The cowboys of the Old West lived by such homespun advice as, “Don't squat with your spurs on.” Hard to argue with that one.

One piece of frontier wisdom, though, might be more debatable: “Wide open spaces don't breed no chatterboxes.” Double negative notwithstanding, I reckon the cowpoke who came up with that one was gone long before he had a chance to meet up with the wide open spaces of social media sites, where the chatter trails mosey on as far as the eye can read.

Social media, the latest frontier, is among the most hyped developments I can remember, but as with most hyped entities, people don't really understand what lies beyond the buzz. So, let's take a look.

On a personal level, the communication benefits are clear. However, on a business level, in particular for carriers, the picture is fuzzier, since the returns on such efforts are soft (for more on the topic, see The Sinister Side of Social Networking). It's not about making a sale, according to a research study by Novarica, but rather creating brand awareness, managing reputation, building an audience, improving search engine rankings, and educating customers. In surveys by the research firm, 11 percent of carriers said they were tweeting, and “the use of social networking [e.g., Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn] has skyrocketed. In just one year, use has expanded from four percent to 25 percent of carriers.”

Surprising? Not really. Check out how many fans the GEICO gecko, Progressive's Flo, or the AFLAC duck have amassed. Bottom line: Well-conceived social media extends marketing strategy.

Interestingly, in a recent Forrester study that asked, “Thinking about the last few times you visited a social networking site, what did you do?” around a fifth of the respondents said, “became a fan of a brand, product, or company I like.” That may not be as much as “read updates from my friends” (which got the nod from 64 percent to 76 percent, depending on the site), but it is significant.

Also not shocking, social media users skew on the younger side. A report last fall from Pew Internet indicates the median age of a Twitter user is 31; LinkedIn, 39 (down from 40 in May 2008); and 33 on Facebook (up from 26 in May 2008).

Adding to the complexity is the speed at which the social media venues are evolving. So, what to do? A big key to success is to find out how your target audience (and/or the upcoming audience) uses them. It requires a bit of a pioneering spirit, but keep in mind one other piece of Old West wisdom: Life is not about how fast you run or how high you climb, but how well you bounce.

That said, happy (social media) trails to you . . .

Sharon S. Schwartzman

Editor-in-Chief