"Social Media Report 2010" – a Great Book on Social Media
Recently I came across an excellent book that gives some wonderful insight into the world of Social Media. It is written by Stefan Swanepoel & Mel Aclaro and is called the “Social Media Report 2010”. Although it pretty much targets the real estate industry, it is an excellent reference for almost everyone. It is more expensive than any other book I have bought on the subject (and believe me my library has gotten pretty large), but I found it well worth every penny. The following bullets refer to some of the highlights of the book.
- The Social Media Revolution may well be the biggest shift in the way we do things since the Industrial Revolution. Social Media is not a fad – it is a "Game-changer". Consumers want to be heard and Social Media is causing that to happen.
- Our population is shifting so quickly that by the end of 2010 Baby Boomers will no longer be the largest generation. Gen Y is in the process of taking over that role and already approximately "96% of them already joined a social network".
- The old way of advertising is no longer wanted or trusted by the majority of consumers. Now they want to talk to other consumers to validate their decisions. Statistics show that 14% of consumers trust regular media advertising versus 78% trust online peer recommendations
- Social Media is causing a shift in how we are getting our messages out. The old way – “one to many” was in the form of newspapers, magazines, TV and radio advertising. Now the trend is shifting to “many to many” – a two-way conversation between multiple individuals and that conversation is being conducted in real time.
- Social Media has leveled the playing field. Previously, the cost of advertising was so prohibitive that only the “big” players had the financial means to get their word to the masses. Now, anyone with an Internet connection and membership in Social Media sites has the capability of reaching thousands of people in a very inexpensive way
- The key to establishing a position of influence online lies in the ability to successfully assess the social activities and needs of your market. No longer can you afford to hold your information to the chest – you have to be willing to freely provide quality content and then give followers or friends the choice as to whether or not they want to participate with you.
- It costs absolutely nothing except your time to create quality content and once that content is created, it can instantly be seen by others.
- Anyone can find a home on Social Media and you don’t need to be a superstar in order to collaborate and influence others.
To get more information about Stefan Swanepoel, you can visit his website.
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Ellen,
Thank you. And, agreed. Although Stefan and I wrote it with the title “real estate professionals,” all the topics discussed within are very relevant for those in other industries, as well.
I appreciate your summary of some of the generational highlights from the text. I’d also add that, by other accounts (ref. Ken Gronbach, “The Age Curve”), the Gen-Y demographic already accounts for about 5x the purchasing power of their boomer parents. You’re right on point about not ignoring the coming trends here.
Thank you again.
Mel Aclaro
co-author, Social Media Report 2010
JaraUniversity.com
Thank you so much for you nice comments about my blog concerning the book you and Stefan wrote. That book has served as one of my top references and really helped me put the different sites in their proper perspective. I love the way you described them from Facebook being the “backyard barbecue” to LinkedIn being the more “formal business meeting” to Twitter being like the “cocktail party” where everyone is talking. Great analogy.