Today’s media headlines have been swamped with the news of Facebook’s IPO plans.
Print and online titles alike have been quick to report the news and give their analysis on the situation.
The main excitement is about the numbers involved:
$5bn – the amount Facebook seeks to raise (about half the amount analysts had predicted)
$1bn – Facebook’s net income in 2011. A rise of 65%
845 million – number of the social network’s monthly users
443 million – number of Facebook daily users
8 – Facebook’s age!
This is likely to be the largest sale of shares by an Internet company. With these numbers, the influence of the Internet and social networks can not be ignored. Let’s face it, Hollywood made a film about the company when it was only six years old!
Fads that take hold on the Internet suddenly make national print media headlines – just check out the Internet craze reports today about ‘pet cats with a slice of bread on their heads’! Who knew that this would go viral? Sainsbury’s recent proactive response to a child’s letter asking why Tiger Bread wasn’t called Giraffe Bread also caught Internet users’ attention and resulted in the company changing the in-store product name – a social media success!
The power of a picture has always been part of an effective PR campaign. After all a picture tells a thousand words. What’s interesting is that individuals can now truly drive the news agenda as social networks give them a shared and powerful voice.
Brands and companies should not forget this – social media engagement is an essential way to listen, learn and share with partners, customers, advocates and prospects. So what’s the key to success? Well, remember that people are behind the stories.
