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“Social Media” is a term that can scare the living daylights out of some marketers, and for good reason. Customers are a force to be reckoned with, and if you jump into the world of social media without plenty of preparation, you could risk damage to your company’s image. But with the viral growth of social media, you must decide if you can afford not to join the conversation.

So what is social media, anyway?

Because social media is relatively new and changes constantly, pinning down an exact definition of social media is almost as hard as jumping into it – in fact, its Wikipedia entry has undergone dozens of changes in the last month alone, and is likely nowhere near a concrete definition. For our purposes, however: social media is any interactive, Internet-based content-sharing community.

Social media includes a wide variety of Internet sites. A few of the most popular platforms include Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. In addition to these mainstream sites, countless blogs and forums also play a big role in social media. For an expanded social media definition and some benefits associated with social media platforms, check out this article by Ron Jones of Search Engine Watch.

Many misinformed marketers think that social media is solely for teenagers, and is limited to the confusing domain of acronyms like “lol” (laugh out loud) and “btw” (by the way). While acronyms do play a part in social chat, they’re not a prerequisite for entering the social media sphere – and as for demographics, you might be surprised!

According to a recent iStrategyLabs article, as of January 2009 Facebook had:

• More than 11 million users between 25 to 34
• Nearly 7 million users between 35 to 54
• Nearly 10 million users over 55

Granted, the 17 million 18- to 24-year-olds still make up a large chunk of the Facebook population, but this social media platform phenomenon is quickly becoming more representative of the general population. In fact, a more recent report shows that the growth of registered users age 35 and older doubled between the end of January and the end of March!

Still not convinced? To paraphrase a writer on the Diva Marketing blog, not being part of a social media discussion when your target audience is talking about you is being a part of the discussion. Do you really want to risk staying silent?

Points to remember:

• Social media is any interactive, Internet-based content-sharing community
• Social media isn’t just for teens: people of all ages use social media platforms
• If you don’t join social media discussions, your side of the story will remain untold

Questions? Comments? Let us know below! Next up: how to join the social media conversation.