Starting the journey to finish what was started in 2013, a book that gives actionable insights into the usage os Social Media around the globe. Here is a short extraction from the first chapter (remember it is not finished and there are updates to be done)
Introduction to Global Social Media Marketing – Can You Afford Not to Think Globally
We have all heard the phrase “Think globally, act locally”, but not often do we realise its far reaching implications, or the deep seated pragmatism behind it. For profit based organisations with operations cutting across geographical fault lines, this is no longer a new age business ideology, but a matter of survival. The neo-liberal economic policies that we are living under demand that the process of globalization be a practical one. And today, nowhere is it more necessary and relevant than in the online promotion of goods and services in the ever expanding consumer markets of the world.
Internet based mass media and the exponentially expanding and evolving online social networking landscape has brought about a sea change in how people view themselves and others. Individuals are becoming more and more receptive to all sorts of information and ideas across continents and cultures. And therefore, businesses are confronted with an unprecedented opportunity to state their case to existing customers and reach out to potential markets through this medium. They now have a direct and flexible platform to assess their place in the market’s zeitgeist by simply listening in.
Basically, web based social media and networking has provided an impetus to marketing and commercial activity across the globe, across sectors, and across markets, that can only be described as revolutionary in its magnitude.
Social Media Use Around the World
In 2012, eMarketer projected a growth of 220 million in the number of world wide social media users – a rise from 1.18 billion in 2011 to 1.4 billion by the end of that year. Although it is a slight decrease in percentage growth from 2010 to 2011, it still is a 20% rise in the number of new social users across the planet. This moderation in growth rates only signifies a gradual market maturity.
The penetration of social media among netizens is set to remain the highest in North America for the foreseeable future owing to its wider accessibility to the Internet, says eMarketer. Close on its heels would be the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.
In regions such as Africa, Internet penetration rates and infrastructure remains an impediment to the spread of social media and online networking. As a result, user numbers are still small. The potential on the other hand is enormous. As industrialisation and modernisation touches more and more African capitals, the continent is poised to become the largest growth centre for online social networking.
The most interesting social media phenomena in recent times however, is the shift of power to the developing world from traditional western hubs of online enterprise, in terms of user numbers, market size, and future potential. The fastest growth in web based social media networking is poised to emanate from the emerging markets of the world, particularly South Asia, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle-East.
More to come in 2017