Today’s fastest growing groups of Social Media adoption are late MTV Generation and Boomers. It makes perfect sense; these demographic groups were way too late for Facebook but are heavy users of Internet email and search.

Soon almost everyone will be involved with Social Media. And every company will eventually be social, whether they want to or not. Customers need to be communicated with in their own comfort zone! Not so long ago there were businesses that didn’t want to open weekends, use the telephone, or the Web, or email. They adapted to customer needs or went away. In the 80’s, not all Rock Stars wanted to do videos for MTV. And years before that not all movie stars transitioned from the “Silent Movies” to the “Talkies”.

When all of your competitors are active in social media, and your customers are flooded by invites to join, follow, fan, friend, subscribe, like, post, upload, share, and tweet, why trail rather than lead?

MTV was initially described as ‘Radio with Pictures’. Social Media kind of looks like ‘Marketing with Conversation’.

So, on to this week’s charts and the Top Five:

“Video Killed The Radio Star”: This 1979 Buggles song was the first video played on MTV in 1981. Most Rock Stars who survived till the late 80’s transitioned to the MTV Video platform. Reunions, comeback tours, and one hit wonders may work in Rock n Roll but not that well in business.

“Thriller”: This indeed was a monster video for Michael Jackson; kind of a game changer even for MTV. Social Media is similar; what are the right platforms for your business Social Media marketing? It’s all about digital conversations and relationship building. You have always had choices when making marketing decisions: newspaper ads, the Blue Envelope, radio, or…. The good news is that 'customer engagement' is not quite as tough as “moon walking”.

“All The Young Dudes”:  They are digital natives; even if your not young or a dude you can communicate, connect, and engage. Everyone is out in Social Media spaces. Facebook has more daily page views than Google. I'm not sure if Mott The Hoople has a Twitter account but I know there is a Bob Dylan song title in here.

“Major Tom to Ground Control”: Millions of users are added to Social Media sites monthly; the numbers are astounding and the angles for marketing are amazing.  It's often written that “content is king”; with Social Media it may be that “Contact is King”. Content may be Queen (or content may be David Bowie).

“You Can’t Always Get What You Want”: It won’t be all that long companies are measures on not on whether they have a social media presence, but on whether their presence is relevant, fun, and has ROI. And that's why the Rolling Stones still tour.

 It won’t be long till Social Media sorts out  the winners, the losers, the one hit wonders, and those still looking like a silent movie.

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If you have not done this as yet, you will be doing it soon!

2011 is around the corner, so here are 5 reasons for planning your new “Business Social Media Marketing” approach now.

• The Old Assault Will No Longer Be Working- Hitting your customers over the head with slick and insulting sales tactics is over. The internet is fast! Broadband is everywhere. Most information is free and transparent. Backlash is real; browbeat at your own risk." Unfollow" is kind of a new word; it’s quite familiar to regular users of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other new media networks.
• TV Was Once A New Tool for Reach- 80% of all online users are engaging with Social Media channels. You can try shouting messages. Those who love you will do a better job with mass influence. Billions of Tweets, Posts, Links, Videos are replacing and supplementing traditional ads. Many businesses and marketers are not quite there yet with this engagement thing. When you think about “engage” what word follows? Maybe it’s fear of commitment?
• Authority Changes- Not so long ago journalists, analysts, experts, and publishers ruled our influence. Now it’s your digital friends that influence your decisions. And guess what; you may be the Mass Connector, expert, or journalist who influences others in your networks. Forrester Research, Inc. has some recent research on just how large our digital networks are.

• SM Marketing is Agricultural – We like our food from the grocery store or restaurant. It did not get there without the farm (or factory for processed foods). The bottom up process is what is working here. Mostly organic, some fertilizer, some failed crops; bottom line is grassroots advertising and PR from those who love you the most.
• Quality and Customer Service Will Matter Even More- . Open Source tools, cloud-based infrastructure, and SM marketing make businesses more competitive. Most digital mass connectors are not shy or stupid. Read the reviews they have been posting on Yelp the past few five years. Do an advanced Google or SocialMention search. Digital tattoos inked and linked on your business are hard to erase and pretty easy to find. Social Media engagement will not overcome a second rate product or shoddy service.

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It’s obvious that there is an “age divide” in world of Social Media.

The widespread use of SM is by millennials is off the charts. If you know a teen or college student who does not use Facebook, you have found the exception to the rule. Young people are on Facebook to an extent they need not use email or even the voice feature of their cell phone. Those with smartphones use voice features even less. Home phones, landlines, plain old telephones service; they may have used them at their grandparents house.

But how about the over 50 crowd? The latest numbers from Pew Research have just been released.

• One in five (20%) online adults ages 50-64 say they use social networking sites on a typical day, up from 10% one year ago.

• Among adults ages 65 and older, 13% log on to social networking sites on a typical day, compared with just 4% who did so in 2009.

10% of those internet users 50-64 are now registered with Twitter and the ranks are growing fast.  Email still remains the most comfortable social space for Boomers and above.

Reasons for Boomers and Senior are moving to SM now:

Multigenerational Connect: this IS where your kids and grand kids are! Multimedia platforms, business info, and news completes the rationale.

Reconnect: The older you get the more likely you may want to connect to people from your past.

Medical & Aging: Coming down with a chronic medical condition makes older internet users more inclined to reach out for info and move beyond SM resistance.

So what is keeping Boomers and Seniors off Social Media:

Time: Crunched 50 plus business people are also the sandwich generation; take care of mom/dad, work, visit the kids in college, and maybe baby sit the grand kids. Who has the time Facebook updates, LinkedIn, or Tweets. And who has time to configure Smartphone apps or know if an Android beats an iPhone.

Privacy: Many Boomers grew up distrusting the “man”, so who wants to give the  government and corporate America even more info and data. Geo-location services (like Foursquare and Gowalla) are just weird to people who attended Woodstock.

2.0: Software companies and leading SM sites do change regularly; when you are time constricted you may not feel like getting acquainted with updated platform changes and new settings.

Technology: Many Boomers and Seniors are hitting the limit on new gadgets and new tech. They are used to keeping electronics for more than a year. Smartphone sales are skewing to younger buyers; SM via mobile is a major driver of the segment.

Passwords: I hear the P word frustration regularly. Secure passwords are OK with your banking and bills. Some Boomers and Seniors distrust browser stored solutions and do not want to hand over their “security key’ to the likes of all these new social networks. Business is business and SM does not look quite like the businesses of finance or e-commerce.

As the medium matures the age divide will indeed narrow. Social Media is not really only social; it’s mostly about data, business, networking, marketing, etc. 

So then why is it so creepy to have your parents “Friend” you on Facebook.

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The University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business recently studied  the relationship between business social media and small businesses platform usage. The result was that 20 percent business owners were actively using one or more social media platforms. Small businesses are increasingly investing in social media applications including blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. SMB social media adoption has doubled in the past year and is positioned to grow even faster in the future.

Small business owners offered detail on how they employed social media, how well it meets expectations, and whether it pays for itself financially. They reported that social media is time consuming, but offers benefits in building customer  relationships. It's current use is marginally profitable, but owners expect a bigger payoff in the near future. Of those businesses using Social Media tools and platforms, here is what they are doing:

Source: The State of Small Business December 2009 Survey of Small Business Success by University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business

Many small business owners are beginning to believe social media can help them generate new business.  Half of those surveyed found the time it takes to use social media sites was more than expected.

Facebook and LinkedIn have become the main networks and  platforms for small business owners. Only a quarter of those using social media use Twitter for external communications, and a sixth use Twitter as a service channel.

45 percent of those using social media expect to make a profit from using social media, while only 9 percent expect to lose money. The cost benefit can be hard to measure and is sometimes subjective, but by and large, small businesses feel the medium is breaking even now but will yield a positive return. It is likely that small business owners are continually learning to use the medium more effectively, while they have gotten over the initial costs of setting up and the learning curve.

There are a clear advantages for competitive small businesses using new media tools and platforms.

• They will be first to ferret out new niche business leads. 
• They will get a big head start engaging new customers and millennials.
• They will be the first to get comfortable with the ever changing social media communication styles and technical platforms.
• They will be better at reputation preservation because they are listening in on these new channels. 

Social media now gets more pages views daily than Google. Thirty-six per cent plus of all internet hours are spent in SM networking spaces. Congratulations to the 20% of small business adopting. The rewards are yours.

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