Social media is on the rise and this article by PRWeb discusses the impact that social media has on the importance of decision-making.  Social media can help your business grow with a few key points that were found in the study.  Single Throw Internet Marketing offers social networking as well as other important internet marketing strategies to help your business grow.

Source: PRWeb

The Society for New Communications Research (SNCR), a global nonprofit research and education foundation and think tank, announced the results of the 2nd annual New Symbiosis of Professional Networks Study led by SNCR Fellows Donald Bulmer, Vice President, Global Communications, Industry and Influencer Relations, SAP, and Vanessa DiMauro, CEO of Leader Networks. The study — supported by quantitative data gathered from more than 100 senior business professionals and executives — benchmarks the impact of social media on enterprise decision-making.

This study extends the research Bulmer and DiMauro began in 2009 and 2010 focusing on professionals’ use of social media for decision-making. The 2010-2011 study examines the dynamics of trust that professionals have within their social media communities, as well as the value of engagement and collaboration to support decision-making and innovation across company operations for internal and external purposes.

Of the 114 executives who participated in the study, most were key decision makers in their respective companies that ranged in size from under 100 to over 50,000 full time employees.

Key Findings include:

* Social networks have evolved to become knowledge and communication networks, and access to thought leadership content is now the primary reason professionals visit networks and communities. Professionals are collaborating with each other through the thought leadership content they generate, curate or share. No longer is collaboration an experience between a limited number of people.

* While nearly all professionals surveyed (97%) use LinkedIn, the use of smaller (niche) professional networks are actively being used to find peers and content specifically related to the work that they do (by role, industry, geography, etc.). Professionals are finding the right mix of large open networks and private communities to support their learning, networking and decision-making activities.

* Professional communities are being used more frequently to inform business strategy and supporting new products and services (much more than in 2009). A majority (80%) of respondents are able to accelerate decision process and information/strategy development by participating in online communities.

* Endorsement (e.g. like, read, share, retweet) is at the center of collaboration in social media communities. “The Crescendo Effect” in social media environments has great impact on buying decisions. High quality content yields transparency and credibility.

“Business professionals are changing how they collaborate as a result of online professional communities and peer networks,” stated Bulmer about the study.

“Professional collaboration is changing from a small professional exchange into an interaction with content in more public ways,” added DiMauro. “The consequence of sharing content online is enhanced influence.”

To read the full article, click here.

With 2010 behind us and 2011 well on its way, observing and analyzing progress in the social sphere is crucial to future business planning and endeavors. Anything and everything that happens within a business’s community now requires a social response. Businesses need to be social-savvy in order to gain a following and maintain a place in their communities; locally and online.

There are several aspects of this progress that will continue to be crucial in the coming year, including: defining the voice of your brand, defining your mission and purpose, hearing what customers have to say and engaging, reactively and proactively.

Although the main goal may be to reach your audience, making your mark on the social scene requires you to go a few steps further; your audience has an audience who has their own audience, so on and so forth. Thus, whether it’s your customers, influencers, colleagues or competitors, you need to consider the interests and needs of several different audiences to gain real opportunities and to garner interest and respect for your brand.

Source: BrianSolis.com

By: Stefanie Chernow

Source: editorsweblog.org

Twitter hasn’t quite reached the must-use status of fellow social network Facebook: Twitter only has 145 million users while Facebook dominates the social network sphere with over 500 million users. The Guardian, however, recently reported on the strengths of Twitter that no other new media source can currently provide. “For people in the media business, [Twitter] has rapidly - in less than four years - become their peripheral nervous system,” writes journalist Charles Arthur. “It tells you what’s going on around the world, or within your sphere of interest; it helps for bouncing ideas around, for staying abreast of what you have to know.”

Twitter offers instantaneous delivery of news without social barriers. On Facebook, users are required to befriend others in order to access their online activities, while Twitter allows people to follow whomever they want and thus encourages a liberal flow of information. This permits reporters to search for real-time content that is vital to today’s face-paced news industry. “Reporters who once sat glumly watching news wires now watch and comment in carefully curated Twitter search streams,” notes Arthur. “Once you follow a certain number of the ‘right’ (connected) people, it becomes an indispensable news source.”
Facebook may seem like the primary source for spreading news, as users are more likely to trust article recommendations from friends rather than strangers. Arthur disagrees with this sentiment, claiming “Facebook isn’t meant for spreading news; it’s meant for linking up people who know each other. News doesn’t work that way: news, after all, is often about people you don’t know personally but discover you’d like to.”

Robert Hernandez, Professor at USC’s Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism, explains the necessity of Twitter for today’s reporters. On Annenberg’s  website Neon Tommy, Hernandez states “[Twitter] allows me to find potential sources who are actually there. And because this person is announcing to the world that they’re there, that increases the likelihood that they’re willing to talk. Instead of going to a place, or cold-calling, or going up to people and interrupting them or going on a fishing expedition, you can find very specific eyewitness sources.”

Likewise, Hernandez cautions journalists to be wary of content on social media networks, emphasizing that Twitter sources can not replace traditional forms of journalism and fact-checking. “You can also use crowd sourcing, but you’re a lazy journalist if all you do is rely on social media for your reporting. And you’re a lazy journalist if you don’t use social media at all.”

While claims can be made that Facebook is a satisfactory means of information consumption for “news gazers,” Twitter is vital for media professionals. It’s safe to say that Twitter is becoming a serious tool in the journalism industry, and tweets should be regarded with the same professional integrity as other forms of reporting.

Twitter is also making strides in keeping up with technology trends, such as geotagging tweets (Which is similar to Facebook’s Places application). This could indicate that Twitter will probably be a useful tool for content sourcing in the future. Will Twitter’s split-second distribution of breaking news ever be regarded as the main source of information for the general public, or will Facebook continue to dominate new media?

Source: editorsweblog.org

Here at Single Throw, we’ve long been advocates of the use of social media as a marketing tool for businesses of all sizes.  Lately, we’ve seen a great rise in popularity of these tools among car companies.  Check out the article we found below, evidencing Hyundai’s use of social media.

“Hyundai has been getting a lot of attention these days as a company that cares about its customers, and part of this success can be credited to social media marketing. By integrating a customer relationship management (CRM) strategy with social media along with their traditional marketing, Hyundai has branded itself as an altruistic company that really does care about its’ customers. In fact – Hyundai has jumped ahead of every other car manufacturer in the critical customer satisfaction index (CSI) category. Here are a few examples how Hyundai is applying their social media marketing strategy in key parts of their business and how it is paying off.

Hyundai’s Assurance Program began in early 2009 when the economy was at its worst and unemployment was rising rapidly. The Hyundai Assurance Program promised that if you got laid off from your job, you could return your car and not even have to worry about honoring the rest of the note payable. The promotion was innovative but coming from a major car corporation was it believable? The attention the campaign received from the press and from many blogs and websites was skeptical. Hyundai began promoting the idea on Facebook and Twitter. They asked everyone to buzz and tweet about it and people responded with enthusiasm. The idea of social networking for business exposure is not new, but the strategy was extraordinary because it laid the groundwork for the campaign and gave it credibility. It was a brilliant way to market a promotion that really did work. Sharing this information on Facebook and Twitter turned out to be a big plus for the car company’s marketing campaign. Hyundai sales are up 6.2 percent through November 2009. This marks the eleventh consecutive month of year-over-year gains in retail market share by Hyundai. The Hyundai Assurance Program is without doubt one of the reasons their sales have increased this year while other car manufacturers have floundered.

Zafar Brooks, Director of Government Relations and Diversity Outreach at Hyundai, has a refreshing perspective on the value of social media when combined with corporate outreach programs. The Hyundai “Hope on Wheels” program fights pediatric cancer by funding cancer research programs across the country. Brooks understands the importance of authenticity and relevance in social media outreach, particularly on behalf of corporate charitable programs. He said: “Consumers are more sophisticated now — corporate social responsibility programs are no longer something that is ‘nice’ to do, but it’s expected of the company,” noted Brooks. “Simultaneously, consumers will smell-out what is not authentic — Hope on Wheels isn’t advertised, but is part of the news we share with our brand loyalists,” he said. “It is a part of our story because it is a part of who we are and what we are about. Social media should be authentic and organic.” Mr. Brooks added, “Brand leaders must align themselves with a cause that is consistent with corporate values so they can illustrate their relevancy. Leadership has to establish the priorities around which we stand and make it part of our messaging point.” Brooks concluded: “All social media should link together with a common objective to develop a program based on who we want to talk to about what we want to accomplish. Social media outreach must be part of a cohesive approach. Consumers will smell-out what is not authentic!”

Hyundai Aftermarket recently announced the launch of a new social media campaign. The goal was to give Hyundai owners a new way of finding content on the Internet about modifying their vehicles. The interactive social media campaign involves additional features being built into the Hyundai forum that owners can use effectively to get the word out about what they are doing to make their cars stand out from the rest. Twitter accounts and Facebook “Fan Pages” have been built so that owners can follow live updated news feeds about Hyundai Aftermarket as well. “Finding important and relevant information is not easy when you are unfamiliar with how to perform certain modifications,” said a Hyundai spokesperson. “Having a forum and website where answers to important questions are laid out for you, would help with modifying your Hyundai to its highest potential.” While the site has been branded as the “web’s most premier Hyundai forum” and currently is the oldest Hyundai forum on the internet, it has been designed for both the amateur and professional car enthusiast in mind. The site is built on the principle of being very easy going and helpful to anyone who may or may not know a lot about Hyundai’s. Users register for free and can partake in discussions about Hyundai Accents, Tiburons, Elantra’s, Sonata’s, Santa Fe’s and the all new Hyundai Genesis. In addition to providing great technical content, hyundaiaftermarket provides great off topic discussions ranging in everything from technology to music & movies to even food and health/nutrition.

Article Source

In wake of the recent disaster in Haiti, it’s become evident what a powerful resource social media sites can be in rallying the humanitarian spirit inherent in us all.  Organizations like The American Red Cross and Partner In Health have raised money through the efforts of Facebook Causes.  Similarly, Oxfam America’s Facebook Fan Page has already raised over $33,000.  Fugees singer Wyclef Jean, who is originally from Haiti, utilized his Twitter account to raise relief efforts for his country.  He also created a multi-faceted online effort with his website, Yele Haiti.

There’s no doubt how amazing it has been to see how humanitarian spirit has become infectious through the use of a plethora of social networking sites. Still, as Ben Parr wrote on CNN’s Tech blog today, social media is undoubtedly a resourceful tool, but it is the efforts of the people, themselves, that truly make a difference in situations like these.

What kind of relief efforts have you seen on social media sites?
[Sources: PC Mag]