The impact of social media on our society today is simply staggering. It's stunning to think about the sweeping changes that social media platforms have created for human connections at all levels, including educational systems, political activities, charitable organizations and businesses. And, certainly, Facebook has defined the promise and the vision of social media platforms.
There is no other social media brand today that has the enormous global reach combined with the personal intimacy and immediate engagement of Facebook. Today there are 800 million people on Facebook and of those, 350 million people connect to Facebook on mobile devices.
Today and every day, 500 million users log-in to Facebook and create 100 million "likes" on Facebook pages. In fact, on a daily basis, there are 2 billions posts liked and commented on with another 250 million photos uploaded. This is a living map of human connections never seen before.
So, the question facing businesses today is how to best build these kind of essential connections between a business and its brand advocates, influencers, current customers and prospective customers. How does a business build the kind of trusted connections that Facebook creates between friends? How can a business spark conversation, inspire sharing and nurture an engaging experiencing to drive business results?
This is social experiment that is based on some fundamental human principles, fueled by stunning technological advances. Technology is bringing us closer by transforming how we connect to each other. Now, we can easily share our lives with people all around the world. Facebook allows us to connect to our friends, our family, and to the things we care about the most. We "like" those things that are essential to our lives. And, we share those essential ideas, events, services, products and people with our friends. That's where businesses come in - incenting people to connect to your business by becoming a fan.
People will connect to businesses that they support and brands that they relate to and that represent their ideals. And, by simply connecting to these businesses, people are sharing their support of these brands with their friends. So, now, businesses can connect to their customers' friends - and, reach more people who are likely to listen. Some of these new prospects engage and become new customers.
And, this is a basic human principle at work - people have always relied on their friends to guide their decisions and to discover new ideas, including what to buy, where to go, who to meet. And, by allowing your brand advocates, champions and influencers to connect your business to their friends - its more meaningful and believable.
Think about this: when someone hears about a business from their friend, they are twice as likely to engage, and four times more likely to purchase. And, as we know from the research in word of mouth marketing, it's always better for other people to promote your products and services than for you to!
So, when you think about how to leverage the power of social media, and specifically Facebook, think about how your business will be better in a connected world. How does your business have an opportunity to directly connect to your fans and engage them in conversation? How can you leverage the wisdom of friends?
Part of the answer is real connections and authentic conversations. And, I'll be talking about that in the next blog!