Anthony Bonomi, Amber Heeg, Elizabeth Newton, Bianca Robinson & Marzi Shabani

Social Network  A website where one connects with those sharing personal or professional interests, place of origin, education at a particular school, etcetera  Any website designed to allow multiple users to publish content themselves

Content  Sites typically allow users to create a profile describing themselves and to exchange public or private messages  Content may be on any subject and may be for consumption by (potential) friends, mates, clients, customers, employers, or employees  Content may include text, images, video or any other media

The Beginning  Began as a generalized community to bring people together in order for them to interact with one another through chat rooms  Users were able to share personal information through their personal webpages that they created.  “User profiles” came about in the 1990’s  2002 Friendster became the start of the new trend of social networking. A year later Myspace and LinkedIn came about, followed by Yelp and Facebook, which is now the largest social network site in the world, in 2004, and lastly Twitter in 2006.

Popular Sites  Facebook: 500 million users. It is the largest social network. Users can “friend,” become a “fan” of, or “like” different profiles. Allows individuals and businesses to create pages with user-driven content. Text, pictures, video, messages are all part of the user interface.

Popular Sites  Twitter: Allows for short “tweets” of 140 characters or less. Users can “follow” friends, businesses, and even celebrities.  Foursquare: Allows users to check-in to different locations. Allows friends to view where you are at. Allows businesses to post deals. This is a newer network and its business applications are just beginning to be tapped.

Popular Sites  Yelp: Allows users to rate local and national businesses. Users can also search and find businesses by city, type, and rankings. The reviews of restaurants and shops are helpful and show up near the top in most searches, including google and yahoo.

Businesses & Social Networking : A match made in heaven  Businesses are just beginning to realize the value of social networks for reaching new and returning customers  Businesses must stay on top of new social networking trends and technologies to stay current and competitive

Business strategies Goals :  Create a cost effective and intriguing advertisement  Increase their profitability  Increase the number of their ads followers/fans  Capitalize on marketing opportunities

How to Gain Prominence  Create a presence for their company on the website  Build relationships with potential new clients or customers  Helps build credibility and trust in the eyes of their customers  Target users who show interests relating to the company’s products or services  More than 500 million users on Facebook = 500 million potential customers

Ways to Improve Sales  Customer can rate and leave feedback for each company—companies can adjust their approach based on these reviews  Ability to track how company is performing  Can target ideal consumers  Update profile, fan pages and advertisements regularly  Offer exclusive promotions and deals to followers/users

Marketing Opportunities  Cost-effective ad campaigns  Ability to reach friends of current customers  Ability to send instant updates  Reach out to financial professionals and high net worth investors  MySpace and Facebook make up 72% of the online advertising market  Generate word-of- mouse hype

Invasion of User Privacy  Information is stored and kept in cookies for an infinite amount of time  Pictures and information posted by users are released to businesses  Advertisers use the information provided to profile potential customers  GPS-related data

No Spam and Malware Prevention  Access to the computer system without the owner's informed consent  In 2009, 50% of companies advertising on sites received spam through a social networking site, and 36%were hit by malware.  Growing population of users decreases the effectiveness of spam filters

Security Risks Which social networking website do you think poses the most significant security risks?

Success  Maximizing for business use include using all available resources  Coca-Cola and Chargers  Facebook over all best interaction with consumers  Using multiple sites is key due to many consumers not using every site  Cost effective in its own way but is time consuming

Conclusion  Social networks and businesses are a mutually beneficial relationship  As the technology makes the world smaller and information becomes faster and more accessible it will be important for businesses to evolve with it or be left behind

Something to Consider…  The way we connect to each other and the world is changing. Social networks are now part of our daily lives. The way businesses do business and connect to customers is changing too. Where will the future lead?  What will the world be like in 2020?