As an Internet Marketing Consultant and specialist in Social Media, I’m frequently asked a variety of questions related to marketing a business on the web. But the question that I get asked the most often is: “Aren’t social networks just for kids?” or the cousin to that question, “No one who would buy my products/services uses social media – do they?”
These questions stem from the myth that Social Media (blogging, or sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) are used only by “kids” for “goofing off online.” Nothing could be further from the truth! In their 2009 Women and Social Media Study, BlogHer, iVillage and Compass Partners found that:
- There are 109 million women in the U.S. ages 18 – 77
- With Internet penetration at 72.5%, this means that there are 79 million women online, aged 18-77 years
- 42 million of these women participate in some form of social media at least weekly, and the time spent on social media continues to increase
- 48% of the women in the study indicated that they are spending more time online researching purchases in this economy
Now that’s all great information – but it doesn’t answer the central question posed earlier in this post. If you check out the actual study, the real gem is tucked away on the very last page of the report. This is where the results get really interesting!
You might be surprised to learn the percentages, by age group, of the women who participate in social networking online:
- Millennials (aged 18-26): 83%
- Generation X (aged 27-43): 65%
- Boomers (aged 44-62): 41%
- Matures (aged 63-77): 25%
So what’s the bottom line? Social media is far from being “kid stuff” — adoption rates of using social media sites online are growing at a rapid pace.
Are your future customers or clients women between the ages of 18 and 77 years old? Then you need to be using social media in your business! Not sure exactly how you could use social media to grow your business, or unsure about implementing social networking as a marketing strategy? Great news! This year’s eWomenNetwork International Conference and Business Expo is all about technology and using social media – the right way – in your business.
We’re going to go through real case studies that will show you examples of real businesses just like yours who are putting social media to work — you’ll get to see exactly what they are doing, learn about what’s working (and the things they tried that didn’t work so well, so you can avoid making costly and time consuming mistakes).
What better way to get started on the path to social media success than to learn from the experts who are already succeeding – and who want to share their secrets for success with you?
I Hope to see YOU at this year’s Conference!
Caroline
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