When it comes to Advertising in traditional media, the advertisers tend to focus on how to reach the masses at large. However when one looks at the Social Media and plans to design advertising, it becomes important to understand some of the basic differences that make Social Media different from the traditional media.

In the traditional media, the advertisements are largely interruptive. People are used to the commercial breaks and the interruptive advertisements amidst the shows. However when it concerns the social media, the major difference to be noted is that the audience does not appreciate interruptive advertising.

In fact the audiences on the internet have several options of being able to install filters, block senders, use pop up blockers and soft wares that block the advertisements on the browser. What does this mean to the advertisers and marketers. This means that the way to reach out and connect with the internet community has got to be different.

Secondly it also means that the audience does not appreciate being spoken to without permission. There is also the real possibility that in near future one would need to seek similar permission from the prospective customers even to contact them on telephone or through other means of communication.

Therefore it is time for the marketers to sense the changes and anticipate the changing trends that are to come in the near future. As the controls lie with the participants in the social media web, the advertisers and marketers would need to ask for permission to communicate with each prospective audience.

More importantly to be able to participate in the social networks and discussions, one would need to be invited. The marketer or the advertiser does not control the participation or the discussion on the social media.

Participating or absenting from the Social media and networks is not something that can be easily decided by the Marketer.

If the audience is talking about the products or services that the marketer is interested in providing, he has not option but to be present and participate in the online discussions. On the other hand, ignoring and absenting from the online communities can send wrong signals and promote negative sentiments amongst the community.

Building Online Reputation

Understanding the above would help the markers redraw their strategies of using social media for their marketing efforts and build their online reputation. The fact that the audience or the participants control the conversation on the social web also means that the way they perceive your advertising effort would in turn make or break your online reputation.

It does not matter how long you have been in business or your position in the market, in the online world, it is your interactions with the community and their perception that determines your reputation.

Building your online reputation is not simple and cannot be done overnight. It has got to be built with sustained and planned online activity and participation as well as with the clear understanding of the participant communities’ characteristics as well as the trends. Measuring and studying the social media and the communities that are your captive audience helps design an effective strategy for building online reputation.

Social Media marketing agencies offer tailor made as well as custom designed metrics that provide the markets with detailed feedback on the traffic, page views, the dwell in times etc.

Several qualitative measures are also able to provide valuable clue on the content, the reviews, the moods and sentiments of the participants. All these feedbacks enable the advertisers to come up with accurate plan to build sustainable online reputation.

The feedbacks are critical to manage, grow as well as change or tweak the online reputation and manage the trends over a period of time.

It is important for us to remember that Social Networks are essentially different from traditional media channels. While traditional media channels are purely one way communication channels where the viewers have no choice, the Social Networks on the other hand provide for consumer participation, active discussion and thus promotes the building of the reputation of the brand.

Social Networks thrive on connections with others, discussions as well as conversations about experiences of the people and provide platform for expression of opinions and reviews. This process of how the reputation and opinions are formed on the Social networks holds the key to building a successful brand promotional strategy on the social web.

While the bigger brands and proven brands may be present in the same platform, there is sufficient scope for a new emerging brand to make its mark and create a buzz amongst the viewers, which then is likely to spread across the networks and thus help grow the brand reputation. Understanding of the communication process and human psychology would help in positioning a product or brand in the social web.

One of the major noticeable characteristics of the Social Networks is that people often make their comments and give opinions based on their experiences. The normal conversation tends to be centered about what one did or experienced.

For example, if the topic of the conversation happens to be the Wimbledon matches, it is quite likely that people who have been travelling to the place are likely to talk about the weather as well as the hotels. They are likely to provide real and authentic feedback about their stay.

When the hotel becomes the topic of conversation, the others would also join in and share their experiences as well as comments thus forming a collective opinion. If the particular hotel were to be present and contributing to the conversation, it is likely that they can help influence the discussion and help gain good brand publicity or reputation.

The fact that the hotel is present and is able to participate officially lends credibility and the participants will accept whatever is presented by the Hotel as authentic and official. Thus the interaction between the participants and the hotel can help build loyalty and a good reputation amongst the community. Further on, the same sentiments are likely to get dispersed to other communities as well.

When Companies wish to introduce a new brand into the market. Social network provides the right platform for launching the same.

In fact Companies are known to engage with consumers over social networks for a long time before the planned launch and build an online community around the same. Thus they are able to present their plan, understand and evaluate the reactions of the consumers which gives them a huge insight into the psyche of the market and understand the consumers better.

If used intelligently such online communities that have been created around the specific brand can be used as a launch vehicle which will help the marketing and advertising immensely during the actual launch.

It is true that you do not have an option but to take part and interact with your customers through those Social Media Channels where they are present. However the medium consists of a whole lot of platforms and channels that can be classified under Social Networks, Social Content and Social Interaction channels.

To build an effective marketing communication strategy you would need to be present not in any one but in multiple channels depending upon the presence of your customers.

Blogging happens to be one of the easiest and simplest methods of establishing rapport with your prospective and existing customer base. Blogging includes several categories including personal blogs, Company Blogs, Micro blogging, Photo/Video Sharing and Podcasts.

Blogging – Two Way Communication

Blogging provides one of the easiest, fastest and direct ways of interacting with your audience. By creating and writing your blog, you are able to tell your customers and audience the things that you wish to tell about yourself, your product or service and your company and invite them to share their opinions and feedback etc.

Blogging is an initiative from your end and you can choose the amount of time and attention you wish to pay to your blog and build social interactions. Blogging gives you a chance to elicit fair and frank discussion and opinions from the audience and community that is definitely interested in you and your product.

Blogging is not only about you talking about yourself and your product. You will get to listen and understand all about your customers too.

Blogging also provides you with the opportunity to listen to your customers, to understand their expectations, their experiences as well as their feelings etc which can give you substantial insight into your own business or product and the way forward in your business. You can manage to cultivate a very close relationship with those who are able to provide you with honest feedback and build a loyal base too.

Blogging is not Advertising

The concept of blogging works different when compared to the other mediums that you use for advertising. In blogging, you are marketing to the customers but not through direct advertisements and one sided messages, but more importantly by listening to your audience, building a relationship with them, taking their feedback and trying to improve your product offering and services.

You can use this medium to enhance the value that you provide to your customers. Using this medium involves listening and engaging customers in conversation as against direct advertising. Needless to say that you would need to match up with product performance and service delivery to match with the customer expectation and keep up your promised delivery too.

One of the rules that you have got to remember and follow at all times while blogging is to be transparent and open with information. If you are seriously interested in building a long term profile and reputation, it is best to avoid ‘paid blogging’ as many of the Companies do.

It is better to remember that the blogger community is smart enough to be able to distinguish actual blogging from paid blogging. Any such issue can result in negative publicity which is to be avoided at any cost.

Remember at all times that it is best to be open and transparent about the facts regarding yourself and your business at all times. It helps to give your profile details and get your audience to know you as a person. Such transparency helps build your image and reputation online.

When you consider the traditional way of marketing and building customer loyalty, you will find that the customer’s positive experience of the product or service helps build loyalty. It is interesting to study the same aspect on Social Networks to identify and establish the way in which the online community builds and endorses a product or service.

Online interactions on the social networks are carried out by individuals and at the same time the opinions and the loyalty expressed would be collective. This is not so in the case of traditional media.

Another significant factor to be noted is that the online community participant’s subscribership can be measured and quantified.

The entire process of loyalty building can be easily tracked and traced on social web. On the Social Networks, one may not necessarily speak about loyalty to the brand, but the same concept is referred to as the reputation of a brand.

The brand reputation is built as a result of the conversations and discussions held by individuals but the reputation is built by the participation and collective opinion of the entire community. Further on the community opinion helps strengthen the individual participant’s loyalty or commitment towards the brand.

The reputation built by a community is further harnessed and spread to other networks and slowly a buzz begins to form around the brand. The new launches of products ride on such buzz and gain popularity across millions of subscribers.

At this point, it is important for the marketers to map and understand the behavior as well as the attributes of the individual participants as well as the community as a whole. By understanding both, the collective as well as the individual, it is possible to influence one to impact the other. Thus the Company can work to influence the community in which case the individual too gets influenced automatically.

Every marketer would need to know the basic difference between traditional media channels and the social web.

On the Social web, the advertising or marketing is not unilateral but is participative. It is the participants who control the Social Web and discussions and not the Company alone. One might think of not being present on the Social Web. But thinking in this way can be a big mistake.

If the customers are available in the form of online community and if they are discussing your product or service, it is important for you to be participating too. Absence from the Social web in such situations can cause damage to the Company’s reputation which might be viewed adversely by the collective community.

Social web alone cannot be the complete solution for marketing or advertising products and services to the markets. The Social Web would have to be used as supplementary to the traditional channels.

If you understand the trend amongst the people, you will find that every individual tends to check out the details of products or services that he gets to see on the TV or print media. This goes on to prove the need for marketing on Social Web.

Heard about influencer partnerships but not sure where to get started or if it’s the right marketing strategy for your business? You’re in the right place. In this article, we cover everything you need to know about influencer partnerships in social media marketing strategies.

Understanding Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is so powerful because of the trust factor. Unlike traditional advertisements, which often come across as impersonal or overly promotional, influencer endorsements feel more like recommendations from a trusted friend. Influencers range from celebrities with millions of followers to niche creators who cultivate smaller but highly engaged audiences.

The variety of influencers can be broken down into distinct categories:

• Nano-influencers (1,000—10,000 followers): Known for their close-knit communities and high engagement rates.

• Micro-influencers (10,000—50,000 followers): Experts in specific niches who maintain significant influence in their domains.

• Macro-influencers (50,000—1,000,000 followers): Widely recognized creators with a broader reach.

• Mega-influencers (1,000,000+ followers): Often celebrities with mass appeal.

For brands, understanding these categories is vital. A large following may not always translate to effective outcomes–it’s the connection between the influencer and their audience that drives success.

Why Partner with Influencers?

The benefits of influencer partnerships go beyond simple brand awareness. Here are some compelling reasons why brands should consider these collaborations:

1. Enhanced Credibility: Influencers build their reputation by sharing authentic content. When they endorse a product, their followers are more likely to trust that recommendation.

2. Targeted Reach: Influencers’ niches allow brands to connect directly with specific demographics. Find an influencer that appeals to your target audience and then deliver your brand message directly to them via the influencer.

3. Engagement That Converts: Whether through sponsored posts, stories, or live sessions, influencers often create interactive experiences that spark meaningful audience engagement.

4. Cost Efficiency: Influencers are available no matter how big or small your budget is. Working with nano- or micro-influencers is often more budget-friendly and can yield excellent results for small to mid-sized businesses.

Building Successful Influencer Partnerships

There are thousands of influencers out there. It’s your job to find the right ones to work with. Do your research, clearly define the goals you want to accomplish from the partnership, build a good relationship, and measure the results as you go.

Identify the Right Influencers

It’s crucial to do your research before selecting an influencer to work with. Search for influencers that align with your brand values and mission. Pay special attention to their followers as these are the people you will reach via the influencer.

You want to find an influencer with an audience that you think will be interested in your product or services. Lastly, check out their previous brand collaborations and make sure there are no conflicts with your brand’s image or values.

Pro Tip: Use tools like AspireIQ and Upfluence to identify potential influencer partnerships.

Define Clear Goals

Be specific about what you want to achieve through the partnership. Are you looking to drive sales, increase brand awareness, or grow your social media following? Your goals will drive your overall strategy, so make sure they are measurable and time-specific, for example achieving a 20% increase in website traffic in six months.

Foster Authentic Relationships

Authenticity is the cornerstone of successful influencer marketing. Rather than treating influencers as mere channels for promotion, involve them as genuine collaborators.

Provide creative freedom, listen to their ideas, and allow their unique voice to shine through. Influencers are generally experts when it comes to understanding their audience, so their perspective can be quite valuable.

Monitor and Measure Performance

Once you’ve started working with an influencer, you must monitor and measure the performance of the strategy. The metrics you track will depend on your specific goals, but they could be anything from click-through rate, conversion rate, or engagement levels. You can use free platforms like Google Analytics or Meta Business Suite to see the results.

Real-World Examples

The beauty brand Glossier owes much of its success to influencer partnerships. What’s unique about their approach to influencer partnerships is that they didn’t focus solely on macro-influencers. Instead, they collaborated with everyday consumers and micro-influencers who genuinely loved their products. This is living proof that it doesn’t take a huge budget to see results from influencer partnerships.

Another successful example is Gymshark. Founded in 2012, Gymshark initially relied exclusively on Instagram for promotion, achieving 40% of its 2012 sales via the platform.

Their revenue grew exponentially from $500K in 2012 to $200M in 2019 (Thomas, 2020). Much of their access can be attributed to their savvy influencer partnership strategy. By sending fitness influencers their products for free and asking for their genuine feedback, they were able to build trust and stand out as a recognizable brand in the fitness world.

Challenges to Watch For

While influencer marketing offers numerous advantages, it is not without challenges:

• Finding Authenticity: With an increasing number of influencers, some partnerships may feel transactional. Always prioritize authenticity.

• Measuring ROI: Unlike direct sales, brand awareness or engagement metrics can be harder to quantify. Use unique tracking links and promo codes to measure the results of your influencer partnerships.

• Compliance Issues: Most social media platforms now require influencers to be transparent about their partnerships. Make sure all collaborators are aware of the disclosure guidelines set by the platforms they post on.

The influencer marketing industry shows no signs of slowing down. As platforms like TikTok and Instagram evolve, so do the opportunities for innovative partnerships. Augmented reality filters, live-streamed events, and shoppable posts are just a few examples of emerging trends that brands can leverage.

Conclusion

The influencer marketing industry shows no signs of slowing down. As platforms like TikTok and Instagram evolve, so do the opportunities for influencer partnerships. Augmented reality filters, live-streamed events, and shoppable posts are just a few examples of emerging trends that brands can leverage.

Remember, successful influencer partnerships are about more than follower counts. The key is to find someone who genuinely loves your product or service and will be happy to share it with their audience.

Social Networks, Social Interaction and Social Content are some of the broad categories of Social Media Channels. In the Social Content category are covered the various types of blogs, audio and video sharing, micro blogs as well as podcasts etc.

Blogs are an effective medium for marketers to use as a platform or a sounding board to talk about themselves, their Company, their philosophy and values in addition to their ideas, their product and services etc. By listening to and sharing interaction with the audience, they can gather informative ideas and suggestions that help future product development as well as build an online reputation and brand loyalty.

What Are Micro Blogs

Micro blogging refers to a type of blogging that uses very quick, small and short messages either in audio, text or video forms. As the name implies, the messages are very short and crisp and usually refer to an present event, a comment about an event and broadcasting of a news clip etc. Though instant text messaging is the most popular form of micro blogging, video clips are also fast becoming popular too.

Micro Blogs – Powerful Medium

Micro blogging has tremendous capacity and capability to relay news instantaneously. Unleashing this power can be of great value to marketers. The power of micro blogging is evident in the cases where news of any international political event or a catastrophe is relayed to the entire world in an instant, even before the same is picked up by the news or TV media or is officially announced.

Twitter, is perhaps the most famous micro blogging medium that has caught the fancy of people all across the world. Besides this there are several services such as Jaiku, Seesmic as well as Status updates in Facebook, My Space, Google+, Google Buzz etc. are the best examples of Micro blogging services.

Subscribing to micro blogging is very fast and easy. All you need to do is to register with a site like Twitter which shouldn’t take you more than a few minutes. Then it takes a few minutes for you to search for your favorite micro blog sites and click follow.

Check out your contact list and navigate through to build your contacts through sending invites to friends and interested audience. By posting your own tweets on any interesting topic, event, thought or information that is likely to be of interest to your audience, you can post tweets and those interested will begin to follow you and the link keeps building.

Audio & Video Podcasting

As the technology is evolving, the social media channels to have adapted to multi-media technology. The latest in the Micro blogging platform are the pod casts and video messages. It is no doubt that audio and video contents especially a video can deliver a message more effectively than a simple text message.

Podcasts are nothing but the channel of delivering audio message to the interested community/audience. What makes podcasts different is that the delivery mode of the podcasts. Podcasts consist of recorded audio files that are delivered to the subscribers device. The subscriber then has the freedom to choose the time and place when he would wish to listen to the broadcast.

The point to be noted here is that the choice of engagement lies with the audience and not the originator of the message or the marketer.

Providing information to the audience, customers or subscribers using a video clipping or short film is also possible through micro blogging.

A picture can say a thousand things more effectively than a text message and it is able to capture the attention of the audience instantly. This medium when used effectively can be most powerful in spreading awareness, brand building and building loyalty of the customers as well as in helping the prospective customers make up their mind to go for your product.

The power of the visual medium can be seen when instant videos of customers talking about their live experiences about an airline, hotel or any product is circulated amongst the members of the community. Such video clips show the actual reality and can effect the community a lot more than text messages and thus engage them instantly.

Going through YouTube as well as other videos of commercial business organizations like Home Depot or Charity etc provide valuable clue and understanding of how to use micro blogs effectively.

Micro blogs, especially the podcasts and videos are being used by Social sector, NGOs as well as health and education sector etc very effectively for, the medium lends itself to a global delivery at negligible costs.

At the end, it is helpful for the marketers to remember that these Social Media channels hold great influencing power as well as contributory power of millions, not to forget their global impact and reach.

Logging into internet and chatting, downloading movies, music, reading reviews, participating in discussions, listening to podcasts and SMS etc have become a part of the lifestyle of every household across the world. This is true in case of retired persons, housewives, and working professionals to children of all ages. Everybody is able to find something relevant and useful in the social web.

When millions are talking to one another, they are essentially talking about a particular topic of interest or sharing their experiences etc. Such conversations generate a lot of word to mouth publicity to various products and services that the individuals are talking about. Thus the marketers find it a great opportunity to harvest the social web for potential customers who are interested in their products.

To be able to use the social web as an effective marketing tool, the marketing professionals have got to understand all about the social web and how it works. Social web works differently from other forms of media including visual media. Social web networks are largely driven by content that is produced by the collective community that engages in conversation. Such conversations build opinions and influence the decisions of the prospective customers. Reviews, Discussions, ratings and comments etc provide measurable feedback from the customers who have experienced the products and services that they are referring to.

At this juncture it is important for the Marketers to remember that the social web channels are controlled not by them but by the participants. The two main characteristic features of this medium where in people engage in conversation are that it gives rise to word of mouth publicity or opinion and an element of trust exists between the individuals and communities that are engaging in discussions. Taking the above into account, the marketers have got to come up with strategy of how to influence the opinions and make way for positive experience for the prospective customers.

If you analyze the composition of the participants engaging in discussions in the social web, there are principally two categories of people. First is the category that has already purchased, used and experienced your product or service and the second category belongs to those who have not purchased or used and this category includes prospective customers who are participating in the discussions only because they are interested in considering to make a purchase at a future point of time.

Therefore the social media becomes a channel that connects those who have experienced the product to those that are waiting to experience the product. If this concept is clearly understood by the marketing personnel, they would be able to devise ways of harnessing the social web as a medium for influencing and selling to the prospective customers successfully.

A marketing manager should be able to first identify the buying process and map it clearly to be able to get into the field of social web and build prospective sales conversion channel out of the prospective customer base.

Thus group activities or the so called networks in the language of social web media are growing and discovering the concept of collective wisdom as an outcome of group discussions on any subject.

Social web consists of several channels including Blogs, Forums, Photo/Video Sharing, Music sharing, Emails, Chatting, SMS, Podcasting, Micro blogs and wikis etc. Facebook, Youtube, Linkedin, Farmville, Wikipedia etc are some of the best known faces of social web.

For anyone in marketing, social web is something that he or she needs to understand not only as a participant but more importantly as a marketing professional representing his or her Organization.

The social web and the networks of people consists of the existing customers and the prospective customers who would be exchanging information, discussing their experiences as consumers and thus helping the prospective customers build their awareness as well as influence their purchasing decisions.

When it comes to understanding the behavior of the participants and groups involved in any of the social media channels, one must first visit the various channels to see the kind of network that exists.

In some of the channels, you will find individuals talking to other individuals and chatting. There exist discussions amongst group members regarding one common topic under blogs and forums.

You will also find inter group discussions and one group talking to another and debating about issues and topics too. All of these groups and networks command power to influence the outcome of the discussions and the opinions.

Therefore understanding the group dynamics and identifying the controlling, influencing as well as moderating elements and factors would come in handy while designing strategy to participate and influence the discussions from the point of view of marketing.

One Of the most important and powerful aspect of the discussions amongst the groups and in between the groups is that they are able to build intelligent arguments and factual content by filtering, wetting and helping others make informed choice as well as strengthening the consumer’s bargaining power.

The fact that it is easy to gather all information just by asking questions and being able to understand everything about a product that there is to know about and having access to those who have used the product and others who are able to throw light and help with right decision making is what makes people flock to the social web with their needs and requirements.

Individuals find it worthwhile to discuss and gather information about the products and services they are interested in and at the same time enjoy socializing in a manner of speaking.

Marketers would do well to remember that when it comes to Social Web, it is not what the Marketer chooses to advertise and inform the customers that matters, but it is the actual experience and opinion of the customers who are participating in the social media networks and discussing with the others that matters.

As a marketer one has the power to influence the discussion and how well one can win the trust and confidence of the group depends upon the strategy and implementation of the communication plan. This in turn calls for a complete hands on understanding of and presence in the social web all the time as well as being able to read the pulse of the group at all times.

As an individual it is but natural that every one of us would be logging in to several networks almost on daily basis and pursuing our interests. When you wish to study Social Media from the perspective of a marketer interested in reaching out to the larger audience which happens to be your prospective customers, you will find that your approach to understanding of the Social Media needs to change.

Essentially you have got to change your perception from that of a Social Network user or participant to that of a Marketer which calls for looking at the Social Media from a different angle altogether.

Social Media channels can be grouped together under broad functional categories such as Platforms, Content and Networks promoting interaction. By listing all of the platforms under the said categories help the marketer to choose his channel mix appropriately.

It helps one to understand and identify the prospective customers and obtain clarity on how to engage with the customer positively.

By identifying the particular medium that is likely to be effective in reaching out to the prospective customer and prompting him to make that decision to buy you are able to build and apply specific customer centric approach and successfully reach the target audience.

Social Platforms category includes so called White Label Social Networks, Personal Social Networks as well as Wikis etc. Under Social Content, the various blogs, micro blogs, video sharing, photos as well as audio and podcast etc are covered. Social interaction platforms include the SMS, Emails, RSS as well as the various events etc.

Marketing programs at a macro level deal with the overall strategy. The media plan too contains a larger frame work of approach to using various media including print, visual and traditional media. Social Media cannot be used in isolation and it forms a subset or a part of the overall media mix that the advertiser uses to approach the consumers.

From amongst the various social media channels, it is important to identify that particular segment of target audience, map their presence in the particular platform and then choose the appropriate method of participation.

Mapping the social feedback cycle, understanding how the prospective customer makes his decision with the help of the others participating in the social media is necessary to be able to build a specific social media strategy. Social interaction forms the basis of advertising and marketing.

Word of mouth publicity tends to play a significant role in the traditional marketing and sales channels. When it comes to Social Media, the Word of Mouth assumes gigantic proportion especially in case of micro blogging, SMS and other channels. Understanding how this can aid or harm the marketer’s reputation on the Social Media helps one design an effective marketing strategy that is tailor made for this segment.

Social Networks are great platforms for individuals to participate and converse freely with others of similar interest.

Social networks consist of individuals as well as communities that have common interest. This is an important interest group as far as marketers are concerned. Though they may not be addressing the entire mass at a given time like they do through traditional media, here the participants make up for specific community of people as well as individuals.

When individuals are conversing with one another, sharing their likes, dislikes as well as their experiences, they are not only talking about their life’s experiences, but a significant part of what ever they have purchased, reviewed, seen or experienced in terms of product and services also form a part of the discussion. If they are discussing about a certain product or service, then it becomes important for that particular Company to be listening as well as participating in order to add to the discussion, to clarify or to substantiate its stand etc.

To be able to develop communication strategy for Social Web, it is important to understand all of the components, tools as well as the various networks and the participants in particular. Understanding of the participant’s expectations, behavior as well as requirements gives one a clue as to how to communicate with the audience.

One of the key aspects of understanding the various elements of the Social Web would be to understand and go through the various Social Networks.

Social Networks form a part of the Social Web and refer to communities and platforms that interact with several other communities and groups and thus interact over a wider social network. Individuals who frequent Social Networks do not limit themselves to being a part of any one or two communities. They like to be a part of wider network and subscribe to several networks of interest.

Social web consists of several types of networks. Most importantly you have the communities that exist purely for the purpose of socializing and entertainment while you also have the communities that are specific to business or certain profession etc. It would be very useful for all to review Facebook as well as Myspace and Twitter, the leading Social networks and study them.

There are several country specific social networks that are popular and accordingly it would be apt to choose the local social networking sites too as a part of study along with few of the global networking sites. You will be able to see the variety and depth of information that they provide to the members as well as the wide coverage of subscriber base that they enjoy.

It is important to understand the service offering as well as the volume of traffic, the pulse of the participants as well as have a look at how business communities are targeting the members on these Social Networks.

Apart from the above Social Networks, it is important to visit few of the business related Social Networks like Linkedin, Plaxo Plus etc would be the most important ones that can provide substantial information about how the communities network and function.

It makes sense to study these in detail and see how the other businesses are targeting the audience on these sites, what kind of communication style is being adapted etc.

End of the study, one should be able to differentiate between Social sites and Business Sites, understand the difference between the communities and participants and be able to identify the strategy ideal to advertise or market to each of these communities.