Social Media 101

We can assume you've at least heard of Twitter and Facebook. How about FourSquare or Gowalla? If you're at all interested in promoting your business or organization on the web, then it's time to become knowledgeable about the world of social media. Social media is an ever changing landscape, but we are here to help you keep up.

Here's a basic rundown of the major players today: 

Facebook — began as a social network exclusively for college students to interact; today it has expanded to individuals of all ages and to businesses, clubs, causes, and more. With more than 400 million active users, Facebook is a power player of social media platforms. Last year Facebook integrated many "Twitter-like" features including live search and @replies. With 400 million pairs of eyeballs on their page, Facebook has become a powerful advertising platform and promotional tool. From teenagers to baby boomers, your audience is on Facebook.

Twitter — introduced the world to microblogging, and the major news networks took notice in 2009. What do you have to say that can't be said in 140 characters or less? Twitter allows users to share snapshots of information, updates, and links, while streamlining all this information into conversations using hashtags and mentions. It has redefined customer service and changed marketing into a conversation as opposed to a one-way information dump. With more than 100 million registered users, their growth rate has been fantastic. Unlike Facebook, the majority of Twitter traffic is derived from third party applications, which leaves us wondering how their business model will continue to develop.

Google Buzz —Buzz is new to the scene, released to the public in February 2010. The Buzz interface is super easy to use — similar to Twitter — but with no character limit. You can also post images and videos and connect your Buzz account to Twitter, YouTube, Picasa and Flickr accounts. Each post can be public to the world wide web or private to your Gmail (Google email) contacts. When you post links with Buzz, it pulls thumbnails from the site much like Facebook (here's an example), but, unlike other platforms, it sorts your stream by what Google perceives as value for the user (including more links, comments, etc.). If you don't want to know what your friend ate for breakfast, then don't bother scrolling down your Buzz stream. Despite some initial controversy over privacy settings, Google Buzz could be a strong player due to its integration with Google tools many of us use everyday (Gmail and Google Reader).

FourSquare / Gowalla — allow users to "check in" to locations using geolocation tags (usually using GPS on handheld devices), while simultaneously following their friends' activities and locations. Location-based platforms allow friends to meet up and offer "yelp-like" information about various venues. It's helpful for businesses that depend on getting patrons in the door. As a business, you can offer prizes or discounts to users that visit most frequently. If a patron is headed out for coffee, they could be pursuaded to stop into your shop, rather than go across the street, simply because you reward their visits. You know those punch cards that are so easy to loose? Think of these as electronic versions that still maintains a level of personal interaction that your customers will appreciate. FourSquare is only about a year old but already has half a million users (and growing). Gowalla is its biggest competitor right now, but we will be keeping our eye on the location-based war!

LinkedIn — Compared to the others, LinkedIn is the most professional (i.e. corporate) of all online networking tools. Creatives find it dry, but many businesses find it very useful. There are groups you can join to help connect you with individuals with similar interests, and users can post testimonials about folks in their network.

MySpace — MySpace paved the way, but now it is struggling to stay relevant. For businesses and professionals, MySpace is rarely the way to go. However, it is still a popular platform for bands and other musical acts due to the simple integration of music players.

Some social media tools:

Okay, so now you have a general sense about the biggest platforms (yes there are more!) currently being used to share messages and engage users... but what about the tools to make all this interaction easier? Third party applications (built by outside developers to connect with existing social media platforms) are ubiquitous; these tools exist for your desktop, web browser, and mobile device to help you connect with your favorite social media platforms.

HootSuite — a popular web application that combines all your Twitter and Facebook accounts into one easy-to-use interface that allows you to do simultaneous updates and tracks some handy statistics through a proprietary link shortener. (Also available for some mobile platforms.)

TweetDeck — a powerful desktop application (powered by Adobe Air) that combines and tracks your social media accounts. It is also available on the iPhone and iPad.

PeopleBrowsr — if easy-to-use is not your top priority than PeopleBrowsr might be for you. This powerful web application is jam-packed full of tools to help you engage new and existing followers; analyze social media data; and track keywords/topics.

Seesmic — a popular Twitter client used for desktop, web and mobile devices.

SocialScope — a mobile phone application currently in private beta that allows Blackberry users to update and track multiple Twitter accounts, Facebook, and Foursquare from one place. Request an invite!

This is really just the tip of the iceberg — the list of applications, platforms, and their mobile device compatibility is nearly endless. We can help you wade through this sea of information and find the applications and tools that will work best for you .

So, are you ready to tweet? Contact us if you'd like help getting started!