Andy Sernovitz, shares his recommendations on how to stay safe and ethical in social media covering the latest FTC updates, the fundamentals of proper disclosure, and how to make sure your agencies and vendors comply with your standards.
The changing internet
A March 2010 to March 2011 study from Silicon Alley Insider shows that the way people spend their time on the internet is rapidly changing and if you are not paying attention, your brand could become a victim.
The study shows a rapid increase (69%) in time spent on Facebook and a steady decrease (9%) in time spent on traditional websites shrunk by 9%
Social media has dramatically changed the way users look and think about the web, how they spend their time on the web and what they expect from the web
Does that mean you should abandon your website? No, but you should seriously think about how you use it and how you drive traffic to it.
If the trend persists, SEO will become less important and will progressively be replaced by social media.
Another recent study (May 2011) by Comscore looks at how users spend their time on social media sites like Facebook. By the way, Facebook accounts for 90% of the time spent on all social media sites
- 27% of their time is spent “consuming and interacting” on the newsfeed/wall
- 21% on the profile section
- 17% on the photo section
Interacting has become a big part of the web experience, experience delivered through social media sites. What that means is if a brand or organization wants to keep their website relevant, they have to promote interaction.
How do you promote interaction on a website? With a blog section, with comments and by integrating your site with social media platforms.