You gotta love Office Max’s recent effort with viral video.  Imagine how you’d react if someone tried to pay you with a bag of pennies.  And of course, we’re doing the very thing they hoped for.  Passing the word along about Office Max as part of the process.

I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying that nothing sells a product better than word of mouth. But have you heard the term ’social media’?  If not, you should get familiar with it.  Social Media is how the new word of mouth happens.  

To quote a blog by the Duct Tape Marketing folks, “Gone are the days when all you needed to be on the web was a website.”  Whether it’s YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or another of the myriad of online media formats, both young and old are becoming more social as they flock to these online buzz hubs.  Discussions cover about everything from your business to the weather.

Here are a few overwhelming statistics regarding the use of social media by online users.  It was developed by Universal McCann (one of New York’s mega ad agencies) 

73% of online users read a blog

57% of online users join social networks

45% of online users have started a blog

83% of online users have viewed a video online

39% of online users subscribe to RSS feeds

36% of online users think more positively about companies that have blogs

Incredible information! Here’s proof that if you’re not paying attention to social media and how it can help promote your business, you should be!