The tweets are taking over

Slowly but surely, more and more businesses are turning to social media and networking sites to promote their products and services. So it comes as no surprise that these sites are becoming a must in marketing.

From bakery schedules to album releases and book launches – sites like Twitter and Facebook have now become front-line tools for sales and marketing. Once upon a time social sites were the trappings of IT geeks. But around three years ago they started to creep into the public domain.

Social media takes over email?

Last year, online research company Nielsen showed that tools like Facebook, Twitter and blogging sites are now more popular than email¹. Alex Burmaster, said: "Most [people] had not heard of social networking or blogging, but in a short space of time it has exploded in popularity… This really is a seismic shift in how people are using the internet."

Recently it was reported that social media could be replacing email². Although this news is a little pre-emptive, social media sites, particularly Twitter, are taking a massive turn in marketing terms.

In 2003, people spent 46% of their time online using email and instant messaging sites. By 2009 however, that usage has dropped to 27%³. This is thought to be largely down to the popularity of sites like Facebook, Flickr and Twitter – people spend much more time communicating on these sites, and so don't need to frequently use email.

All the big companies out there are using Twitter pages for promotion too – from the BBC, CNN and The Times, to Apple, Amazon.com and leading figures, like Barack Obama and the UK's political parties. Computing giant Dell have even reported that they've generated a massive $3million is sales from Twitter marketing alone⁴. And it's not just the big businesses that are doing well. A small London bakery, The Albion, has seen sales rise with its innovative daily updates, announcing when pastries are fresh from the oven (@AlbionsOven).

It’s not just about the social side

Although the social media and networking sites are the current 'in' tool, they're not likely to replace email and other online campaigns for a long time. A massive downside to Tweeting, for example, is that if a customer only logs on once a day, they’re likely to miss your Tweet – unlike an email that will sit on your computer until you open it.

The way forward is getting the perfect blend between the two. Social media and email marketing need to go hand in hand. A study of one billion emails by MailChimp has tracked links to Twitter and Facebook in emails. Their results showed that there’s been a whopping 84% increase in email campaigns that are including links to Twitter, with Facebook coming in with a 66% increase⁵.

Using social media

Nowadays it's so important for every company to show a strong online presence – whether you're a small trader, or a booming industry leader. And right now, the tools to start getting to grips with are social media and networking sites.

The beauty of a social site is that you can search for a vast array of companies, localise your options and get a really good understanding of a company from what they’re posting. On Facebook you can search for company names, people and services and products; while on Twitter you can also search through recent status updates – bringing up Tweets about your chosen subject, keyword or category.

But, you need to remember that just sending a Tweet out now and again won't do much. It’s all about how you use it: what you say, how you say it and when. Many companies out there seem to be struggling to engage properly with these sites, which is where ifour comes in.

We’ll help you understand who's looking at your social media pages, we'll create designs for you to make the right impression, and we'll even get writers on the case. So you can send the right messages, at the right times, in the right places.

For help with online socialising, call ifour creative web and print design agency on 01892 541111 or pop into our lovely office (near Tunbridge Wells, Kent).

1 Nielsen online research, December 2008: 25.6 million visitors to sites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and Blogger compared with 24.2 million users logging on to Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo mail. Alex Burmaster, Nielsen European Internet Analyst.
2 Echo E-Business. Press Release 11 September 2009-09-28
3 Report from Internet Retailing Magazine, June 2009.
4 The Online Publishers Association Press Release, 17 September 2009.
5 MailChimp Research, from January 2009.