Social media and Audience part 3
I’ve discussed social networking sites by niches and also the big three social networking sites that most people in the U.S. know about, but there’s one other type of audience to consider, which is a very important one for many businesses: An international audience. Now while it’s fair to say that Linkedin and Twitter have an international audience, the same can’t be said for Facebook. And it’s unwise to assume that just because a social networking site has an international audience that you’ll reach the people you want to reach.
There are some social networking sites that have developed geographically, so if you want to connect with people in other parts of the world, it can be useful to get on those social networking sites.
Ecademy is a social networking site, with a large population of Europeans. Bebo is another one that caters mostly to Europeans. Orkut is a social networking site that is popular in South America. And there are many other social networking sites that are popular in specific parts of the world.
It is useful to know abut geographic specific social networking sites if you want to do business internationally and feel that using social media will get you in front of the audience you want to do business with. You also need to keep in mind that certain cultural norms will be different, dependent on the culture, and this could effect your social media interactions. It would be a good idea to join one of those sites and spend time watching how people interact, to get a feel for what might be expected of you.
It should be clear that audience is not a simple matter with social media. There are cultural and geographical aspects to consider, the purpose and layout of a social networking site, and why other people are on there. In the next few posts, I’ll also look at audience in terms of other social media platforms, such as blogging, radio, and video.
Categories: Business reputation, influence, Social Media
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Been kind-of enjoying your insights on this, but I do have a little clarification on "geography" for you that might be helpful.
Orkut's popularity in South America is pretty much confined to just Brazil. So much so, that many users in the English-speaking world felt a little like Brazilians kind-of "ran us out of town." Since then, Google has actually moved the entire base of operations of Orkut to a data center in Brazil. Speaking Portuguese is almost a requirement.
All that said, there's an interesting trend on Orkut as of late: Indians have started to migrate in. Latest traffic numbers imply that if the growth continues, India will represent the largest userbase on Orkut in another year. Unlike Brazilians, they are doing a lot of their communication in English (and surprisingly other European languages as well.. French is not uncommon) in addition to Hindi.
But the message is the same: know your market, and find what social networking sites they use.. and how they use it.
Thanks for that clarification. I appreciate it, as I'm sure the other readers will.
Social media has really been powerful. There are many people who have been using it, might be a celebrity, a businessman a politician or even an ordinary person. It has already made a mark on every individual.
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