1 in every 13 People on Earth…
You can probably guess this one. The fact is, 1 in every 13 people on earth has a Facebook account. I’ve sat here trying to come up with a clever comparison to help people understand that crazy statistic, but nothing does it justice. That’s just a lot of people. In an age where even your 70 year old grandma logs on to check up on the latest happenings, it’s pretty much expected that everyone has a Facebook. But, until a week ago, I was one of those weird people who didn’t.
I can’t even begin to count the number of times people dropped their jaw in disbelief and tried to understand how I could possibly get by without one. And the truth is, even though it never really seemed like something I wanted to be part of, it was tough being the exception.
So many businesses, organizations, and people in general function with Facebook and other social networking sites as their basis for communication. My internship at Maiden Media Group has really opened my eyes to the importance of utilizing these sites and opening up all possible doors for a conversation. Maiden stresses the fact that the company is carried by the minds of what they call “digital natives.” So when your parents get a new phone and have no clue how to add contacts or make a call, they hand it you. We were born in a different world and we have a natural ability to function digitally. This is knowledge that simply can’t go to waste.
I may be 4 or 5 years late in becoming that 1 in 13 people on earth, but Maiden’s philosophy is just too strong to overlook. I know how to use these sites with my eyes closed. If you showed me facebook.com when I was 12, I could probably navigate it perfectly. Our generation has been given so much innate understanding of these things, it’s a shame not to act on it.
So I’ve spent a couple of weeks now writing blog posts for the company raving about how amazing Facebook and Twitter can be for businesses looking to expand and solidify their brand image. I outlined the importance of deciding on an online personality and making your brand as consistent and cohesive as possible. Although we are fed their messages from dozens of different media platforms, Apple will always be “cool” and Ford will always be “tough.” Social media is the perfect way to bring that into your audience’s mind while they’re sifting through the other personalities they encounter every morning on their news feed.
contact: mmcgowan@temple.edu
