Social networking—marketing's newest mega-tool

If you're not using social networking—or don't know what it is—it's time to see how this popular new media can help your business. Online communities such as LinkedIn and Facebook have created a whole new genre of marketing. According to Wikipedia, the first social networking site, classmates.com, launched in 1995. A business network, LinkedIn's membership currently numbers 25 million including 750,000 leaders and senior executives from all Fortune 500 companies, and it's growing by more than 1 million members per month. It's easy to set up an account with any social networking community. Create a personal profile, start adding contacts, and be sure to include links your business Web site and blog. You'll soon start to see how people and institutions are connected and how they influence one another. Data quoted in the book PR 2.0 shows that Gen Xers (ages 25-41) spend about 35 percent of their on-line time on social networking sites and Baby Boomers (ages 42-60) spend 27 percent. This is a tremendous consideration and opportunity for brands to use social media tools as part of your PR strategy.