The Social Media Train Has left the Station: Adoption is in Full Swing

Everyone, Climb Aboard!

The Train has Left the Station

A recent report issued by Forrester Research states that social technology adoption increased significantly in 2008.

Three out of four US online adults now use social tools to connect with each other compared with just 56% in 2007.

What else has changed? Ratings and reviews, “voting” for Web sites, and peer-generated video experienced the largest growth, while blogs and tagging closely followed.

Looking at the US data, the big news in 2008 is that, not unexpectedly, social technology participation has grown rapidly. Inactives — people untouched by social technologies — have shriveled from 44% down to 25% of the online population, Josh Bernoff, Forrester Research

Social media refers to activities that integrate technology, telecommunications and social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio. Internet and mobile-based tools are the vehicles used for sharing and discussing information.

Older adults are now also more likely to participate socially as Spectators and Critics, placing them in the active rungs of Forrester Research’s Social Technographics® ladder.

Richard MacManus of RedWriteWeb reports that Forrester prediction that “reading peer recommendations will fast become a permanent stage in the purchase decision process” is right on the money with Amazon and Netflix leading the way.

Forrester has categorized US online adults ‘consuming’ social media as follows:

Creators 21%
Critics 37%
Collectors 19%
Joiners 35%
Spectators 69%

Social Technographics® Ladder

When companies begin utilizing new technologies they often begin a tactical deployment — a blog here, a podcast there — to achieve an objective. As an understanding of the medium takes hold a more strategic approach is used that begins with the target audience and the determination of the relationship you want to build with them.

Forrester has created a Social Media Tool that profiles individuals social computing behaviors. The following is a snap shot of male usage from 25-34 and 45-54.

Social Media Usage - Male 25-34

Social Media Usage - Male 45 -54

How Social Media is used in Business

The adoption of social media by business is in full sewing. I sourced 22 notable brand examples with links from Peter Kim’s post:

1. Blogs (Johnson & Johnson, Delta Air Lines)
2. Bookmarking/Tagging (Adobe, Kodak)
3. Brand monitoring (Dell, MINI)
4. Content aggregation (Alltop, EMC)
5. Crowdsourcing/Voting (Oracle, Starbucks)
6. Discussion boards and forums (IBM, Mountain Dew)
7. Events and meetups (Molson, Pampers)
8. Mashups (Fidelity Investments, Nike)
9. Microblogging (method, Whole Foods)
10. Online video (Eukanuba, Home Depot)
11. Organization and staffing (Ford, Pepsi)
12. Outreach programs (Nokia, Yum Brands)
13. Photosharing (Rubbermaid, UK Government)
14. Podcasting (Ericsson, McDonalds)
15. Presentation sharing (CapGemini, Daimler AG)
16. Public Relations – social media releases (Avon, Intel)
17. Ratings and reviews (Loblaws, TurboTax)
18. Social networks: applications, fan pages, groups, and personalities (British Airways, Saturn)
19. Sponsorships (Coca-Cola, Whirlpool)
20. Virtual worlds (National Geographic, Toyota)
21. Widgets (Southwest Airlines, Target)
22. Wikis (Second Life, T-Mobile Sidekick)