Let me provide the disclaimer that although social networking may not be for all companies (I suppose if your clientele was comprised mainly of 90 -year olds living in the desert with no running water or power, it might not be advantageous of you to have a social media strategy but for the rest of us….well, we’ve all seen the numbers of people, and their varied ages, using social networks.) But it is important to know your audience/customers.
Having said that, one entity that knows its target (forgive the awful pun…I couldn’t help myself) is the US military. Some of the branches are now using social networking websites, like Facebook and Twitter, to recruit (among other things). Lt. Gen. Benjamin Freakley says (of 18-24-year olds), “They live in the virtual world.” He tells Gen Ys “…You could friend your recruiter, and then he could talk to your friends…” In addition to recruiting, they are using the sites to disseminate (public) information about missions. Learn more:
Army: http://www.twitter.com/USArmy
Air Force: http://www.youtube.com/afbluetube
Marine Corps: http://www.myspace.com/marinecorps
