Social Networking Cars of the Future

We've seen the niftiest gadgets, features, and applications on cars in recent years. From automatic start engines, navigation and entertainment systems but now a new incorporation emerges. Today social networking has taken on another level in our lives, but it has yet to reach our cars. If you don't account for being able to access social media through our phone, anywhere, anytime, why not be able to socially network with others while we are on the road? It may sound like a ridiculous and borderline unsafe idea, but for some car manufacturers, it's not such a far out idea.

While it's highly debatable whether incorporating social media into our cars is a good idea, in the very near future, it may very well be a popular addition. Speculated to launch and release in 2012, social networks are apparently going to be integrated in our cars in a number of ways. Firstly as an additional application on a tablet or portable computational system that is embedded as an additional feature in our car. A system that uses twitter and Facebook to let you know when something's happening or to notify of certain settings that you can control or edit. In addition, the service may notify you of batter power warnings to nearby electric car owners, remind you of some maintenance tips, and even allow you to communicate with nearby cars and owners or passengers of nearby vehicles.

Social networking is seriously going to take over our lives if we're not careful. By 2015 it has been speculated that automakers will woo its consumers and social media crazed fans with additional communications features. Touch screen command systems are already available and will incorporate almost instant access to social networking sites. Thumb wheel controls will not only allow you to increase and decrease volume, or command your windshield wipers to start wiping - but also let you control audio, navigation, and climate control functions. It seems that a robust amount of technology and communication will be made available in our cars.

On another Facebook platform, being able to befriend nearby cars and users is a novel and almost outrageous idea. This will allow drivers to "talk" to other cars and their drivers, and even befriend them on a social networking site like twitter or Facebook, and receive updates in your feed from these users. How this new feature will transform our lives, and ways of interaction, our driving habits, and the way we communicate to one another is uncertain.

What is certain that while these new features can be useful, many question the safety it brings. Drivers should be paying attention to the road and looking out for any hazards on the road. Will these additions affect our attention to the things that really matter? How will this affect auto insurance policies? One thing is certain, new social media features can only increase auto insurance rates, whether by a lot or a minuscule number. Taking the responsible steps and making sure your vehicle is insured is crucial, with this added distraction.

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How Social Networks Can Help Your Business

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last couple of years, you already know that social networks are quite possibly the best thing that happened to online businesses since sliced bread (and SEO!).

With their help, you can develop your online presence, create brand awareness, interact with your audience and have control over your company's image. It's a great way to add to your SEO activities. To make the most out of the Web 2.0 opportunities, it's important to understand what different social networking sites have to offer, so you can use them in a way that best meets your business objectives.

However, before you do so, there's one thing to bear in mind, and that's making sure that your social media strategy involves the following:

Connecting with the audience that's directly relevant to your business.

Creating useful and engaging content that will encourage a debate.

Engaging with your audience - social media is about a two-way interaction - basically, to make social media work, you need to be social yourself!

Regardless of the nature of your business, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are definitely the best places to start your social media adventure. The much talked about Google+, although not quite ready for businesses, is also worth looking into.

Facebook

Create a page for your Business

This is a great way of reaching your audience - people who 'like' your page will automatically see your status updates in their News Feed. You can enhance your page by using additional features such as friends' recommendations, Facebook events, or promote it using Facebook ads(concentrate on Facebook Sponsored Story ads as they tend to be more effective than standard ads). An alternative to creating a page is using Facebook groups, however they are less valuable from the SEO perspective because they don't get indexed.

Pages Dos and don'ts:

Do:

Customise your page by creating a vanity URL (having a URL associated with your business helps your SEO).

Engage your fans - upload photos, talk about current business happenings, ask for their opinions.

Make sure that the 'About' text box and the 'Info' tab include your keywords - this, again, is for SEO.

Keep the page up-to-date - update it daily!

Don't:

Engage in arguments. If someone is posting abusive or rude messages, delete them and block the person if necessary.

Post too many updates - if you clog your fans' News Feeds with too many posts, chances are they will get annoyed and 'unlike' your page.

Twitter

Twitter is a great tool for networking, keeping up with news and opinions in your field and, of course, interacting with your customers. For example, if you'd like to find out more about SEO services, type 'SEO' or 'SEO company' in the Search box and join the recent debate! Although Facebook updates are now shown in real-time, Twitter remains more dynamic and gives you an instant access to what's being said about you (or your competitors!) in a given moment. The fact that your messages can be up to 140 characters is a great way of ensuring that whatever you say, you remain concise and straight to the point.

Twitter Dos and Don'ts:

Do:

Creative an informative profile that clearly explains what your business is about. Twitter's bio box is indexed by Google so make sure you optimise it for keywords to help your SEO!

Constantly monitor your competitors and relevant keywords - this will give you a chance to get involved in relevant discussions.

Tweet only about things that are relevant to your followers!

Don't:

Start following people at a random in a bid to create a huge following.

Auto-Tweet - it's important to be engaging on a personal level!

Tweet too much or get too personal.

LinkedIn

The biggest difference between LinkedIn and Facebook/Twitter is that it was designed with business professionals in mind. It basically lets you see who is who in the industry, who knows whom and who can introduce you to the people that can play an important role in your business. It's almost like being at a networking event, except you make business connections with a click of a mouse!

LinkedIn Dos and Don'ts:

Do:

Customise your URL so it includes your name, and include relevant keywords in your profile - such as the names of the companies you worked for or the services you offer - this will improve the SEO of your profile.

Keep your photos professional.

When it comes to the number of connections, put quality over quantity!

Join groups to connect with people - or create your own.

Don't:

Send generic invitations - people will be more likely to reply if you keep it personal.

Say anything that you wouldn't want your potential clients or business partners to read.

Google +

Although Google+ won't be ready for businesses until later this year, you can take advantage of the fact that Google indexes Google + posts - which means that they appear in Google search results. Links pointing to your site from Google + posts can help you generate more business awareness, while improving your search engine rankings, so it's good for SEO!

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Social Networking Demographics

Demographics on Social Networking Sites

Based on studies, 22% of the time spent on the web, is spent on social networking sites. But, it's interesting to discover the stats behind users of the social networks sites...Here are several interesting facts on social networking demographics.

Demographics by Age Do you know that the fastest growing demographic on Facebook are senior users above the age 65? This may come as a surprise for many people, however seniors are using social websites more than ever before. What are the reasons? Basically to be able to connect to family members, find people from the past or search for online support groups for concerns such as chronic illness. One of the most prominent age group on social media nonetheless, continues to be age group 25-44. Facebook has 46% of the company's users age 25-44, while the percentage for the same age group for Twitter is 57%. The age group 45-54 is consistently gaining ground on social networks. It is more dominant on Facebook that Twitter, with 26% and 18% respectively.

Demographics by Gender

Women surpass men for most activity. For example, on Facebook 54% of the users are female as well as on Twitter the percentage is 52%. However, on the professional side LinkedIn, 58,9% of the users are male. Google+, one of the newest sites, is totally ruled by men, with a whooping 74% of the users being male.

It is interesting to see that women and men have completely different sharing habits. Females are 600% more likely to share content associated with partying and eight times more likely to share one of their favorite love songs as well. Men however, are more likely to express feelings about parenthood on social networking sites than women are. Additionally, men are not afraid to project a more "nerdy" side on social networks than women do, since they are 10 times more likely to share stories about buying their first computer or about getting bullied when they went to school. Both women and men however, equally share content on career aspirations or more personal feelings such as self-doubt or worries.

Demographics by Education Level

Most users have a high education level. On Facebook, 26% of the users have a minimum of a bachelor's degree, while 55% claim having at least some college education. The education level is even higher for Twitter users, on which at least 37% have a bachelor degree and 49% have some college education. YouTube is also a site with high education level users. 51% have some college education and 26% of the users have at least a bachelor's degree.

Demographics by Income

LinkedIn is the online community site with the wealthiest users, since 71% of the users make at least 50K per year. On Facebook, 66% of the users have a salary of 25K-75K and on Twitter 52% of the users make at least 50K.

What is your opinion about this information? Are any of them surprising?

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Effective Social Networking - How to Bring On New Clients With Social Network Marketing

Marketing your business blatantly on most social networks will get you tossed in the social network slammer (read BANNED). You don't want to go there so follow these simple social networking rules to prevent that major social disaster!

Don't market your business on social networking sites.

Just don't. That's all. Don't market your business there, and whatever you do don't SELL your stuff there.

So, how do you present your business on social networks without marketing? Here's the answer you've been looking for:

Make friends first - get to know people. Offer ideas and suggestions, invite people to read your blog posts, if they're relevant. Include events that people really want to attend on your social calendar. Schedule a party, a coffee, or a gathering of friends and buddies so you get an opportunity to see what these people are interested in, if you don't already know them personally. Offer referral friends and buddies to your friends who might be interested in each other. Build connections and networks of friends who know friends. Create private groups and networks of friends who would love to know each other and could actually gain something from meeting other people in the group. Perhaps a REAL people event where they could all get together would be a good idea. Interact with other people on your social network outside the network and your personal wall. They'll want to see more of you than the group presentation you do to everyone else online.

The more you get to know people, the better people will know you and the more they'll refer you to others. Be sure part of your 'relationship' online includes letting people know what you do.

Share your business links online - in your info, be sure your business links are visible and active. They should be able to click directly to your website. Occasionally mention your business goals online - share them with your friends. "Hey, I'm working to create two new client accounts, if you know anyone who needs an Iron Arm Jockey, send them my way." Ask for advice - where appropriate. "My Iron Arm Jockey wants to get married, but I can't find him a woman. Does anyone know a girl that wants to marry and Iron Arm Jockey?" Invite your readers to participate in your contests. "My Iron Arm Jockey is wrestling Jack Rabbits on Sunday, if you'd like to come watch, leave a comment. One lucky commenter will win tickets for two to visit the match." Hold an open event and invite readers to participate in your event. Invite readers to participate in your business. This works particularly well for writers who are giving their books a title or naming characters. A reader will market your product for you, if he or she named the leading character.

Get involved with your readers and read their social media pages too. You'll want to know them really well!

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