Internet Usage and Brand Strategy

I’m often asked by executives if social media should be part of their brand strategy, or if it is too late to jump on the Web 2.0 bandwagon. It’s as if they feel that they missed a window of opportunity and that the digital age has just forever passed them by. Nothing could be further from the truth. Sure, other brands may have a bit of a head start on you, but since when have successful business people ever let a first mover’s advantage dissuade them from pursuing a tremendous opportunity. I’ve discussed my views on social media in a variety of other posts, but in today’s post, I’m going to let the numbers speak for themselves…

I found the following chart over at eMarketer.com, which validates that social media has clearly become a mainstream medium of influence across all demographics. If you haven’t started blogging, using online video, created a LinkedIn profile, hosted a webcast, use video conferencing or have yet to adopt any number of other great toolsets, I would strongly suggest that you include the below-referenced data into your evaluation of digital mediums and reevaluate your position:

Smart executives won’t overlook a medium that affords such broad and cost-effective exposure for your personal or corporate brand…