The Role Of Social Networking

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Introduction:

In recent years, social networking has exploded as a form of interactive communications. Aided by advances in communication technologies and pricing structures, social networking has been transforming the delivery and structure of information and putting the once capital-intensive role of broadcasting within reach of individuals. Its impact on personal communications and entertainment has been obvious, as has its effects on the businesses directly connected to these industries. Less is known, however, on how traditional SMEs have actively embraced these forms of networking and whether adoption has led to stronger business performance. This study is designed to find if there is a link between the intensity of business use of social networking tools by SMEs and how well these individual businesses are performing—and if so, how strong a link. The timing of this kind of study is right because the extreme swing of the business cycle coincides with the early- to midlevel adoption rates of social networking among SMEs.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) function in a fiercely competitive and ever-changing world. To effectively compete in such an environment, SMEs must equip themselves appropriately to meet any challenges. One of the emerging challenges facing these enterprises is how to appropriately incorporate and harness the mass collaboration that social networks facilitate into their own business strategy.

Social networking as it is seen in the form of Facebook, Ebay, Twitter, YouTube and others has exploded as a form of interactive communication. Aided by advances in technology, social networking has changed the delivery, structure and availability of information, putting the once capital-intensive role of broadcasting within the reach of individuals. This has empowered and transformed individuals around the world from passive recipients of information and products into active creators of content (information and ideas) who are able to collaborate with one another in social networks. For businesses, social networking is already becoming an essential tool for keeping in touch with their suppliers, customers and contacts, recruiting employees, and promoting their profile and brand. In this respect, and as it pertains to business strategies, social networking provides businesses with an opportunity to collaborate and share knowledge with their network, thus creating new adaptive more successful business strategies. Examination of the manners in which companies can take advantage of emerging social networking technologies, as in the case of Li and Bernhoff (2008), suggest that entrepreneurs who make use of social networks are more likely to achieve greater success than those who do not.

Although the general assumption is that a positive correlation exists between the use of social networking tools in the business environment and business success, earlier studies on internet usage showed considerable lags in adoption by SMEs, which infer that the costs/benefits to adoption are connected to considerable economies of scale. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether there is indeed a link between the intensity of use of social networking tools by SMEs and their competitiveness and success. The analysis should be able to identify whether small businesses, individually or in groups, have been able to utilize social networks towards increased levels of growth.

According to an article by 247wallst.com, "Philippines is the Social Networking Capital of the World".

Ten countries top the list with the highest number of Facebook users. Here's the list of the top 10: (1) Philippines, (2) Israel, (3) Turkey, (4) Chile, (5) Argentina, (6) Malaysia, (7) Indonesia, (8) Peru, (9. Colombia, (10) Venezuela

The rankings were based on the following criteria : use of the following social networking sites --  Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and the ratio of the number of internet users vis-a-vis the population of a particular country.

The article also cited the Philippines in particular, for getting the top spot among the 10 countries mentioned. Below is an excerpt from the article:

Social network penetration is incredibly high in the Philippines, reaching 95%.  Facebook is the country’s most popular website, more so than Google, and has a penetration rate of 93.9%.  The Philippines is also the eighth most popular country for Twitter use on a global scale, with a penetration rate of 16.1%.  The popularity of photo sharing has increased by 46% in the country in one year, largely due to Facebook.  Social networking is so popular among Filipinos; the country has been nicknamed "The Social Networking Capital of the World."

Everyday business is becoming harder to hardest due to lot innovation and entrepreneur creating in Philippines. Philippines is a growing country and people are adapting the social life with technology. Technology is controlling the total business environment. Customer support is improving every day in Philippines business.

Today 1/3 of the population is using Internet. Filipinos are already trusting online transaction and deals to purchase online every day. Internet banking is growing significantly. ATM card provider is online transaction ready since few years. Life is becoming a portal of social media. We don’t move without social media. Almost 92% of Filipino internet users are facebook member. Twitting is becoming a need of communication.

Businesses are now moving forward to social media marketing, building facebook likes, twitter followers and so on. 2012 will be evolution of online social media marketing. If you didn’t start with your company or business with social media marketing, I will encourage set it up today, it has big impact to your business in the succeeding few months and year.

I was talking to some entrepreneurs in one business seminar and discover that they are aggressive about social marketing; they have taken all possible action to be part of the growing social economy. So don’t wait for any details of how, why and when better start today.

Change your business to social service business and exist.

Social network site is defined as web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. The nature and nomenclature of these connections may vary from site to sites.

While we use the term "social network site" to describe this phenomenon, the term "social networking sites" also appears in public discourse, and the two terms are often used interchangeably. We chose not to employ the term "networking" for two reasons: emphasis and scope. "Networking" emphasizes relationship initiation, often between strangers. While networking is possible on these sites, it is not the primary practice on many of them, nor is it what differentiates them from other forms of computer-mediated communication (CMC).

What makes social network sites unique is not that they allow individuals to meet strangers, but rather that they enable users to articulate and make visible their social networks. This can result in connections between individuals that would not otherwise be made, but that is often not the goal, and these meetings are frequently between "latent ties" (Haythornthwaite, 2005) who share some offline connection. On many of the large SNSs, participants are not necessarily "networking" or looking to meet new people; instead, they are primarily communicating with people who are already a part of their extended social network. To emphasize this articulated social network as a critical organizing feature of these sites, we label them "social network sites."

While SNSs have implemented a wide variety of technical features, their backbone consists of visible profiles that display an articulated list of Friends1 who are also users of the system. Profiles are unique pages where one can "type oneself into being

What is the importance of social networking? Does your small business really need to become active participants in social networks? We examine the role of social networks in facilitating business growth.

With the Internet now integrated into nearly all aspects of everyday business use, many business owners are recognizing the important role that social networking can play in the world of entrepreneurship.

Social networking can help a business gain contacts, clients, and increased public awareness.

Even entrepreneurs who run small businesses from their homes can take advantage of this resource to set up a global presence.

To make the most of social networking, it's important to fully understand the concept of social networking and how it can be applied in ways that will help you grow your business.

Even before the Internet, social networking existed. In a nutshell, social networking is when a person uses already existing contacts to meet new people as potential social or business links. Such links, in turn, will help expand future connections. Small and local businesses can even do this simply by attending community events or participating in trade shows.

Anything that gets the company name out there, or connects your company to helpful resources, is considered networking. Technology now makes this possible to do online, and not just face-to-face.

One can compare social networking to the concept of the six-degrees of separation. Based on the idea that any two people can be connected through a chain of five or less intermediaries, social networking can occur through social network sites and communities that may not have formed before the Internet. Through these sites, people join, and then invite their established contacts to do the same. Those contacts will likewise invite other individuals.

Social networking sites are created to assist in online networking. These sites are generally communities created to support a common theme. Since the creation of social networking sites such as MySpace, LinkedIn, and Facebook, individuals are given opportunities to meet new people and friends in their own community and across the world.

Businesses can follow this trend. MySpace encourages smaller and medium-sized businesses to set up an online storefront as a way to advertise and promote business activities. By doing so, individuals can become "friends" or "fans" of the profile, and will be updated on current events, specials, and other essential information the business would like to share.

Using the six-degrees of separation concept, a new friend will expose your business to a new set of people who are listed as their respective friends.

It can work as long as you treat online social networking just as you would if you were doing it in person. Be an active member of a community or site. That being said, it is only as valuable as the amount of effort you want to put into it. Just like meeting face-to-face, a first impression is a lasting one. Remember to create a page that reflects the atmosphere of your business.

What issues/problems did you encounter? By evaluating the effectiveness of your site, you can figure out what the next step is (e.g. expand on the site, drop the site, and try a new platform).

Social networking sites have become increasingly popular. Here we examine why small businesses should take advantage of social networking sites to benefit the company.

Many businesses have recently become aware of the need for an online presence to attract new and web-savvy customers.

This is particularly important for businesses that target Generation X and Y, an increasingly influential segment of the market.

Sites such as MySpace and Facebook can be potentially advantageous marketing tools for a local business. MySpace, for example, is a place where a small business -- such as a restaurant or bar -- can create their own profile page.

A few reasons that attest to the benefits of social networking include:

1. It's Free!

On MySpace, you only need a valid e-mail address to become a member and create a profile page. While most traditional advertising and marketing efforts require some sort of funding, an average social networking site requires no annual fees or start-up costs.

2. Simple Set-up

A profile can be created with very little time and effort. For the less Web-savvy individual, most sites provide straightforward instructions and a general template to make page-construction simple.

3. Easy Customization

With online instruction, it is easy to customize a profile page to fit the image of your business. Many sites are dedicated to providing an endless variety of backgrounds and clip art for social networking sites. Such options are accompanied with a code already incorporated into the editing section of the profile page. No extra work is needed on your part.

4. Maintenance is Flexible

After the profile is created, you decide how often you update the content. It doesn't demand constant attention; it only requires as much as you are willing to put into it. Many enthusiastic social networkers enjoy constantly updating the look or information posted on their site. This helps to maintain interest in new information about your business.

5. Conveys Information about the Business

Many sites allow you to post bulletins or blogs for friends (people who have requested to connect with you on your site). This gives businesses a chance to advertise weekly specials, sales, or new products/services. For many, the Web is one of the first places they visit to search for information. Having an online presence helps ensure your business will be one of the first they come across in a search.

6. Buzz Generation

When someone adds a business profile as a "friend," the profile appears in that person's friends list. This means other people will see, and perhaps visit, the profile; thus increasing awareness about the business.

7. Allows for Customer Feedback

Social networking sites serve as an outlet for where a company can really explore possibilities of reaching out to the customer and ask for feedback. Entertainment venues or restaurants may ask connected customers to post pictures and comments about their experiences.

Web Analytics

Good web analytics software will help you track how visitors use your site so you can refine the site to get better results. Simply put, this software analyzes your web server logs and reports on trends within the data -- but there's much more to web analytics than that, as we explain in this article.

You put a lot of time and effort into your company website.

But do you have any idea how effective your website is in connecting your customers with your products and services? If you're like most small business owners, you probably don't. But that could all change with a little tool called web analytics.

The principle behind web analytics is simply that as a business owner, you want to know everything you possibly can about the behavior of people who access your website. Think about this way: A website is a business investment. You wouldn't continue to invest in a stock without monitoring its performance, so why should you blindly pour cash into a website without some way of tracking its effectiveness?

The irony of web analytics is that you'll need to acquire another piece of technology to monitor the technology you already have in place on your website. Although there is a broad range of web analytics solutions on the market, they are all software-based. The more complex the software, the more options you have in dissecting the success of your site. Some of the tools you to look for in a quality web analytics solution include the following:

Site Content Popularity

Even the most basic website is a complex creature because each page represents a different array of content that is presented to the site's visitors. However, not all pages are created equal. Visitors will linger on some pages and ignore other pages altogether. A web analytics package that knows the difference is worth its weight in gold because it tells you what catches your customers eyes and where to focus your efforts.

Click Density

Click density analysis is similar to site content popularity analysis except for the fact that click density lets you view site popularity in segmented clusters. For example, with click density analysis you could compare the areas of the site visited by people who actually purchase your products to the areas visited by people who don't. Armed with this information, you should be able to modify the non-producing areas to reflect the areas frequented by paying customers.

Bounce Rate

The bounce rate of your site is determined by the percentage of visitors who stay on your site for 10 seconds or less. A low bounce rate probably indicates that you've done something right - your website attracts and retains visitors' attention. However, a high bounce rate usually indicates that your site design has fallen short of its purpose and it's time to go back to the drawing board. If you are heavily invested in your site a high bounce rate can be demoralizing, but even so it's information you can't afford to live without.

Referring URLs

It's not enough to know what visitors do once they have accessed your website. You also need to know how they got there in the first place. Many web analytics solutions give you the ability to view the URLs from which visitors found, which in turn gives you the ability to nurture partnerships with other sites or even seek out new partnerships based on the types of URLs that are productive.

Social marketing isn't the next big thing. It's BIG now.

Blogs, Twitter, RSS, Facebook, FriendFeed...it's enough to make your head spin. But those businesses that invest in and excel in Social Marketing Optimization (SMO) will reap big rewards as folks turn to their trusted communities for buying recommendations.

If you are new to social networking and social marketing, these articles will get you started. For you wizards, we've got a few advanced tips that you'll find useful.

In this fast changing environment, technology has made various innovations to make things simple and easy to do. They have played a major role to support people, especially businessmen, towards doing from their simplest down to the most complicated business transaction which they do in their day- to day living.

When we talk about technology and business, one major idea which comes into our mind is the use of social networking sites to explore wider horizons brought about by our chosen fields of endeavor. What we have in this article are 5 roles of networking sites (Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and others) towards having a profitable business.

1. Advertising – Social networking sites by nature provide an online space for you to showcase your products. These sites provide folders or albums where you could advertise what you want your costumers to know. If your business for example has something to do with freelance photography jobs, these sites could be a perfect avenue for a cheap online brochure where you could showcase photo samples or designs together with their prices or description so everyone would have the chance to be exposed to what you could offer them.

2. Socializing – Establishing a good rapport with the society builds your credibility as a businessman. This task can also be provided by famous and reliable networking sites primarily because several people sign-up for an account in to meet someone ,who in some ways, share the same line of interest with them so as to establish good partnership.

3. Sharing and Mentoring – Whether you are a newbie or an expert into your business, the social media can provide opportunities for you to either enhance or share your skills towards everything that has something to do with your line of proficiency. A perfect example would be to post tip or inquiry about your business and encouraging other members to comment regarding your post. From their ideas and reactions, you could pick something worthwhile which could possibly help you towards improving your chosen career.

4. Outsourcing – If for example your business is somewhat service related such as picture taking services for special events, social media sites can once again work for your outsourcing services. There are sites that enable other members to post inquires or opportunities that your line of business could accommodate. Once you find wall posts with this kind of nature, you could send a message to the member and verify the reliability of your target client before offering your service.

5. Saving – This job is basically the best role that social networking sites would offer. Since we live in a technologically advanced world, these social networking websites enable you to save time to transact and move from one place to another just to do the first four tasks that were previously mentioned. Apart from that, they also help you save money as there are several sites that could help you create, advertise and establish your reliability as a business owner without spending money.

All these 5 roles are some of the many advantages of using networking sites to promote your business. Thus, if you are a business owner or you are thinking of starting a new one, try not to be technologically left by starting to make your own social networking account and building up your community today.

How Viral Marketing Can Be Good for Business

Looking for a new way to market online? Creating a buzz on the Internet is easier than you think. All it takes is a little bit of viral marketing.

Viral marketing does exactly what it sounds like.

The Internet opened up a whole new marketing world as a way to reach potential customers. "Viral marketing" is used as a way to describe the technique of creating buzz and awareness online in alternative ways.

What exactly is it?

Just like a virus that infects and spreads rapidly, so does this clever marketing tool.

Much like "buzz marketing," viral marketing feeds off a particular message the company sends out along with the help of the Internet. One person will view the marketing message and hopefully be affected by it. That person will then go on to pass this message to several people, who will be just as affected by it. They, too, will do the same as the first person; thus quickly sharing one common message with very little effort done from the marketer who created it.

This message may be in the form of a video, Web site, picture, blog, countdown, etcetera. Web sites such as YouTube and MySpace have been popular ways to put out viral marketing efforts. Not only are these sites heavily visited on a daily basis, providing maximum viewing potential, but both also make the message easy to view and share with a few clicks of the mouse.

The key is to produce something unexpected, shocking, or intriguing that will stir up enough of an emotion to persuade the viewer to share this feeling with others. To share the message, they may talk about, e-mail, or embed it into a personal Web site or profile.

Does Viral Marketing Work?

As negative as the word "viral" sounds, viral marketing can be a positive step for many companies. Word-of-mouth is by far one of the strongest tools a company has to promote a product. One of the biggest advantages is how inexpensive it can prove. Buzz can easily be created with little cost to the company, as long as there is a strong conveyed emotion and message.

To facilitate buzz, it is important to make the message easily viewable; whether that means making sure it can easily be embedded into a site or e-mail, or has a Web address that is simple to remember. People will want to see it "right now," and the company needs to cater to the urgency. The message will not be as effective if the newsworthy information is difficult to access.

You have to expect to receive some negative feedback on any viral campaign, however. There will be a portion of your audience that does not like what they see or hear. Don't be surprised or upset; remember that means they're still out talking about it. Be sure to note any criticisms that are repeated, as it gives insight into what to do, and not to do, for the next campaign.

If your campaign produced positive results, don't stop there. People will want to see more and are excited to see what the company will create next. Make sure not to disappoint!

Importance of Business Networking for Entrepreneurs

Business networking is an art form. As an entrepreneur, you'd do well to master that art, and we've got some great networking tips for you to get you started.

"Hi, Hello, How are you?"- For Annette Thompson, it took only a few seconds to start a conversation with almost anyone she came across.

These conversations would usually end with the exchange of business cards or phone numbers. Soon, when Annette started her own boutique, most of her first customers included the people whom she had befriended on her numerous encounters.

This is a very simple example of what is known in today's business world as business networking.

Networking is all about making connections with people so as to build enduring and mutually beneficial relationships.

Advantages of Business Networking

Be it for social or business purposes, networking has its own advantages:

It ensures you meet the right people to include in your network so that you expand your sphere of influence.

You can promote your products and services on a very personal level. Such relationships enable you to stand out and rise above the ruckus created by advertisements, emails and random sales pitches. It adds more trust and credibility to what you have to offer.

Most importantly, it helps you to tap into a wider business group where you can share business ideas and opportunities. Who knows, you may end up meeting prospective leads, clients, efficient employees or even a mentor or business partner.

How to Network in Business

There are different ways to start networking -- the easiest of them being to join some network clubs and sites.

Some of the notable sites for business networking include LinkedIn, Ryze, MySpace, and WisdomBuilder.

There are many physical clubs as well, like ecademy and The Business Network Club, which provide opportunities for business professionals to get together and share their knowledge and experiences.

Whatever your mode of networking, keep in mind that the key to building a powerful personal network is diversity.

Do not restrict yourself to networks exclusively for people from similar backgrounds or in a similar line of business. Widen your network as much as possible because you never know who knows who.

Also keep in touch with the members in your network constantly, and not just when you need help. Ultimately, remember that it is not about whom you know, but who knows you, that make the difference.

Literature review

The argument that social networks are a factor that can beneficially influence entrepreneurial success has been given considerable attention in the literature. For instance, Brudel and Preisendorfer (1998) suggest that large personal social networks stimulate the entrepreneurial success of its participants by providing access to more reliable and exclusive information. Further, a diverse network gives access to a diversity of customers and suppliers as friends and acquaintances help to spread the information through their own personal networks.

This argument is echoed by Dubini and Aldrich (1991), who propose that entrepreneurs can increase their span of action through diverse personal networks and acquire support and resources that would be otherwise unavailable. Li and Bernhoff (2008) consider the importance of online social networks in their analysis. According to their argument, changes in online behaviour have created a social trend in which people are using technologies to get the things they need from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations. They refer to this social trend as the ‘Groundswell’. In this respect the ‘Groundswell’ has changed the balance of power in such a way that individuals are now shaping the economy by increasingly relying on themselves to produce, market, and distribute products just like traditional corporations did in the past. Furthermore, this argument suggests that this ‘Groundswell’ is an unstoppable trend which threatens the success of those businesses which do not incorporate it as a part of their business strategy.

To better take advantage of the social networks, Li and Bernhoff (2008) created a social network profile (Techno graphics profile) which allows businesses to classify individuals based on the Groundswell activities in which they participate. This profile enables businesses to better understand how social technologies are being adopted by any group of people. With such information businesses can then examine and create targeted strategies based on the tendencies of individuals within the ‘Groundswell’. The profile classifies individuals in a hierarchical arrangement according to their involvement in social networks.

This hierarchy begins with creators at the top followed by critics, collectors, joiners, spectators, and inactive. Creators are individuals who at least once a month publish a blog or article online, maintain a webpage, or upload videos audio to sites. Critics react to online content by posting ratings, reviews and comments on blogs or online forums. Collectors are those who organize the content crated by creators and critics by collecting and aggregating information. Joiners participate in or maintain profiles on social networking sites. Spectators consume what all other produce – blogs, online videos, podcasts, forums and reviews.

For performing entrepreneurial activities, entrepreneurs need information, capital, skills and labour. While the entrepreneurs hold some of these resources on their own, by using their contacts they often complement other resources (Aldirich & Zimmr, 1986: Aldrich et.al., 1991; Cooper, Folta, & Woo, 1995; Hansen, 1995). The contacts that lead to successful outcomes are their social capital and it is one of the key determinants of entrepreneurial networks (Burt, 1992). According to Burt (1992), when the entrepreneurs contacts contribute to their entrepreneurial goals these social contacts become their social capital. The contacts are often informal, work and non-work connections. These relations may extend across professional networks reaching friends, colleagues etc. According to Grave and Salaff (2003), networks have several useful properties for entrepreneurs. The first useful property is the size of the network. Entrepreneurs can enlarge the size of the networks to get important information as well as the resources that may help improve their business in the future. The next is positioning. Entrepreneurs position themselves within a social network to identify the knowledgeable others, so that they may gain some potential input for their business (Blau, 1977; Burt, 1992; Granovetter, 1973). Finally is relationship structure. Social contacts may be created by different types of relations or interactions. In single stranded relations, one person performs single activity with the entrepreneur. Multiplex ties, in contrast, have several layers of relationships (Scott, 1991). They may play numerous roles in the entrepreneur’s support group. Researchers are more inclined to know about the multiplex ties of the entrepreneurs. Burt (1992) and Hansen (2001) noted that social network members can contact and organize themselves, expanding the opportunities they make available to the entrepreneur.

Wilken (1979) first identified the concept of entrepreneurial phases in association entrepreneurial activities. He identified three phases in the establishment of enterprises. First is the motivational phase. In this phase entrepreneurs discuss the initial ideas and develop their business concept. Second is the planning phase. In this phase, entrepreneurs prepare to set up a firm. Getting necessary knowledge and resources in this phase entails quite diverse activities (Carter, Gartner & Reynolds, 1996; Zhao & Aram, 1995). Third is the establishment phase. In this phase, entrepreneurs establish and run a firm, they focus more narrowly on daily activities, or exchange and on problem solving.

Finally, inactive are simply nonparticipants. Despite the aforementioned arguments, other studies indicate that there might not be a link between social networks and business success. A notable example is presented by a survey commissioned by Citibank and which was conducted by GfK Roper (Whitney, 2009). The findings, based on interview of 500 executives running businesses with fewer than 100 employees, show that 86 per cent of executives questioned have not used social-networking sites to pursue business advice or information. Further, 79 per cent of executives found social networking sites to be of little help in finding new business leads. These small businesses reported using tools other than social networking to promote and grow their business including reliance on their own website to generate leads, e-mail marketing, and online advertising. In their analysis Citibank executives argue that this survey suggests that small business owners are still feeling their way into social media as a means to grow their business, and that such businesses may also not have the necessary manpower or time required to take advantage of social media. An important caveat to the arguments that social networks improve business success is that the beneficial effect that social networks may provide can only be gained by companies that have the sufficient flexibility and capacity to absorb the information into their own business constructs (Cohen and Levianthal, 1990).

Therefore factors such as available resources, education, entrepreneurial experience, and social competencies determine how much benefit an entrepreneur can derive from existing network ties. Further, the entrepreneurs’ opportunity for success is also dependent on the characteristics of their personal social network. In this respect, factors such as size, network density, strength of ties, and network redundancy determine the potential of a personal network to provide resources to entrepreneurs (Aldrich and Zimmer, 1986).

Research question

The analysis should be able to identify whether small and new business entrepreneur, in whole or in groups, have been able to lever social networks to increased chances of survival or higher levels of growth. Society seems to presume the positive connection, but earlier studies on internet usage showed considerable lags in adoption by SMEs, which inferred that the costs/benefits to adoption were connected to considerable economies of scale.

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