia's SNS and marketing firm, uSocial, launched a commercial service targeting Twitter users early this month. Twitter users can increase 1,000 followers by spending 87 USD.
14. Don't forget the spectators. There are many spectators who will stay away from social networks or simply watch from the sidelines. Businesses must know and cater for these users even if they are not actively part of any social networks. Yet sometimes they may participate in SNS websites via Google searches.
15. Defend corporate reputation. As companies' presence online grows, they need to protect their online images.
How does the audience use social networking technology?
The audience uses social networking technology for various purposes. Some use it to find 'love'. 18 million people in the United Kingdom use social networking websites to find their partner. This conveys that people have started having a lot of trust in these social networking websites because choosing a partner is something which requires a lot of time and effort. Another reason as to why people social networking sites is for entertainment. It is important to understand WHY people use these websites, as there is a broad demographic on these sites. Some people use them for business purposes, to network and find new deals. Then there are others who use social networking sites for purely personal reasons and are totally oblivious to the fact that there is a business presence in the social networking environment at all.
http://www.blogussion.com/social-media/uses-social-networking/
1) There are five main reasons as to why people might use social networking sites. These five reasons include, purely personal reasons for example interacting with family and friends. Some may use it to be updated with photos of their friends, to update their own photo album and status and to comment on other statuses or leave comments on their wall. sSome also use it to connect with people they have newly met, potential girlfriend or boyfriend or just people that share the same interests, hobbies and likes and dislikes as them. One of the great advantages of using social networking sites such as Facebook is to keep in touch with significant others who live in different countries for free. it lets you leave remarks on photos or statuses and also allows you to have small conversations with people which avoids phone calls if their not needed.
2) Business - connecting with customers
Because of the rise of Internet marketing social media is developing into an internet marketing tool as well. This is one of the ways that businesses can connect directly with their consumers and target audience. Companies are beginning to feel that the best way to manage their business is getting to know the needs and requirements and comments about their company through social networking sites. Twitter is good for finding out the reviews of companies from their consumers. When organisations are linked with a social networking site, consumers find it easier to convey their views and opinions because they are more comfortable.
3) Business - Networking
Businesses can also network and expand their business. Social networking sites does for businesses what it does for students, teenagers and people, it connects people. It could find a business a new business deal or even a new job!
4) Marketing
Businesses can market their company on these social networking sites. All the members of the SNS for instance Twitter, Facebook recognise different business because of their marketing. Sometimes it's difficult to figure out if Twitter or Facebook or any other social networking site is right for such marketing. How effectively are these companies reaching out to their audience?
5) Entertainment
Some people purely go on for entertainment purposes. Myspace is a prime example of this, there are many upcoming or established artists who promote their music or talent through Myspace. For example there are an ample amount of games on Facebook, one game in particular called Farmville has managed to acquire 72.9 million users per month!
How do institutions exploit social networks?
well don mahnoor, you have include the shep, the business and marketing and entertainment make sure you compare and contrast with other social networking site
ReplyDeletegood descriptions, also u have made it very clear that u have conducted a lot of research
ReplyDeletemaybe include more SHEP :-)
Good analysis-
ReplyDeleteuse more media terms and adapt on your research - for example using SHEP and also when writing about the 15 major trends put a personal opinion.