So what is the big deal with Facebook and Twitter? These two famous web phenomena are the most prominent examples of Social Media in the form of Social Networking and this media is normally found on the Internet. Wikipedia explains this well but what does it mean and what does it mean in particular to you considering building or updating your website. Well Social Networking is all about that: people networking via the internet. They chat, share ideas, images, opinions and more and basically carry on a huge complex conversation.
Why is it so popular ? Well I guess people love chatting to other people. We have always loved to interact so this is simply another method. Of course it's handy because you can interact in real or delayed time and do it from most spots on the globe, regardless of where you are. Yes but why is it so popular in a discussion around internet Marketing? Two reasons, Social Networking sites are unparalleled rich resources for marketing companies to learn about user preferences. They do this by eavesdropping on your online conversations and then sifting through this in order to market products to you. The second reason is that online marketers, finding great value in all this chatter, use their huge marketing muscle to market social media as well ! In effect it's a self reinforcing cycle. Marketers love to listen to your chatter (and sell that info to their customers) and love to hype the channel so they can listen to even more chatter !
What does it mean to us ? Well more and more everyday. If you are a website owner or manager and interested in marketing, you need to look at Social Media with two key points in mind.

• Brand reputation / customer engagement. Social media is here to stay and it is a massively important interface between you and your customers.

• Impact on website rankings (SEO). Google and co are looking harder every day at what is being said about your brand on social media. It is already effecting rankings, and if that interests you and it should, well enough said.

My advice, get in now and try and get a competitive edge !

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