Social Media Reality Check
With 86% of business people now using social media to help them make business decisions and at least 70% of companies including social media in their marketing mix, it’s safe to say this one time sideshow has gone mainstream. Not surprisingly, more and more companies are entering the fray, some hoping to topple the leaders, others to secure healthy niches. Here’s a quick reality check on a few of the notable newcomers versus their well-entrenched competitors.
Google+ vs. Facebook
This is a wonderful battle of two internet goliaths. Facebook with its abysmal customer service and shifty privacy policy is indeed vulnerable. Social media enthusiasts and techie types are flocking to Google+ in droves with 18 million on board in just three weeks. That said, despite G+’s nifty Circles structure it doesn’t run circles around Facebook quite yet (see Drew’s review). Stay tuned though. If Google connects search results with G+ posts and their + button, all bets are off.
BranchOut vs. LinkedIn
Launched a year ago, BranchOut is a “career networking” application that resides within Facebook. With less than a million users, BranchOut is no immediate threat to freshly IPO’d LinkedIn, which reported 119 million members this July. But don’t dismiss BranchOut out of hand. With Facebook’s universe of 750 million users to tap into, BranchOut may make mixing business with pleasure a pleasure for many, especially recent grads who’ve yet to build up their LinkedIn links.
Slideshare vs. YouTube
SlideShare and YouTube aren’t typically compared since one hosts slideshows and the other a zillion videos viewed by over 125 million each month. But for brands, SlideShare represents a smart alternative, especially for your more educational content. Quietly becoming a PowerPoint powerhouse, SlideShare now attracts over 50 million unique viewers a month in part due to its seamless integration into LinkedIn.
Spotify vs. ITunes Ping
Music sharing social networks, once condemned as royalty-stealing pirates, are reemerging this time in partnership with the music industry. Spotify, the Swedish phenom that has one million paid subscribers in Europe tapping into its 15 million – strong song library, just raised $100 million to launch in the US. Apple iTunes Ping, which launched this May, has a million plus subscribers but none of the buzz that’s greeting Spotify. Here’s an invitation to Spotify if you want to hear for yourself.
As always, let us know what questions you have.