Posts Tagged ‘how to manage social media’

psychology of social networks

The Blogger’s Guide To Understanding The Psychology Of Social Networks

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http://www.bloggingwizard.com/psychology-of-social-networks/

Social media is eating the world.

Facebook alone has over 1.5 billion users – nearly 50% of the entire internet’s population.

Throw in LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and region specific social networks like Vkontakte and Sina Weibo and WeChat, and you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who’s online but isn’t on social media.

What has led to the rise of these social networks? What kind of people do they attract?

What is their psychology? What kind of content do they like to consume? And most importantly for bloggers and marketers – what works, what doesn’t on social media?

Facebook has become the ‘home base’ for most people online. While they may or may not use other networks, a majority maintain a presence on Facebook.

  • Popular: Used by 72% of all adult internet users in America.
  • More women users: 77% of online female users are on Facebook.
  • Younger audience: 82% of all online users between 18-29 are on Facebook
  • USA (14%), India (9%) and Brazil (7%) form the three largest markets.

Twitter’s quick flowing ‘info stream’ attracts an audience that swings younger and is mostly urban/semi-urban.

  • Younger: Used by 37% of all online users between 18 and 29.
  • Educated: 54% of users have either graduated college, or have some college experience.
  • Richer: 54% of online adults who make over $50,000+ are on Twitter.

nstagram recently overtook Twitter to become the second largest social network. Pew estimates that 26% of all online adults are on Instagram in the US.

  • More women than men: 29% of all online women are on Instagram, vs. only 22% of all men.
  • Overwhelmingly younger: 53% of all 18-29 year olds are on Instagram.
  • Less educated: Only 24% of Instagram users are college graduates, while 31% have some college experience – fitting since its audience is largely younger.

Google+ is a mysterious beast. It is ubiquitous, yet doesn’t attract nearly a tenth of the attention as Instagram or Facebook. Some marketers swear by it, while others are busy proclaiming its death.

  • More male: 24% of all online men are active users of Google+. For women, this number is 20%.
  • Younger users: 27% of all 16-24 year olds online are active members of Google+. In contrast, only 18% and 14% of 45-54 and 55-64 year olds are active on Google+ at the moment.
  • Large non-US user base: Only 55% of Google+ users are American. 18% are Indian and 6% are Brazilian. One reason for this international user base is Android’s popularity outside the US (since Google+ is baked right into Android).
  • Even income distribution: According to GlobalWebIndex.net, 22% of people in bottom 25% of income earners are on Google+. For the top 25% of income earners, this number is 24%, while for the mid 50% earners, this number is 23%. This means that nearly all levels of income earners are nearly equally represented on Google+.

Pinterest’s visual nature makes it a fantastic marketing tool for B2C businesses. And it’s got the potential to drive a large amount of traffic to your blog if you have a solid strategy.

Here’s what you should know about Pinterest demographics:

  • Overwhelmingly female: 42% of all online female users are on Pinterest, vs. only 13% of men.
  • Older audience: 72% of Pinterest’s audience are 30 years or older. Only 34% are between 18 and 29. Significantly, 17% are over 65 years old.
  • Distinctly suburban: Suburban and rural users form the largest share – 29% and 30% respectively. This is distinctly different from other networks where urban users rule.
  • Higher income: Given the higher average age, Pinterest users also have higher disposable income, with 64% of all adults making $50,000+ on Pinterest.

The professional networking site LinkedIn attracts an older audience that is largely urban, wealthier, and more educated.

  • Older: Only 23% of users are between 18-29 years old. 21% are over 65 years, and 31% are between 30 and 49 years of age.
  • Urban: Very limited number of rural users – only 14%. 61% are either urban or suburban.
  • Wealthier: 75% of users earn over $50,000.
  • Highly educated: 50% of LinkedIn users are college graduates. Another 22% have some college experience.

Snapchat is the newest social networks on this list, but also one of the fastest growing. Here’s what you need to know about its demographics:

  • Dominated by women: 70% of Snapchat’s users are females.
  • Overwhelmingly young: 71% of users are younger than 25.
  • Limited income: 62% earn under $50,000 – fitting given the average age of Snapchat’s users.

ere’s what you should take away from all these stats:

  • If you’re targeting younger users, stick to Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat.
  • If you’re targeting women with disposable income, head over to Pinterest.
  • For professionals with better education and income, use LinkedIn.
  • For everyone, go with Facebook.

The psychology of social media users

Facebook is a ‘closed’ network where your friends list will usually be limited to family, friends and acquaintances you’ve met in real life. Privacy is a big concern for Facebook’s users, and all posts are private by default.

This ultimately affects the way users interact with each other and with businesses on Facebook.

According to a Pew Internet study:

  • Facebook users are more trusting (since the network is closed).
  • Facebook users have more close relationships. Pew found that heavy users of the platform are more likely to have a higher number of close relationships.
  • Facebook users are politically engaged and active.

To understand why people share or follow on Twitter, researchers at Georgia Tech and UMichigan analysed over 500M tweets over 15-months. They found that the three biggest reasons why people share/follow on Twitter are:

  • Network overlap: Your network is similar to your followers’ network.
  • User tweet-RT ratio: The number of tweets vs. the number of RTs for a user.
  • Informational content: The more informative the content, the better.

As per one study, a person’s Pinterest boards represent his/her “ideal self”. That is, it is a representation of everything the user would want to be or have. This is in opposition to Facebook that represents the user’s “real self”.

keep the following in mind:

  • Instead of marketing yourself on every network, pick the network whose demographics matches your target audience’s.
  • Positivity always wins – unless you’re deliberately trying to create controversy (not a good option for most non-media businesses).
  • Rules of content: Informative content on Twitter and LinkedIn, aspirational content on Instagram and Pinterest, fun/positive/uplifting content on Facebook.

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more on social media in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=social+media

snapchat for patrons

Using Snapchat to Reach Library Patrons Workshop

A two-part workshop running 90 minutes each session on Thursday, August 24, 2017 at 2:30pm Eastern/1:30 Central/12:30 Mountain/11:30am Pacific and Thursday, August 31, 2017 at 2:30pm Eastern/1:30 Central/12:30 Mountain/11:30am Pacific

Snapchat is one of the 10 most downloaded apps in the world and a key means of communication for individuals aged 13-34. Emerging quickly onto the social media scene, Snapchat has left many librarians wondering how to incorporate it into their outreach strategy. In this two-part workshop, social media expert Paige Alfonzo responds to this question and teaches you how to successfully leverage Snapchat as a marketing tool—one that can be used for readers’ advisory, promotion, information dissemination, and a variety of other marketing purposes.

In part one, Alfonzo covers the ins and outs of the platform—from teaching you the basics of setting up an account, adding friends, and sending snaps to demonstrating how to annotate snaps, incorporate filters, and use Snapchat Stories and Memories. In part two, Alfonzo delves into the specifics of how to make Snapchat work in libraries by discussing how librarians have successfully used Snapchat to promote their services, then she provides you with an opportunity to participate hands on with Snapchat by sending snaps to each other. The workshop will leave you with useful approaches to get creative with the app and expand your social media strategy.

http://www.alastore.ala.org/detail.aspx?ID=12115&zbrandid=4634&zidType=CH&zid=45997474&zsubscriberId=1026665847&zbdom=http://ala-publishing.informz.net

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more on social media for the library in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=social+media+library

academic institution website

IT #2: 5 ways your college website turns away students (continued)

http://www.ecampusnews.com/it-newsletter/2-college-website-students/

According to the KDG report, prospective students are not only used to reading short bits of information thanks to social media, but many incoming freshman read at a 7th grade level.

“This means your college website must be at the 7th grade level, especially the sections used to attract prospects and to guide them through the application process. No, we’re not kidding,

1. Reading like the New York Times.

2. Requiring Form Fills.

prospective students are often fatigued by long forms that they must complete in order to get the information they need and will quickly leave the website. “Not only will a live chat feature save students time, it can also save your admissions office time answering questions from prospects and applicants

3. Not Understanding What’s Important.

a delicate balance between static and antiquated, and being too interactive. “Don’t get so caught up in the design that there’s a disconnect between what your institution is and marketing gimmicks. You also don’t want super technical, information-filled pages.”

4. Using Fake Images.

images of students posed for the camera won’t do, either. They want to see students, like them, doing the things students do on campus—with exceptions, of course…Candid images, combined with some documentary-style photos from important events on campus, will go a long way toward creating a website that invites visitors to look deeper.
looked at sites like Airbnb.

5. Using Clichéd Statements about Passé Issues

They may read at a 7th grade level, but that doesn’t mean they can’t recognize a cliché.

boasting about unique accomplishments with current relevance for students in a down-to-earth way, such as mentioning a good acceptance rate or a special program for those with learning disabilities. Positive statistics about campus crime rates, successful career counseling efforts or facts about innovative STEM programs are also good talking points.

For more information on the KDG report and blog synopsis, click here.

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more on university web pages in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/2016/03/22/university-web-page/