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No-Way Jose!


Thoughts on design, marketing, pr, and new media.

Filed under: Santa Barbara County

The Social Side of the Internet

The internet has become an important tool for communication and collaboration across varying types of industry. The ability to interact and opportunity for amplification in today's attention economy is of tremendous interest to groups who are looking to create awareness. A recent study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project sheds some light on the value of the internet and its impact on group and organizational life in America.

A new national survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project has found that 75% of all American adults are active in some kind of voluntary group or organization and internet users are more likely than others to be active: 80% of internet users participate in groups, compared with 56% of non-internet users. And social media users are even more likely to be active: 82% of social network users and 85% of Twitter users are group participants. 

The overall impact of the internet on group activities and accomplishments

In this survey, Pew Internet asked about 27 different kinds of groups and found great diversity in group membership and participation using traditional and new technologies. It becomes clear as people are asked about their activities that their use of the internet is having a wide-ranging impact on their engagement with civic, social, and religious groups. Asked to assess the overall impact of the internet on group activities:

  • 68% of all Americans (internet users and non-users alike) said the internet has had a major impact on the ability of groups to communicate with members. Some 75% of internet users said that.
  • 62% of all Americans said the internet has had a major impact on the ability of groups to draw attention to an issue. Some 68% of internet users said that.
  • 60% of all Americans said the internet has had a major impact on the ability of groups to connect with other groups. Some 67% of internet users said that.
  • 59% of all Americans said the internet has had a major impact on the ability of groups to impact society at large. Some 64% of internet users said that.
  • 59% of all Americans said the internet has had a major impact on the ability of groups to organize activities. Some 65% of internet users said that.
  • 52% of all Americans said the internet has had a major impact on the ability of groups to raise money. Some 55% of internet users said that.
  • 51% of all Americans said the internet has had a major impact on the ability of groups to recruit new members. Some 55% of internet users said that.
  • 49% of all Americans said the internet has had a major impact on the ability of groups to impact local communities. Some 52% of internet users said that.
  • 35% of all Americans said the internet has had a major impact on the ability of groups to find people to take leadership roles. Some 35% of internet users said that.

Nonprofits and a diverse collection of organizations throughout the counties of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, and beyond are presented with a powerful tool for interest generation, stakeholder education, empowerment, and audience engagement.

Read more about the social side of the internet.

Social Capital and the Value of Residual Returns

Participating in social media takes a tremendous amount of investment. Inputs can range in time and scope making it necessary to measure the amount of return that one hopes to gain from tweets, blog posts, and other various forms of content. True success in the digital landscape requires substantial investment of an individual's time and effort.

Benchmarks

Before investing in social media, marketers and storytellers alike must identify concise objectives. These goals will help keep all efforts focused on the tasks at hand and open up opportunities for improvements. Benchmarks allow an individual to identify their target results.

However, before we focus too much time on retweets, likes, comments, subscribers, friends, followers, listeners, and so forth...let's stop for a moment to recognize the value of residual returns on our social media investment.

Here are a few questions to ask as you begin on placing a value on your social media marketing efforts:

  • Is your content so good that people actually gained value from reading or sharing?
  • Do you place enough of an importance on the value of reciprocity?
  • Is social capital a vital component of your strategic efforts?
  • Is your network (comprised of friends, followers, etc.) coming back for more?
  • Does your audience care about you enough to actually share your content even when there's nothing new to share?

Residual returns on social capital can provide a unique benchmark for measuring the success of your continued investment in social media.

 

Taking It Offline and The True Value of Being Social

The beauty of online conversation is the ability to take the show offline. Quality relationships are built not only one tweet at a time but also strengthened by offline communication where individuals have an excellent opportunity to network, relate, and get to know each other on a greater level. Such was the case recently as several individuals who first met online convened in the city of Santa Maria, a gem of the Central Coast located between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Relationships are strengthened when we have the ability to add nonverbal cues and validate words that sometimes we take for granted in the digital space. 

Some might be struggling to validate the true value of social media without considering the merits of good person-to-person offline interaction.

Social media is just that...social!