Pub. 1 2011 Issue 1

8 AUTOMOBILE DEALER NEWS ILLINOIS www.illinoisdealers.com A s social networks and online communities continue to grow in popularity, size, and impact, they are fast becoming the new com- merce. These non-traditional inf luencers are shaping the future of buying behavior as more and more consumers turn to trusted friends and net- working contacts to validate their purchase decisions. Consumers who favor social media enjoy partici- pating in online conversation threads and public fo- rums. They’re attracted to businesses that demonstrate a “human side” and are not afraid to share open feed- back from their customers. And social media minded consumers gravitate toward local businesses that are actively involved in the community and let their Face- book and Twitter followers know about the good things they’re doing and the difference it’s making. To provide you with a sense of just how fast so- cial media is growing, more than 700,000 new users come to Facebook alone each day. That translates to 21 million new users every month, and at that rate the estimated number of total users Facebook will amass by 2011 will be well over 650 million. In fact, only the countries of China and India have bigger populations than Facebook. The Future of Your Business and Marketing in 2011 and Beyond BY JOHN GUBIOTTI , PRESIDENT, GROWTH MARKETING Imagine the growth of your business being primarily driven by what your customers experience and share rather than by the size of a marketing budget.