Last week an Australian company, USocial, launched a new offering to the social media world. For $177.30 you can purchase a 1,000-member group of “targeted” Fans for your company’s Facebook Fan Page, up to 10,000 fans. However, by “targeted” USocial merely means that these fans reside in the country you do business in and/or are affiliated with your industry or interest group.

Suffice it to say, USocial missed the mark. The entire purpose of social media is to create and strengthen relationships. How can a bond exist between an organization and 1,000 Fans who have simply been “purchased”? It’s even questionable whether the Fans are actual people or automated accounts that would be worthless to your business. You can’t buy relationships – at least not the useful kind.

From there, the facts behind USocial get even fuzzier. Although USocial argues that your bulk purchase of Fans will be targeted, their ability to target is extremely limited. If your brand’s audience is a specific demographic in Northeast Kansas, obtaining 1,000 Fans from across the United States is nearly useless. Futhermore, USocial claims it’s common knowledge that each Fan will generate at least $1 in monthly profits. However, they offer no evidence to support this unlikely statement.

And for anyone who might still be considering USocial, consider the stance of Twitter and Digg. When USocial set up similar business offerings on these networks, both sites moved to ban USocial. Despite those demands to cease and desist, USocial continues to run its business.

One of these up-and-coming sites might become the “next big thing”.

Remain effective in the social media arena by keeping up with current fads and trends that appeal to your audience. Here are five promising social media networks we’re keeping an eye on for future impact.

1.  Scribd is a document-sharing site where users share documents, presentations and PDFs. Scribd recently revamped its site to make it more social-media friendly. The changes include a news feed, the ability to follow other users, an interactive profile page and a “scribble box” where users can update their subscribers in real time.
Average American visits per month: 6 million.

2. Bebo is a social network similar to MySpace, but with a cleaner layout. It offers many of the same capabilities as Facebook, but has a generally younger audience. Around 40 percent of the users are 13-17 years old, and 18-34 year olds represent 31 percent. It’s useful to note that African Americans make up 43 percent of users, while Caucasians represent 44 percent.
Average American visits per month: 5 million.

3. Tumblr is a blogging site where users can post text, photos, music and videos from their browser, phone, desktop, or email. The site wants users to demonstrate their personality by allowing customization of colors and blog themes using HTML.
Average American visits per month: 2 million.

4. Plurk is a microblogging site comparable to Twitter, but it allows people to post emoticons and comment on one another’s posts. The posts are laid out on an hourly timeline that scrolls from right to left. Plurk also uses “karma” to build user loyalty. The more you use the site, the more options you earn for emoticons, layouts, etc.
Average American visits per month: 10,000

5. Jaiku is also a microblogging site. Like Plurk, users can comment on other posts, but on Jaiku, users can also post icons. The layout is similar to Twitter, but with more vibrant color schemes. Google took over development of the site in January 2009. Currently, the percentages of users 18-34, 35-49, and 50+ are extremely close, ranging from 24 to 27 percent each. Sixty-two percent of the users do not have children, and 75 percent are Caucasian.
Average American visits per month: 6,000

You’ve probably seen, and may belong to, several Facebook Groups, and are a Fan of many Pages. But you might wonder which one is right for your company – a Group or a Fan Page? We recommend a Fan Page because it provides many benefits that your company will miss with a Group. Here are jhP’s top five reasons why Facebook Fan Pages are “where it’s at!”

1. Public Record – Anyone can view a Facebook Fan Page whether they have a Facebook account or not, and Fan Pages are indexed on search engines so they’re easily found. This allows people to  access your company’s Fan Page just like any other website.
2. Personalized URL – After your Fan Page has accumulated more than 100 Fans, you can register for a personalized URL, for example, www.facebook.com/jhpadv. This clean, easy-to-remember URL looks great printed on marketing collateral compared to http://www.facebook.com/ads/manage/#/pages/Topeka-KS/business-name-here/104116816064?ref=search
3. Viral Advantage – If you post an update to your Wall, or add new videos/photos, they also post on the Walls of each of your Page’s Fans. This easily  keeps Fans up to date, encouraging them to interact with the site. Plus, each interaction then goes out on the Walls of all their Friends. This effortlessly increases the number of people exposed to your company’s Page.
4. Insights – Facebook collects statistics for activity on Fan Pages so you can see what videos, photos and updates people like best and how they’ve interacted with them. The insights also reveal basic demographics like age, gender and location.
5. Applications – You can add various applications like quizzes, polls and RSS feeds to your company’s Fan Page to enhance its offerings, giving your Fans even more reason to enjoy visiting your Page regularly. There are thousands of applications available. And since the Facebook coding language was released to third-party coders, you can have a programmer create a custom application, uniquely branded for your company.

Late last week, Facebook launched the Fan Box widget (see ours to the right) to help users more efficiently connect their Fan Pages to their other Web entities. The Fan Box promotes their Page and can help grow membership by being easily embedded on any Web site. The widget consists of a few Fan icons (shown at random), a button to allow people to become a Fan and an optional stream displaying Wall Posts from the Fan Page.

Why is this important? Simply, it’s going to help better leverage your social media presence on the Internet by allowing people to easily connect with you on multiple channels. It’s like a free ad promoting your Fan Page. Post it on your blog or Web site so your visitors know they can also connect with you on Facebook.

The more places you are connected to your audience, the greater opportunity you have to stay top-of-mind. The Fan Box is just one more way to help your fans connect those dots.

Remember how exciting the grocery store checkout stand was when you were a kid? That’s where all the really good stuff was. All those bright colors and tempting candies. The one I always begged for was a parent’s nightmare – that gooey yumminess that came in a squeezable tube. I don’t recall the name, but that bright package still catches my eye.

That’s how big a difference packaging makes. I still buy gum, and many other products, based on what package looks the coolest or is most eye–catching. The same goes for services. When choosing between a car repair shop that’s tidy and in a safe neighborhood or one that’s junky and in a scary area, which do you choose? Based on the physical evidence, you’ll probably go to the first shop. Customers base purchase decisions on comfort and trust. It’s what builds relationships. That’s why packaging and physical evidence are two very important additional Ps in the marketing mix.

Packaging:

It’s about appearances. First impressions and how your product shines next to your competition’s products are crucial. Our lifetime of checkout stand experiences proves that. Packaging can be your strongest asset, or a sales killer – remember Tropicana’s recent rebrand? Consumers come to recognize and depend on the look of our products as they make their choices. So it’s essential to regularly research and reevaluate our packaging designs for impact and effectiveness.

Physical Evidence:

It’s also about facts. Physical realities allow consumers to form opinions of your services or products based on what they see. This is another reason why it’s important to gain insight from someone outside of your company. Find out what people think of your location’s cleanliness, appearance, and how they think your product looks. Is your business’ location organized and attractive? Does your product appear fresh and able to function?

In the marketing mix, sometimes you have to judge a book by its cover. That said, what makes your product or service stand out and shine above the others?

Stay tuned to find out how positioning and perception affect your brand!