On Words and Business

In case you are wondering about social media and if and how it reaches your (or any) audience, check out 20+ mind-blowing social media stats.

Some that I find interesting:

• LinkedIn has gained about 1 million members each month since last August
• More than 65 million Facebook members access their accounts via a mobile device
• Average number of tweets per day (as of end of 2009): 27.3 million

A fascinating blog I just discovered: The Numbers Guy

It’s all about how numbers are reported in news and business; and how sometimes they can confuse an issue (purposely or not). Statistics made fun. Sort of.

The teens are being touted as the decade of the mobile device and all the marketing and media that go along with them.

According to CTIA, 89% of the US population own cell phones.  Only about 16% (predicted to be 37% by 2014) of those are smartphones–ready for all this marketing and media to arrive. That number is predicted to be 37% by 2014, but even that will be only about a third of the population.

I don’t fundamentally disagree that things are going mobile; and I know other parts of the world are more mobile and have more smartphone than we do. I just worry about those who don’t have or can’t afford smartphones.

Will other forms of marketing and media suffer with the focus on mobility?

Apparently, a lot of people are glad to see the aughts go away. According to the Pew Research Center, this was the worst decade in 50 years.

Technology bright spots:

• 69% think cell phones are a change for the better
• 65% think the internet and email are changes for the better

Interestingly:

• 40% think that more people getting tattoos is a change for the worse
• 45% think that more people getting tattoos hasn’t made a difference

Here’s a great post from iMedia Connection about why creating a social media policy can help you keep your focus. Especially for small businesses and entrepreneurs who have to divide their time between so many tasks.

My favorite hint: Avoid bandwagon-jumping. I’ve heard all sorts of fabulous stories about people who’ve made good contacts and gotten work through Twitter. That’s great. For my business right now, though, it’s not in the cards. That doesn’t mean I’ll never consider it. It’s just that given my bandwidth and other current strategic considerations, it’s not part of my plan.

My second favorite:  Keep an eye on consolidation. I’m looking forward to more of this. Especially with LinkedIn, since the social media policy for my business does not involve Facebook (my social media policy for my personal life does, but that’s a different story).

Happy strategizing…

As discussed on MarketingProfs:

1. LinkedIn
2. Facebook
3. Twitter

Hmm. I only use one of these for business (I keep Facebook for personal connections).

Although…I like the ancient proverb the author quotes: a “cord of three strands is not easily broken.”