Why Stay Connected
To stay connected with people we love, admire or simply want to do business with is not as hard as it seems. Thanks to social media we have the ability to communicate through the social web with Just a click of a button. With so much information to share, I believe people use computers everyday for social relationships, functionality, colonization, context and commerce because it provides a user friendly experience that’s inviting and receptive. In today’s society, social networking has become like an operating system where every experience can be social and user friendly.
For most people, the web is a viable tool that is used everyday of the week from the sounding of the alarm clock, until television puts us to sleep. This tool is capable of transporting information through text, audio, video or graphics across the world and can go virtually in an instant to and from anyone with a device and web access. It’s beneficial sharing personalized and accurate content with friends, family or business associates who rely on the web and value staying connected while developing social relationships. When developing social relationships it’s important to stay open and accessible at all times.
Since people can now enjoy connecting with family and friends for free on social sites like Backbone, it allows loved ones from other countries to communicate without incurring expensive phone bills. Sometimes Internet use can cause a decline in face-to face time with families. In the article Successful Farming, A 2009 survey of 2,000 households by the University of Southern Californians Enablers Center for the Digital Future reveals that 28% of Americans admit that they spend less time with members of their household. During the past decade, Merganser survey show that shared family time ranged from 22. 6 to 29. 8 hours per month (Devise, C. 09 pig. 61). These statistics coincides with the explosion of social networks. The article also goes on to mention that Passbooks user base catapulted to 200 million in 2009 from 140 million in 2008. The survey points out that 52% of users say the Internet is “important” or “very important” in sustaining relationships. But how important does the functionality play in business relationships? When considering the sites purpose for users through Functionality, the function of the site must be fulfilled. When a business positions itself to sell products, the site must be able to describe these items along with a summary about the company.
According to the article, Web Site Functionality (Barnes, 2010), it lists three rules of function for companies to have success in selling their products. The first rule is to “be quick and to the point. ” Companies shouldn’t subject their visitors to flash and distracting images on the sales page of the site. The goal here is not to loose your visitor before you sell them. The second rule is “think like a visitor, not like yourself. ” This particular strategy helps the visitor to better understand what you are selling because of how simple it is to read and access the product. Simplicity her is the key.
The third rule is “assist, don’t constrain. ” What this rule is clearly stating is treat your visitors like guess in your house. Show courtesy in the way you respond on your site, if visitors type an invalid quantity field. Instead of saying “Invalid Quantity,” say, “Please enter only whole numbers in Quantity. ” This approach helps the visitors relax and feel comfortable, as they will have a better overall experience on the site. Delta Air Lines is a good example of a company that has taking strides to accommodate their customers without going through the technicalities of booking lights and hectic checking-inn’s.
According to (NYSE: DEAL) Delta was named “Top Tech- Friendly U. S. Airlines” by Popcorn magazine for its airport recharging stations (Technology & Business Journal, 2012). This recognition was based on Delta having in-flight Wi-If on more domestic flights than any other carrier and smartened APS with innovative features including baggage tracking, airport check-in and the ability to book tickets directly from Backbone, while enjoying 24-hour customer service via Twitter. Since customer service is first class for some companies is there a way for there company sites to become more social?
I believe one of the best ways for every page to have a social experience, is through Colonization. Identity technologies like Backbone Connect, Opened, as well as existing identities will soon colonize the web in the near future, making every webbing a social experience even if they don’t want to participate. Using Backbone for example, if you look at majority of television and radio adverts, you are quickly directed to the company’s Backbone address. This call of action is a form of branding, which allows a company to communicate in a timely and informal manner.
This teeth invites feedback and interaction with customers. Many brands are taking advantage of corporate pages like Coca Cola, which is the leading product on Backbone with over 20 million people “liking” its page (Towns, 2011). This style of Colonizing allows companies to inject their personality onto a web page, pushing employee’s to post comments, photographs and videos to promote a company’s personality in a genuine way. A company would not move in the right direction if the context weren’t complete.
This is why content is so important because it personalizes an accurate account of the company’s marketing campaign. Content is the fuel of the social web in that it brings a product launch to life through short films, videos, commercials, and emails by the product developer all-starting with a simple concept. According to the NYSE, Nielsen released results of a new research study revealing online content as a connective tissue for Internet users with 27 million pieces of content shared on a daily basis (NYSE: AOL, 2011).
The results also show that 53% time spent on the Internet is directly attributed to content consumption, and consumer social graphs play a key role in sharing content with email as the primary sharing tool. Nearly one-quarter of all social media messages contain links to content (NYSE: AOL, 2011). In the web search world, one of the most undocumented forms of Content is word- of-mouth. According to the Keller Fay Group’s Talk Track, as much as 90% of word-of- mouth takes place offline (Hawthorne, Chromic, 2012). This form of content is dispersed and sporadic across the Internet.
Many agencies and research companies pull their information from multiple sources, which focus on finding online word-of- mouth and tone in posts to blobs, chat rooms, consumer review sites, social networking sites, and viral videos. Depending on the clientele of a website, the reviews and overall impressions of a product may be marketed differently. So how can word-of-mouth be leveraged through social commerce? When communities define different products and services, you are speaking of Commerce, which is online and already social.
A Nielsen report (2011) highlighted that 90% of consumers trust the opinions of people they know. 70% trust anonymous ratings and reviews posted online, compared to Just 33% who trust online banner ads. Many brands have shied away from social media when asking for the sale. For example, Mobile Web has become a key focus for developers as a recent survey points out that 66% of the developers rate Mobile Web support as a top priority for 2012 (Computers, Networks ; Computers, 2012). The article goes on to say that Bloodmobile’s one-click purchase flow will help developers to accelerate revenue through direct carrier billing.
This offers customers a simple and easy payment flow, which translates directly to higher revenue. Another example of how commerce solutions are becoming easier for consumers is the partnership with Ecocide, Inc. , producer of the worlds first platform-neutral, rope-in store builder widget and website builder Yolk to provide its e-commerce solution to Yolk customers. Yolk is the leading website builder that lets individuals and small businesses create websites with no technical expertise required (Computer Weekly New, 2012).
Yolk’s Online Store package powered by Ecocide allows users to quickly create a store by setting it up in their Yolk dashboard and dropping it into any page of a new and existing site. This all-in-one solution is for customers looking to create a website and start selling online. When you look at the many brands that use social applications, it’s not only in erect support of e-commerce activities, but also its in anticipation that it will deliver on the bottom line at some point in the near future.
Such brands like Dell, who use Twitter for sales promotions, Trapdoors who uses Backbone to funnel sales and Matter, the giant toy store who launched Shop Together which enables people in different locations to see what each other see’s and talks about different products using an onscreen chat window. This social application has generated billions of dollars to major companies who understand the importance of social networking. In conclusion, we now understand better the need to connect and share with people globally and how cost effective and easy it is to stay in touch with friends, family and businesses through the social web.
Social relationships are birthed from social networks, which become operating systems that provide services to customers who are looking for a social experience online. Without a sites purpose being as simple and easy to follow, consumers will be lost in translation. That’s why it is so important for networking sites to create a user-friendly atmosphere that’s inviting and receptive. The reasons why people use the web are simply for the benefits. Without social relationships, functionality, colonization, context and commerce, there will be no desire to stay connected online.
