It will come as no surprise to  you that a recent article from the BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8562801.stm) noted Facebook is the 5th most visited website in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Brazil, US and Australia. Twitter comes in at 24th, closely followed by Skype at 25th.

Organisations have been quick to explore ways the can increase the reach and speed by which they communicate with their target audience through the use of social networks.

In focus groups and one-on-one interviews, more often than not we observe users rejecting attempts from organisations to infiltrate social networks. In order to sign up to a Facebook group, encourage their friends to do so, follow someone on Twitter or read a blog, users need to feel some level of affinity or relevance. While users may have a pre-existing off-line relationship with an organisation, it does not necessarily follow suit that they will want to see this relationship extended to their social network. For example, if I am an avid bicycle rider I may want to link with a local bicycle riders association and a particular brand of bike that I really identify with, and let others know about this. However, I am less likely to identify with my insurance company, an organisation I only have a relationship with out of necessity.

In our experience, those organisations which put serious thought into how they might make themselves relevant to their target audience in the context of a social network, reap the benefits.