An Interesting Social Media Question
Recently a colleague and friend posed this question to me:
"Jason, how important do you think it is for my company to be on Face book or something like it? I do not currently have a personal account and really don't want to do that. What do you think?"
My response to him:
"Hey (Mr. P), That's a loaded question but I am glad an asked it. My initial answer would be a question back to you; what goals do you have for your company? Based on that answer would determine my response. But here is a little food for thought on why it may be good to utilize these tools...
Currently there are 300 million register users on facebook, of that 300MM approx 103MM are in the US and of that 103MM approx 59MM are between the ages of 18 - 54. The reason why these numbers are so important is because Gen Y (ages 18 - 32) are 80MM strong in the US and they are the fastest growing demographic in the workforce. This group will most likely be your target audience because they are working, advancing their careers, purchasing homes and would most likely utilize your services if you were properly positioned and leveraged how they like to be marketed to. The older segment probably have a water purification system already so I would guess you would want to target those with expendable income just entering their new home or having that home for less than 2 yrs.
This Gen Y category does business on their cell phones, iPads etc. and tools like Facebook and Twitter connects with them on their terms utilizing the media they are accustomed to. Companies like yours leverage the Social Media by just offering expert advise and giving insights in the industry. When they begin to connect with you and ask questions, all of your fans and friends are privy to your response and dialogue with individuals AND all of their fans and friends have access as well, so people you aren't even connected with can potentially do business with you because you are a friend of a friend with great advise, insight and are revered as a resource in your industry. Now think about this...that's what we do in BNI but on Facebook and Twitter it happens a lot quicker and has the potential to become viral.
I hope this helps, please let me know your thoughts."
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I will let you know his response soon. On a common note I had an opportunity to speak to a group of businessmen at The Exchange at Fellowship of The Woodlands today. We had a great time and the information shared regarding Gen Y was very insightful for them. My partner Stan video taped it so we will do a little bit of editing and then we will post it as well.
I look forward to hearing your comments and insights on Marketing to Gen Y.
