Social media is a force to be reckoned with. According to Nielson figures:

• 9 million Australians now interact via social networks
• Nearly 3/4 of Australians read a wiki
• 75% of Australian Internet users report visiting Facebook and 59% have a Facebook profile. The average time on Facebook in a given month is 8:19 hours
• 34% of Australian internet users report visiting Twitter; the fastest growing social media activity

As a marketer, why should you care? According to Melanie Ingrey, Research Director Nielson Online: "Nearly 9 in 10 Australian Internet users (86%) are looking to their fellow Internet users for opinions and information about products, services and brands, and Australians’ engagement with online word of mouth communication is going to increase in coming years as social media plays an increasingly important role in consumer decision making.”

And Nielson also found:

• Two in five (41%) published opinions specifically about brands.
• More than twice as many (86%) read such content.
• 63% watched an online video on product or services

Even Rupert Murdoch recognises the shift: “Technology is shifting the power away from the editors, the publishers, the establishment, the media elite. Now it’s the people who are in control.”

Need more proof social media has eclipsed traditional news media? Well before President Obama stepped in front of a microphone to confirm it, tweets had already announced Osama Bin Laden was dead. Keith Urbahn, chief of staff for former US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld, is being credited with seeming to confirm the news almost an hour earlier when he tweeted: "So I'm told by a reputable person they have killed Osama bin Laden. Hot damn."

A UN human rights expert marked World Press Freedom Day by hailing the epoch-making power of the internet and the role online social networking has played in uprisings in the Middle East.

"As one activist tweeted during the protests in Egypt, 'we use Facebook to schedule the protests, Twitter to co-ordinate, and YouTube to tell the world'," said Frank La Rue, UN special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, quoted in the Australian Newspaper. But censorship still exists – whether it’s by Governments or organisations. You couldn’t tweet at the Royal Wedding or this year’s Logies either.

What can social media do for your organisation/brand?

• Public relations
• Customer service
• Build loyalty 
• Collaboration
• Networking
• Thought leadership
• Customer acquisition
• Reputation management
• Help you identify opportunities + issues so you deal with them + monitor trends
• Increase exposure. Build brand awareness and separate your offering.
• Reach a particular audience
• Guide conversations and encourage customer satisfaction

But there are risks.

Unlike a website, you don’t control the messages. People can, and will, talk about your failings. And they are, even if you aren’t part of the conversation.

If you want to use social media, like all marketing programs, the first step is to define who your customer is. And that means defining who is actually going to pay for your product. Next, decide how you reach those people. And how do you convert them into paying customers? Social media may help. But it may not.

Social media is different

It can be another valuable marketing tool, to reach a particular audience, but not the masses. It’s about engagement vs impressions: it will never have the reach or frequency of advertising. Remember:

• Listening comes first.
• You need to add value; excite and engage.
• And continue the dialogue: constant, not sporadic.
• It requires considerable effort to build trust
• It can help you identify issues and deal with them, but it won’t solve everything

So, perhaps now is the time to start thinking about being part of the conversation? Time to develop social equity? Time to be more ‘small business’/personalised? Time to define your social media strategy?

Call B&A Public Relations today: 02-97891263 and let’s start a conversation.