Simply put, a social network is an online platform, that focuses on building social relationships among people who share common interests or activities. A social network will consist of individual profiles, their social links, and a variety of additional services. Most social networks provide ways for users to interact over the web, such as e-mail and instant messaging. Online communities are sometimes referred to as social networks, but social networks provide an individually based service whereas online communities are group based. Social networking sites allow users to share ideas, activities, events, and interests within their networks.

There are a number of different types of social networks. Facebook is probably the most popular due to the tremendous amount of press it has received in recent months. Many companies are now active on Facebook and have found it is an excellent way to generate interest in their product or service on an individual basis. MySpace is another popular social network and is used a lot by artists, painters, sculptors, musicians, writers, poets, etc. Linked-in is primarily a business based social network where professionals gather to network, discuss current trends, look for job opportunities and business opportunities. Twitter is a platform primarily used to make short announcements such as upcoming events, sales, newly posted articles, etc.

eMarketing Through Social Networks

Social media allows you to find out what consumers actually think and what they are really looking for. This enables you to make a comparison between your company or product research and real time consumer feedback. The resulting information can then be used to fine tune your direction and efforts. You can use social data to develop marketing campaigns, content, and advertising media according to what consumers see as most important. This data also indicates how you may need re-structure your marketing efforts, site content, advertising media, and SEO to attract customers more effectively. For example, you could find out that the portability of a given product is much more important to the consumer than the styles they come in, when your initial thrust may have been to focus primarily on style. This is something that might not be evident by simply analyzing search term data. If you would like to discuss these options more in depth, please feel free to contact us for a free consultation.