Quick tour of social media

Johannesburg - You've heard of social media - online services like Facebook, YouTube and Blogger.com, where 21st century trendies spend their time gossiping over their keyboards. But for marketers, the key question is, how will social media change the way we do business?

They're already ubiquitous. Four out of the 10 most popular sites in South Africa are social media: Facebook, YouTube, Wikipedia and Blogger.com, for the first time challenging the status of the most popular sites (banking and news).

Clearly, says Jarred Cinman, software director of Cambrient, a content management company, people are spending more time online, enjoying a deeper, richer experience.

"While social media in South Africa are in their infancy, Amatomu (8% of the total blog traffic in South Africa), Afrigator.com, Muti.co.za, Blueworld, Zoopy (BizCommunity's entry into social media) and ITWeb's MyDigitalLife point the way," says Cinman.

"Afrigator acts as an aggregation engine for Africa's social media, while Muti is a social bookmarking site. The two sites are garnering significant traffic, and they already offer marketers attractive local advertising opportunities."

Consumers have always been open to influence from other people, asking each other for advice and letting peer pressure inform their decisions. Social networks make it possible for them to influence each other more directly than ever before.

"Viral word of mouth is beginning to affect the success of movies," says Cinman. "Cloverfield made millions in its opening weekend due to a viral Internet teaser. But as word spread that it was just an ordinary horror movie, the film tanked.

"By contrast, Juno, a teen pregnancy movie, soared due to Internet word of mouth, while The Golden Compass was effectively killed by Internet opposition from Christian pressure groups.

"Social influence marketing requires new strategies, rules and tactics, which will probably have a more powerful and longer lasting effect on purchasing behaviour than traditional marketing.

"If marketers don't integrate social media into their conventional marketing, they risk alienating their audiences. This is because the rise of social networks and blogs has allowed consumers to stay more closely connected with each other. They watch each other transact online and want to conform.

"Increasingly, online shoppers are reading customer reviews before buying. To influence these smarter, better informed customers, marketers need to participate in those conversations."

- Fin24.com