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Businesses told to exploit social media
(The Marin Independent Journal Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Apr. 24--Social network Web sites may be likely places to chat with friends or find that perfect match, but businesses in Marin are finding they provide models for effective networking, marketing and communications.
At a meeting this week, a panel of bloggers provided tips about how to make use of online media that their kids might be using.
Social media, a term that refers to sites such as Myspace.com and Facebook, lets businesses get their brands on the Internet, experts noted.
"The move toward social media is as big a change as Gutenberg and the printing press," said Karl Long, a product manager at Nokia. "Social media is the ability for anyone to publish anything without any cost."
Panelists said the social media sites are changing communications.
"It's many-to-many communications," said Adam Metz, a partner in MIX Inc., where he is a social Web strategist.
The panelists said businesses are beginning to recognize the benefits of having conversations with consumers.
The meeting was sponsored by SofTECH, a Marin-based nonprofit trade organization that was founded in 1994 as the North Bay Software and Information Technology Association. The organization holds monthly networking meetings and provides educational programs to support technology users.
"It's a place for business people to learn how technology can help them," said Mill Valley software company president Mark Ginnebaugh. "There are ways to get more people to view your Web site -- to get more
customers."
Ginnebaugh, the president of SofTECH, said businesses can learn from young people who create their own sites.
"Those very same tools can be used in business," Ginnebaugh said. "The tools are maturing so the business implications of social media can drive more traffic to their Web site."
Social media can be used to create word-of-mouth advocacy for products or services, officials noted.
"What social media has opened everybody's eyes to is that companies have a vehicle to reach people," said Jeremy Toeman, president of Stage Two Consulting.
He said real estate agents, for instance, are using Web sites that include reviews from clients after their homes have been sold.
Moderator William Gaultier, chief executive of E-Storm International, an interactive marketing agency, said even negative comments by consumers can be put to use.
"You can't control anything anymore," Gaultier said. "What you can do is influence."
Contact Nancy Isles Nation via e-mail at nnation@marinij.com
Read more Business and stocks stories at the IJ's Business and stocks page.
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