We’re always on the lookout for trends that appear online, and our social media experts have started noticing a buzz developing around branded social media sites. We’re not talking about branded social media profiles or Facebook apps, but entire social media networks built around one brand.
Not surprisingly, yesterday’s 5.9-magnitude earthquake along the East Coast of the USA sparked a fury of Tweets from those who were caught in the tremors. What got our attention, though, is the fact that people north of the quake’s epicentre were reading about it up to 30 seconds before the earthquake hit their area.
(Animated map illustrating 12 minutes of tweets during earthquake. Green dots = earthquake related tweets, grey dots = other tweets)*
Amid the millions of tweets bouncing around Twitter this weekend, two important “events” were happening that help define the influence and future of the social network.
Friday marked the launch of Greenpeace’s 24-hour Twitter demonstration for the phase out of nuclear energy in Germany. Using the hashtag #erneuerbar, people were asked to tweet their support for the cause. Nearly 9,500 tweets were sent throughout the demo, suggesting the protest was a popular online event. The participation was most likely well-beyond 10,000 as many Twitter users could have followed the demo without writing anything. Greenpeace also set up a virtual headquarters though a designated website where visitors could get a visual image of the protest. Illustrated figures marched across the screen, each with a face made from a participating Twitter user’s profile picture. Various real-time tweets were displayed as the figures marched along the page.
The marketing industry is often viewed as a complex realm full of statistics, high profile campaigns and slick account executives. Solutions seem to appear through formulas that only those with specialised expertise can understand. For those who do not live in the “Mad Men” style world, marketing can seem a bit daunting, putting us at a loss for what to do and where to start. Many small business owners make the mistake that there is nothing they can do to elevate their company profile and strengthen their brand.
When it comes to socialising with friends we are more commonly catching up on our friends whereabouts using online social networks. An article in NMA this month discusses some interesting findings, according to a survey conducted in November by Keynote, just under a quarter of adults use networking sites. Research suggests that growing social networks spending will reach approximately £1.1bn in 2008.
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