An article reflecting on the diversification and subsequent rationalisation of the key social media sites.

1. Proliferation of Online Social Networks will
Reduce as Businesses Rationalise Usage
Social networking sites are predicted to see membership rates plummet over the coming months as
businesses move away from a scattergun approach to social media and become more selective,
according Internet Marketing company e-mphasis.
Whilst social media continues to be a critical part of marketing in the 21st Century, e-mphasis director
Andrew Rayner believes that many businesses are beginning to feel the strain of managing multiple
online profiles and accounts. As a result, they are reducing down to a select few which deliver the
most value and return.
“Everyone who jumped on the band-wagon of social media / social networking and created a profile on
everything is now realising that they’ve got an awful lot to maintain! What we are seeing is that
businesses are now rationalising their usage, determining what works for them and why, reducing the
amount they have to maintain and focusing on what has worked for them,” says Rayner.
Rayner claims that the cream of the crop have already risen to the top and in his view that would
include Linkedin, Ecademy, Twitter & Facebook. Other contenders such as Naymz and Plaxo seem to
fade out in comparison and could disappear altogether.
“The success of the top networking sites is down to purpose, each of those has a really specific role to
play,” says Rayner. “This is what we advise clients embarking on a social media strategy to really think
about WHY.”
Rayner comments on the attributes of the most successful social networking sites below.
Linkedin – It is functionally rich, free to use (and mostly free functionality is sufficient), and very
"professional". Linkedin is all about B2B, professional profiles, best foot forward. When you go on
Linkedin it is all about putting on your corporate face to really overtly promote your expertise.
Twitter – is all about "water cooler moments" – those useful snippets of chit-chat with people you'd
perhaps not typically get to chat with. It's also fantastic for driving traffic to blogs, articles and
websites. Perhaps most importantly to our clients Twitter is a barometer of consumer opinion, on just
about anything, so if you're a well known brand you can get a real fly-on-the-wall view of consumer
opinion about your brand, and, your competition - meaning you can react accordingly, real time!
Ecademy – is a social network where business people strip off the facade they wore on linkedin! It's
more like facebook for business people, a bunch of business friends, helping each other along,
supportive, honest, real.
Facebook – a huge, funky, fun and fresh social network is ideal for our clients where they sell B2C
primarily. Fan pages full of stories from real people endorsing their product is a perfect environment to
generate new business. It is important to remember that this is customer / fan lead content. Getting
too pushy and putting on the corporate facade you'd wear on linkedin won't cut it with the facebook
generation.
T: 0845 414 5159 Registered Address: The Old Pump House,
E: info@e-mphasis.com 1A Stonecross, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL1 4AA
www.e-mphasis.com Registered No: 025548967 (England)

2. Beyond that, apart from sites dedicated to specific media or specific niches, such as youtube, flickr,
and various highly focused communities, Andrew claims that the effort invested in creating and
maintaining profile probably won't bring the return.
Critically, and as Ecademy founder Penny Power will say, using social media and social networks
enables the ability to become known, liked and followed and this is what really underpins successful
and long-term (and therefore profitable) business relationships, on or off line.
“It is hard to predict what will happen. It seems you're either a major provider, with a mass user base,
or, a niche, with a small but evangelical user base and that's it! Just as Darwin points out in origin of
the species, only the fittest and those perfectly suited to their environment will survive,” says Rayner.
ENDS
Notes to Editor:
e-mphasis is an internet marketing agency specialising in providing Search Marketing and Social Media
Marketing for clients whose customers are consumers – specifically those in retail, travel, hospitality &
leisure.
The company is based in St Albans, Hertfordshire and was founded by Andrew Rayner. e-mphasis have
recently developed a unique offering – Google Places Optimisation, which unlike high cost PPC
campaigns, puts their clients onto page 1 of Google for a fixed monthly fee. This is currently being
trialled by Tesco Phone Shops, and is presenting some great results! This highly targeted approach to
Internet Marketing is a hugely untapped area of online marketing strategy and one which, thanks to
e-mphasis, is now generating interest and excitement from other major UK retail brands.
For any enquiries please contact Becky Lewis on 01603 742892 / 07866 739306
or email becky.lewis@mediajems.co.uk
T: 0845 414 5159 Registered Address: The Old Pump House,
E: info@e-mphasis.com 1A Stonecross, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL1 4AA
www.e-mphasis.com Registered No: 025548967 (England)