Info on Social Networking

Here is a great video on the power of Social Networking.

Time Spent on Social Networks up 82% Around the World

February 24, 2010

Original Article with graphs at (http://www.briansolis.com/2010/02/time-spent-on-social-networks-up-82-around-the-wrold/)
Nielsen recently released a new report that officially documents what many of us already know, just never substantiated through data. According to a study published at the end of January 2010, Nielsen observed the online social activity of consumers around the world and discovered an 82% increase in time spent on social networking sites in December 2009. On average, users spent more than five and a half hours on popular networks such as Facebook and Twitter in December 2009. In December 2008, users clocked just over three hours on social networking sites.

The audience for Social Networks also increased year-over-year for the last three years, reaching an estimated audience of over 300 million.
Specifically, online visitors concentrated their time on social networks and blogs, placing them ahead of other forms of engagement and interaction including online games and instant messaging. Facebook led the way for all social networks however, with over 200 million visitors, representing 67% of all social media users in December 2009. As such, Facebook earned the number one position as the top global social networking destination with users spending nearly six hours per month on the site.

In the U.S., time spent participating in social networks and reading blogs increased 210% year-over-year and the average time per person grew by 143% year-over-year in December 2009. Media darlings Facebook and Twitter captured the greatest volume of attention and engagement, outpacing the overall growth for the category at 200% and 368% respectively. And despite the grim reports that portray a leveling-off or possibly a dwindling of visitors, depending on which data you source, Nielsen reports that Twitter continued its reign as the fastest-growing social network in December 2009 as measured by unique visitors. With 18.1 million uniques, Twitter’s audience increased 579% year-over-year, from 2.7 million in December 2008. However, Nielsen also observed a decrease of 5% in unique visitors when viewed month-over-month.
Facebook and Twitter were alone in the competition for attracting visitors. MySpace, Classmates, and even LinkedIn realized year-over-year declines in unique visitors.
Social Networking is a global phenomenon and while the largest audience resides in the U.S., Australia boasts the highest amount of time spent in social networks per person (6:52:28), followed by the U.S. (6:09:13), the United Kingdom (6:07:54), and Italy (6:00:07).
When reviewing the size of the audiences for social media around the world, we see a substantial, but expected divergence between each country.
Country Unique Audience (000) Time per Person (hh:mm:ss)
United States 142,052 6:09:13
Japan 46,558 2:50:21
Brazil 31,345 4:33:10
United Kingdom 29,129 6:07:54
Germany 28,057 4:11:45
France 26,786 4:04:39
Spain 19,456 5:30:55
Italy 18,256 6:00:07
Australia 9,895 6:52:28
Switzerland 2,451 3:54:34
Source: The Nielsen Company
As brands and marketers seek guidance and inspiration to engage customers, influencers, and stakeholders, their efforts only increase in importance. User attention is going to continue to focus on activity within social networks, and their potential reach is far greater than any one country.
Users celebrate the democratization of information sharing and discovery and they’re taking to social networks to cast their voice. The art and science of true engagement is measured by our ability to connect with people for greater durations and at deeper levels over time. And, it’s not as easy as it sounds. The competition for attention is substantial and therefore requires an increased sense of awareness, empathy and intelligence in order to conceptualize creative yet meaningful content and programs that captivate the people we hope to reach. It’s the difference between activating the social web and inciting consequential action and response that’s directed, measured, and memorable. In social media, we are defining and shaping experiences that either increase affinity or simply earn attention.
As I believe, in the race for relevance, we earn the relationships we deserve. And as such, we must choose between visibility and presence. In the attention economy, presence is felt.
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Social Media

Here are some notes that a friend of mine, Shante- the Mona Vie Web Czar, recently took at a social media seminar.

Here are a few notes from my most recent social media seminar.

What is Social Media?
• New generation of tools where content is created and driven by a huge number of contributors
• About relationship building
• More back and forth communication, less forced messaging
• Values longer standing relationships
• Hybrid of communications, media relations and community relations
• Also referred to as direct media (person to person)

Tools - most are free...time is not
• Tools are less important than how you use them and the relationships you build
• Online and offline integration is key
• Focus on the basics first!
• Don’t get overwhelmed, focus on what you’re good at
• Earlier you get started, the better as you accumulate contacts and build relationships over time
• It’s about rapid response and sharing of information
• Blog is a conversation
• Website is a monologue
• Each serve a purpose
• Comments are currency
• Start to comment and others will comment back
• Build relationships

Where Americans spend their time: 44% TV; 37% Internet; 15% Newspaper and Radio

Forget surfing, what are the “hubs”
1. Google
2. Facebook
3. YouTube

Interacting on Social Media platforms
• Similar rules of a backyard BBQ
• Authenticity beats polish
• If you can’t say it person to person, don’t post it online
• Stop selling
• Stop spamming (it’s selling)
• Act transparently
• Leave footprint of deleted comments, explain why you are deleting
• Elevate the discussion
• Do not attack
• Present a voice
• Be humanizing
• Do not alienate (it will go viral)

Know your audience – follow these steps to elevate the conversation
1. Pay attention to what they’re saying
2. Comment
3. Compliment
4. Ask questions
Then start with #1 again…


Thanks @monavie

Do You Make These 10 Mistakes When You Blog?

I found this article. I learned this and thought you might be able to glean some knowledge from it as well. Let me know what you think.

Chris

Do You Make These 10 Mistakes When You Blog?

Assuming you want to increase your blog traffic, there are certain mistakes you must avoid to be successful. If you commit these mistakes, your traffic will never gain momentum. Worse, it may plateau or begin to decrease.








Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/VisualField

How do I know? After writing more than 1,000 posts and receiving more than 20,000 comments, I have made most of the mistakes you can make—numerous times. As a result, I have begun to see certain patterns emerge. These are my top ten traffic-killers.



Mistake #1: You don’t post enough. Hobby bloggers may go weeks between posts. But frequency is what separates the men from the boys. You cannot build solid traffic without frequent posts. I have seen time and time again (via Google Analytics) that there is a direct correlation between frequency and traffic. The more I post—within reason—the greater my traffic.

Mistake #2: You post too much. Yes, this is possible, too. I don’t need to hear from anyone more than once a day—unless it is a group blog or a news site. You would do better to focus on writing one really great post a day rather than several mediocre ones. The trick is to find your frequency sweet spot. For me, it is four to five posts a week.

If a post starts getting too long, consider breaking it up into several posts.Mistake #3: Your post is too long. Seth Godin is the master of the short, pithy post. His are usually in the 200–400 word range. I shoot for less than 500 words. But I often post 750 words and sometimes more. You can get away with this if your posts are “scannable”—that is, you make use of subheads, lists, and other devices that keep people moving through your content. If a post starts getting too long, consider breaking it up into several posts.

Mistake #4: You don’t invite engagement. When I talk about “engagement,” I am referring to a combination of page views, reader comments, and social media mentions. Postrank.com is a great tool for measuring this kind of engagement. The posts that generate the most engagement for me are those that are controversial, transparent (especially about failure), and open-ended. This is why I try to end every post with a question.

Mistake #5: You don’t participate in the conversation. When bloggers don’t participate in conversation by commenting on their own posts and responding to their readers, it is like hosting a party at your home, making a brief appearance, and then disappearing. In any other context, this behavior would be perceived as rude or odd. The same is true in blogging. People want to have a conversation—with YOU.

When you use subheads, lists of bullets or numbers, it draws readers in by making your content accessible. Shorter paragraphs also help.Mistake #6: You don’t make your content accessible. Since I am in the publishing business, I often get asked if I think people are reading less. The simple answer is “No.” In fact, I think they are reading more than ever. But they are reading differently. Readers have shorter attention spans. They are scanning content, looking for items that interest them. When you use subheads, lists of bullets or numbers, it draws readers in by making your content accessible. Shorter paragraphs also help.

Mistake #7: You don’t create catchy headlines. According to Brian Clark, who runs the must-read site, CopyBlogger, “on average, 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest.” This means your headlines are the most important thing you write. Fortunately, Brian has an entire series of posts called “How to Write Magnetic Headlines.” I suggest you read every post.

Mistake #8: Your first paragraph is weak. This is critical. Assuming that you have written a great headline, people will next read your first paragraph. You must use this paragraph to pull them into the rest of your blog post. Start with a story, a promise, or a startling fact. The idea is to grab their attention and hang onto it. Many bloggers spend too much time trying to setup the post or provide context. Just get to the point.

Mistake #9: Your post is off-brand. I have often been guilty of this one. If you are a hobby blogger, you can get away with the occasional post that strays from your primary message or brand. But if you are trying to build traffic, you need to find an editorial focus and stick to it. A tighter focus leads to higher traffic. This is why I have tried to narrow my own focus to three areas: leadership, social media, and publishing. If I want to write on something else (e.g., fitness), I do so through one of these three lenses.

Mistake #10: Your post is about YOU. Unless you are a mega-celebrity, readers don’t care about you. Not really. They care about themselves. They want to know what’s in it for THEM. Your personal stories can be a doorway to that, but in the end, the best posts are about your readers’ needs, fears, problems, or concerns. Always ask, “What’s the take-away for my reader?”

There are other mistakes, too; I doubt this list is exhaustive. But I think I have covered the major ones. If you can avoid these, you will be well on your way to increasing your traffic and growing your audience.



Question: What other traffic-killers have you witnessed as a blogger?