Social Networking vs Twitter: What Works for Women
According to the Los Angeles Times, statistics show that women are emerging as the having the purchasing power. (I’m sure you’re thinking, “yeah, tell me something I *don’t* know). By 2020, the total amount of women’s private U.S. wealth will be approximately $22 trillion.
So are they using Social Networking or Twitter to make decisions? Well both. According to the SheSpeaks “Annual Social Media Study.” (as found on Emarketer.com)
When it comes to purchasing, 50% used social networking, while 30% used Twitter.
Using coupons, 40% used them towards products after having seen them on Facebook as opposed to 27% on Twitter.
Emarketer writes: “Social networking has become a must for women this year, according to a new edition of the Social networking profile penetration climbed from 58% of Internet users in 2008 to 86% in 2009.”

It’s not surprising that Facebook and social networking leads the race here. Twitter is constrained to 140 characters and has a completely different relationship with those who engage online. Twitter is fun for quick snippets but not an effective forum for engaging in a lengthy discussion.
I find many people have tried Twitter but don’t find the value of the content being shared. Perhaps it’s the stranger-to-stranger interaction that is somewhat daunting.
Facebook however, is used by over 350 million people who originally signed on to connect and share with friends and family. It’s a natural progression that these people – who are also consumers – should use this same forum as an online extension of “word-of-mouth”.
In most cases, using both as a part of the overall marketing mix is most effective. Be omnipresent for your consumers. Let them see you everywhere. The more familiar they are with your brand, the more they’ll trust you. The more they trust you, the more likely they will buy.
Engage early. Engage often.
