Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

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February 10, 2009

8:00 - Shannon Paul on Internet People and What They Do

ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 7:58 pm

The theme of SOBCon09 is the ROI of Relationships. Relationships with customers, employees, colleagues, coworkers, builders, contractors, developers, and CUSTOMERS — in the form of readers, buyers, clients, and others — are the success of any business.

How do we form the best relationships; bring our best to them; build environments that nurture them; and measure our success?

Join the Comment Box Conference. Ask questions. Discuss answers. Meet people in the comment box. Find out.

Shannon Paul

Shannon Paul currently works in New Media with the NHL Detroit Red Wings as a creator of web-based content and digital marketing strategy. She is responsible for fostering relationships across the social web for the organization and the team.

Shannon began her career as an intern with the NBA Detroit Pistons Community Relations department before making her way back into the sports industry in her current position. Her professional background is in traditional public relations but her interest in social media communication dates back to her time as a student when she created an independent study program aimed at building and exploring the impact of blogs on mass communication.

Today Shannon is bringing research and insights on

Who’s Online Anyway?

Maybe everyone still isn’t online, but the gap is certainly closing, and it turns out we’re not all the same.

Of the 138 million people, age 13 and older, with broadband Internet connections in the U.S., 105 million (76 percent) are active contributors to the Web via social media, according to a study conducted earlier this year by Netpop Research.

The problem with identifying who’s online isn’t a matter of behavior, but of semantics. A lot of people regularly contribute to the social web without realizing that they’re contributing to the social web.

Case in point: if you ask someone who’s not a marketer or web development professional whether or not they participate in social media and they’ll probably look at you like you have two heads.

However, ask them whether they’ve ever uploaded a photo or passed on a YouTube video to a friend and you’ll likely get a definite yes.

Add to this communication gap a tendency for marketers and/or businesses to treat the populations online as if we are all the same and you’ll soon realize that identifying an audience as “online” simply isn’t enough.

I referenced the same study mentioned above for a recent post on my blog about the differences between the populations on MySpace versus Facebook, but the differences don’t end there.

The study utilized the following five population segments to differentiate the variety of broadband users.

As a supplement to this post, I recently discovered this new slide deck posted by the busy researchers at Netpop on Slideshare that helps explain the differences in the types of users you’re likely to encounter on the social web.

Netpop | Snapshot: US 2009

View more presentations from Netpop. (tags: tracker fast )
With so many businesses clamoring to develop an online presence, doesn’t it make sense to get to know how yours fits in and what kinds of engagement your customers are looking for?
Before contemplating whether your business should be on Facebook, take a look at your objectives and find your people. They’ll tell you where to go.

In 2008 Shannon Paul launched the Very Official Blog where she continues to write about social media for professional communicators.
Follow @shannonpaul at Twitter.

Register for SOBCon09 NOW!!
Learn tricks from Social Clickers, Content Kings,
Everyday Pros, and Online Insiders.





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28 Comments to “8:00 - Shannon Paul on Internet People and What They Do”

  1. February 10th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hey there, Ms. Paul!
    Welcome to the ‘hood!

  2. February 10th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
    Becky McCray said

    Wow! What an outstanding introduction! Shannon, you really laid out some great info.

  3. February 10th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hey Becky,
    Shannon said she’d be here in 5 minutes. It’s game night, maybe that’s why she sent so much. :)

  4. February 10th, 2009 at 8:17 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Becky,
    Which one of those Internet people do you think you are?

  5. February 10th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
    Glenda Watson Hyatt said

    hmm, I guess I’m an Online Insider.

  6. February 10th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
    Shannon Paul said

    Alright, I made it! Thanks for the warm welcome, Becky and Liz… by the way, I always send SO much. :)

  7. February 10th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Me too, Glenda!

  8. February 10th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Shannon,
    Which one of those Internet People are you?

  9. February 10th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
    Glenda Watson Hyatt said

    I’m surprised by the percent w/ broadband. I thought the digital divide was still more of an issue.

  10. February 10th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
    Glenda Watson Hyatt said

    lol Liz, don’t you live in your broadband cable?

  11. February 10th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
    Shannon Paul said

    Glenda - this is actually a statistic that estimates the number of broadband households at 138 million — the 76 percent indicates that OF that 138 million, 76 percent participate in social media. The digital divide is real — I’ve seen some stats that though that indicate it’s narrowing, at least in the U.S.

  12. February 10th, 2009 at 8:28 pm
    Becky McCray said

    Guess I have to be an Online Insider, too. But it was interesting to think of people I know who fit the other categories.

  13. February 10th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
    Becky McCray said

    If we’re going to talk broadband penetration and digital divide, I’m going to have to bring my rural soapbox!

  14. February 10th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
    Michelle Vandepas said

    Nice to meet you. I’m on online insider for sure.. And I agree that Sobcon is all about the connections.

  15. February 10th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
    Shannon Paul said

    Becky, my guess is that most of us would be considered online insiders since the very activity we’re participating in is characteristic of that group. Like you, however, I can identify a lot of people I know fitting other categories. The problem a lot of times with businesses is that we’re all lumped together, but I think these characteristics would require different methods of outreach to be effective.

  16. February 10th, 2009 at 8:34 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Lumped together sure is the operative point. This past weekend the mommy bloggers were complaining that “Not all mommy bloggers are alike.”

  17. February 10th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
    rjleaman said

    I’m not crazy about the term Online Insider but “living online” sounds about right, so… but further to the point about the digital divide, I think it’s a lot more challenging to be an Online Insider (or otherwise heavily engaged online) when you’re on dial-up.
    (Says she who’s been on high-speed for something like 18 months, and even so has weather-related issues with rural wireless antenna…)

  18. February 10th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
    Shannon Paul said

    That’s so true - especially with Mom Bloggers. There is so much variety in their voices, content and approach. I think we keep preaching one-on-one relationships, but deep down, most marketers/communicators and businesses are subconsciously looking for a way to mechanize and standardize that process. Ironic, no?

  19. February 10th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
    Todd Smith said

    Hi Shannon. Great to see you here.

    Something tells me we’ve got a lot of Online Insiders here. That describes me best too. I think if you have a blog, it probably fits.

  20. February 10th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
    Shannon Paul said

    Michelle, nice to meet you, too! Todd, I’m sure you’re right. Online Insiders all around. :) I don’t know how rjleaman does it with dial-up. My friend Mack qualifies as an online insider with dial-up, too. That is definitely an exercise in patience! Thanks all for chiming in. :)

  21. February 10th, 2009 at 8:45 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    I’m trying to figure out if I know any Social Clickers.

  22. February 10th, 2009 at 8:45 pm
    Shannon Paul said

    Liz, I think most of my Facebook friends from high school and the majority of the women in my family qualify as social clickers.

  23. February 10th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
    Todd Smith said

    Shannon, how do you figure out what audience to target?

    I know it’s very specific to each business, but I’m not really sure how to get started. What questions do I ask myself about my business and my products and potential customers?

  24. February 10th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
    Becky McCray said

    Shannon, I love the title of your blog, the “Very Official Blog”! :)

  25. February 10th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
    Shannon Paul said

    Todd, that’s a good question. I think it varies. Sometimes the answer is as simple as asking your existing customers what they do online (gently of course). Sometimes it’s about looking at search habits of people who come to your website as well as the incoming links. Go within social networks and search for relevant terms related to what you do. See who’s there, listen to them and ask questions. I think once you start to identify groups and individuals related to what you do, the questions come naturally. I hope this helps!

  26. February 10th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
    Shannon Paul said

    Thanks, Becky! It was a hasty move on my part that just kind of stuck. I’m glad now though. Honestly, I like it, too!

  27. February 10th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
    Todd Smith said

    Thanks, Shannon. you got me thinking… :)

  28. February 11th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
    All Alone in the Comment Box: 12 Hours of One-to-One With Experts « Lorelle on WordPress said

    [...] 8:00 - Shannon Paul on Internet People and What They Do [...]

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