“My business doesn’t need a social media strategy”

When I tell people that I’m a Social Media Strategist for Clever Travel Businesses, I’m generally met with this face:

Flickr: PhotoJonny

There are 3 types of business owners right now:

There are 3 types of business owners right now:“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

There are 3 types of business owners right now:“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”“Social media is a toss and a complete waste of time, both for myself and my employees. We don’t need a social media strategy.”

There are 3 types of business owners right now:“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”“Social media is a toss and a complete waste of time, both for myself and my employees. We don’t need a social media strategy.”“My business has an integrated and effective social media strategy and it has been really helpful for the growth of our business.”

There are 3 types of business owners right now:“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”“Social media is a toss and a complete waste of time, both for myself and my employees. We don’t need a social media strategy.”“My business has an integrated and effective social media strategy and it has been really helpful for the growth of our business.”OK I might have laid it on a bit thick with the last one…

But with so many social media and social networking options these days, which one(s): best suits your business your market most effectively, and how the hell are you going to find the team to get involved with it all????The answer (of course!) is by talking with a Social Media Strategist.

best suits your business

your market most effectively,

and how the hell are you going to find the team to

So what does it really mean anyway… Social Media Strategist?

So what does it really mean anyway… Social Media Strategist?Basically I help clever travel businesses embrace new technology – generally FREE technology – that will not only make their business more relevant, more accessible and more competitive, but by showing them how exposure through social media can introduce thousands of new potential customers to their business that would never have known about them before.

Wikipedia (in itself a social media platform) describes social media as:

Wikipedia (in itself a social media platform) describes social media as:“online content created by people using highly accessible and scalable publishing technologies.”

Wikipedia (in itself a social media platform) describes social media as:“a shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content; it supports the human need for social interaction with technology.”

Wikipedia (in itself a social media platform) describes social media as:“Social media has become extremely popular because it allows people to connect in the online world to form relationships for personal, political and business use.”

Bored yet?Photo courtesy www.r3n3.net

OK let me show you how this can really work for your business…

Australians LOVE social networking…

Australians LOVE social networking…1 out of 2 Australians use social media.

Australians LOVE social networking…1 out of 2 Australians use social media. (… and 3 out of 4 Americans.)

Australians LOVE social networking…On average, Aussies are members of more than 2 different social networking platforms.

In fact, 2/3 of the global internet population use social networks.

That’s a lot of people.

That’s a lot of people.How many of them know about your business at the moment?

So which platform do you need?

Like all marketing, social media strategy should be geared towards your target market.

Like all marketing, social media strategy should be geared towards your target market.Nothing Earth-shattering there, so who’s using what?

Facebook is the most popular social networking platform in Australia.

In May 2009, Facebook had 5 million users in Australia.

57% of Facebook users in Australia are female, 43% male.

56% have a household income of more than $75,000.

34% have a household income of more than $100,000.

If Facebook was a country, it would be the 8th most populated on Earth.

If Facebook was a country, it would be the 8th most populated on Earth.… just ahead of Japan.

Are these your customers?

48% of MySpace users are under 25 years old.

MySpace’s females outnumber males in Australia: 59% to 41%.

Less than 19% of users’ household income is more than $100,000.

Most adult users are interested in bands’ and artists’ MySpace pages.

But MySpace users still spend more time on it than other platforms:

But MySpace users still spend more time on it than other platforms:on average, 28 minutes each time.

Does that fit your customer profile?

Twitter is the biggest mover and shaker in social media right now.

250,000 Australians joined between February and May 2009.

This represents a growth of 1067% to May 2009.

More males than females are Tweeters – 57% to 43%.

And they tend to be a bit older with 1/3 of users ages between 35 & 44.

And they tend to be a bit older with 1/3 of users ages between 35 & 44.Do Twitterers sound like your kind of people?

LinkedIn is the social media platform for professional people.

637,000 Australians are LinkedIn and it is growing at 23% to May 2009.

Average age is 41, 80% have tertiary education,

and the average household income of LinkedIn users is $110,000.

Is that who you want to link with?

And if you have content, either photos or videos to share with your customers (and have them share with you)…

There were 3.6 billion photos on Flickr in June 2009.

There were 3.6 billion photos on Flickr in June 2009.… that’s 1 photo for every 2 people on Earth.

But the real success story of content sharing – and the one you should SERIOUSLY consider being a part of is

13 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every minute.

13 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every minute.… every day.

To watch every YouTube video would take you more than 412 years.

100 million videos are viewed on YouTube every day.

That’s a huge audience.

Do they know about you yet?

Chances are none of these audiences know you or your business right now.

While 93% of social media users believe that a company should have a presence in social media,

While 93% of social media users believe that a company should have a presence in social media,only 18% of Australian organisations have a social media strategy.

The sheer numbers of social media users represents an unknown potential that conventional marketing and advertising could never deliver.

And the best part of social media strategy?

And the best part of social media strategy?All of the platforms I just talked about are 100% FREE.

The worst thing you could do with social media for your business?

The worst thing you could do with social media for your business?Get it wrong.

In helping you with your social media strategy, I can set up:

In helping you with your social media strategy, I can set up:Facebook profiles.

In helping you with your social media strategy, I can set up:Facebook profiles.Facebook pages.

In helping you with your social media strategy, I can set up:Facebook profiles.Facebook pages.Branded Myspace profile.

In helping you with your social media strategy, I can set up:Facebook profiles.Facebook pages.Branded Myspace profile.Effective Twitter profiles.

In helping you with your social media strategy, I can set up:Facebook profiles.Facebook pages.Branded Myspace profile.Effective Twitter profiles.Flickr sets and YouTube channels.

And much more, including showing you the best way to achieve the three most important things in any social media strategy:

And much more, including showing you the best way to achieve the three most important things in any social media strategy:Distribution,

And much more, including showing you the best way to achieve the three most important things in any social media strategy:Distribution,Measurement,

And much more, including showing you the best way to achieve the three most important things in any social media strategy:Distribution,Measurement,And Integration.

For a 100% free, no-obligation social media audit of your business, email me today:nick@nickbowditchtravel.com

Profile: www.facebook.com/nickbowditchPage:www.facebook.com/australiasfamilytravelexpertwww.twitter.com/nickbowditchwww.linkedin.com/in/nickbowditch

References:http://digitalmarketinglab.com.auhttp://www.slideshare.net/mzkagan/what-the-fk-social-media