Its all about networking and keeping in touch!

Gone are the days were businesses rely on expensive press releases and carefully crafted Ad campaigns to convince consumers to buy their products. Consumers today demand honesty and personal service. Companies are now having to come up with new and more imaginative ways of advertising their products.

One effective and fast growing method of reaching is that old chestnut - "Social Media". That is, by means of Twitter, facebook and myspace. It’s more about engaging the user, offering personal service and gaining the consumers trust, than it is about selling a product and as a result people feel more comfortable about doing business with companies who recognise this. In this day and digital age, companies can no longer use fluffiness or flashiness, people are less likely to be convinced by genuineness and if the product doesn’t live up the hype it is easy for consumers to set up blogs and destroy the reputation of a company .....virtually... its business suicide!

People have a lot more say and will be heard, however social media has been a very successful advertising tool and some companies have embraced this new digital movement.

Jeff Swartz, who is the President and CEO of the Timberland Company, is a great example of this. Swartz uses his Twitter account to show his personality by tweeting about his life and the social issues he is passionate about, rather than the shoes his company makes. He also links from his Twitter bio to Timberland ">http://www.blippr.com/apps/505270-timberland> ’s Earthkeeper project that supports environmental awareness, rather than to the company homepage, in an effort to make a connection with people around something that goes beyond just the products Timberland sells.

Courtesy of http://mashable.com/2009/09/22/social-media-business/ written by Soren Gordhamer

Communication, personality and transparency is fast becoming more important, businesses have a real danger of losing their customers to competitors who embrace the open lines of communication and build personal relationships. Companies such as Dell have opened multiple lines of communication, having a customer care line is no longer enough! They have made best of the social media phenomena, enabling people to contact them through facebook, twitter, flickr and you tube, forums blog and email. Dell want people to be able to contact in which ever form feels comfortable to the customer..........Companies take note!!!

This draws down to understanding the target demographic as much as it does means of delivery. Who doesn't have access to the online world, an email account and increasingly - a facebook or Twitter account these days? You can almost be certain that those who are happy to throw they're hard earned cash around on new goods and services - have already done so with a laptop, high speed broadband and an IPhone that lets them tweet whilst eating lunch in the park ...

Technology is moving fast, and perhaps social media will pass us by at the speed of light, the clever ones however, will jump on this opportunity while it's all around us. Major corporations, agencies and studios are making it a priority to learn as much as they can about the strategic use of social media for business practices and enhanced communication. Individuals and businesses alike are using forms of social media to promote not only themselves, but they're products and services.

Apprehension surrounding the release of information, and the risk around mass exposure is certainly a major draw back from many channels of media, though with the correct research and a bit of tweaking, privacy settings, user information and access restrictions can enhance a desired communication focus.

Don't be left in the wake of this fabulous resource, fast track your understanding of Social Media and make an informed choice about how you or your business may reap it's benefits!