Social Networking Entered Soul Company

Top management emphasizes the need for blueprints and plans for social networking companies. Public Relations would like to use Twitter. Marketing department prefers Facebook and wanted to make a fan page. Human Resources Manager like LinkedIn. Customer service supervisor wants a blog. While the Information Technology + Google admired. This is a sign of social networking is 'possessed' soul and conscience of the company.

Roles and Benefits

Social networking as a form of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the most qualified with the support of information technology is the fact that no doubt. By utilizing this network, companies can communicate more dynamic and interactive with the public, including stakeholders (buyers, customers, suppliers and partners) as well as faster in getting feedback (criticisms, suggestions, ideas, complaints).

'Multiplier effect' obtained clearly more powerful. The company's new promotional programs to reach more customers, potential customers or any other type of audience. Marketing research can also take advantage of this medium in which the research results obtained more quickly and can be used directly to design the company's sales strategy. Range and scope of the company expanded.

The information delivered through this medium has the global reach of account management is much easier than the website. And again, all social networking can be used free of charge, except for some additional features.

By doing the browsing activity on the site YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or other social networks, we can know the feedback and the public perception that 'more honest' and 'more spontaneously' to the company or brand that we have. What is liked, disliked, attracting attention, funny, and the other does not pleasing. In addition such information can be obtained through common interest groups, fan pages and Google Alerts.

Some things to consider when using this medium is to ensure consistency of all messages are delivered via various platforms that exist. It is necessary to maintain the company image. Easy to implement because of integration between social networking platform already available.

Although the atmosphere is informal communication, keep in mind that an account created to represent the company so that professionalism should be maintained. With more communication intensive and extensive, user engagement will be longer, so the emotional closeness and sense of belonging they are also increasing.

The Company shall provide a response and best response to 'mind share' and 'heart share' the public is maintained. Types of information submitted should also be differentiated by type of communicant, whether it's buyers, users, consumers, partners, suppliers and others.

Use of Social Networking

Citing research conducted by Burlingame's Jobvite Inc.., 83% of companies will use social networking for recruitment next year, 78% using Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter 55% in the third place with 45%.

According to research at Forrester Research, online retail sales predictions in the world the next 3 years will increase 15% annually which in 2013 is expected to reach USD 410 billion. With a total market of that size, it will be a lot of sellers, buyers and transactions that occur online.

In the same year, 33% of online shoppers will hold a 'small-scale research' in advance to find the most competitive prices and they will also be a buyer who is more rational than impulsive. 54% of offline purchases influenced by online research, and especially social networking so that the investment company on social networking platforms no doubt is a must.

Statistics Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin

Total Facebook members across the globe today has reached 730 million in over 213 countries. United States has the largest with 153 million users, followed by Indonesia 39 million, India 33 million, Britain 30 million and 29 million Turks, as data from Socialbakers.com.

Jakarta is a city with the most Facebook users worldwide with 17.5 million, followed by Istanbul (9.6 million), Mexico City (9.4 million) and London (7.7 million).

With the growing number of users by 20% every month, and the development of Internet penetration in Brazil and India, two countries in the world with a dense population and rapid growth of Facebook users in there, expected later this year the number of users will reach 800 million members.

For the brand, ranked top 5 was dominated by American brands: Coca-Cola with 33 million fans, Disney 28 million, 24 million Starbucks, Oreos and Red Bull 23 million 22 million.

In Indonesia alone, Surfer Girl was in the top ranking with 1.8 million fans. Chocolatos is ranked second with 1.7 million fans, follow the BlackBerry Indonesia (1.3 million), Yamaha Motor Indonesia (1.2 million) and Starbucks Indonesia (616 thousand).

Research from Exact Target mention that, 69% of Facebook users are fans of one or more companies (Company Pages) while 92% of marketers already use Facebook to run its sales and marketing activities. 75% of which will more often use both types of activity in the future.

Of the 300 million Twitter users around the world, Indonesia is ranked first again by the number of users most of the rest of Asia with 7 million users, followed by Japan (3.5 million) and India (2.3 million).

Globally, Indonesia is ranked sixth after the United States, Britain, Brazil, Canada and Australia. There are 1.5 million tweets are sent each day by the number of users in Indonesia are mostly done at 6 pm to 10 pm. In total there are 200 million tweets / posts delivered and 500,000 new Twitter accounts created every day.

The data simply provide an overview of a communication on the web site located at position 9 as the most visited sites in the world.

In corporate circles, from a survey of top 100 companies in the Fortune Global 500, 77% of them already have a Twitter account with 72% of companies from the United States, 83% of European companies and 67% of companies in the Asia Pacific region.

Each company's average - average have 5.8 servings a Twitter account with posting the latest news and information company by 88%, 40% customer service, offer / promo 28% and 10% employment information. From the number of followers, Whole Foods Market is the most popular brands (2 million followers), followed by JetBlue Airways (1.7 million), Threadless (1.62 million), woot.com (1.61 million) and Starbucks Coffee (1.6 million)

Meanwhile, the largest professional networking site in the world, Linkedin, which became popular in Asia, including Indonesia, 'controlled' by the United States with 51 million users, India with 11 million, UK 7 million, Brazil 5.3 million and Canada with 4.3 million with user's background comes from over 190 industries. This network is growing rapidly in Brazil with the growth of three digits, 428%, for a year followed by Mexico and India.

Currently, 1 million teachers joined the 20% users are from the services sector, 9% from 8% of the finance and technology. Citing site Mashable, there are about 18 million members participate in Linkedin group with 1.2 million posts and comments per week.

Since last year, nearly all top executives in Fortune 500 companies have a Linkedin account. Recorded 73 Fortune 100 companies use the service Linkedin Hiring Solutions for recruitment process.

Companies can utilize the directory service provider services for promotional events, join or create groups to discuss specific topics, berpartipasi in Linkedin Q & A, company profile and company buzz.

Success Stories

American Express and HSBC are two companies in the world to use 'social networking technologies "in ways that innovative and business-oriented partners to empower them to be able to develop their businesses independently. Both can serve as an example of success for social networking business model Business-to-Business (B2B).

Amex to develop an open forum where partners can access information from a variety of topics of innovation, management, lifestyle until the technology. At the forum which has 2 million members, the partners can mutually discuss certain topics and take advantage of the exclusive business directories for networking among partners.

On the other hand, it pays to develop a Business Network in which the partners are provided the application and blogs and social networks that developed to facilitate information exchange, sharing and networking.

At the macro level, as reported by the website thenextweb.com, social networking is more widely used by B2B than B2C business model. Why? Because the majority of users of social networking among corporations is the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that in fact run their business with B2B business model.

In contrast to big business (big enterprise) which focus on products and services with B2C business model. SMEs will be more 'agile', 'flexible' and responsive in use.

For its own media, Facebook and Twitter is more suitable for use by B2C companies where success stories and Lionsgate Films OldSpice be interesting to see while Linkedin more widely used by B2B companies.

Regardless of the company's business model, whether B2B or B2C, every company is supposed to know the best social networking platform to be used by them to consider several other factors such as brands, suppliers, buyers, consumers and especially customers.

For those not using, can begin to plan a blueprint for social networking including determining HR and departments or subcontractors who will handle and make social networking guidelines for its employees