iLike, which launched in late 2006, is a social music recommendation service that now has more than 50 million registered users. It tracks what you listen to and like and gives you recommendations on new music based on that data as well as what your friends are listening to. It’s the top music application on Facebook, Bebo, Hi5 and just about every other social network other than MySpace, which has MySpace Music. iLike also hosts band pages which are second in popularity only to MySpace Music.

From humble origins in 2003, MySpace turned the music industry on its head by changing the way a generation communicates. But even having 200 million friends and Rupert Murdoch as a boss won’t help when your website is no longer flavor of the month. MySpace’s loss of status is reflected in its usage metrics: MySpace had 124 million monthly unique visitors last month, a decline of 2 percent, according to comScore. Facebook, by contrast, had 276 million unique visitors, an increase of 16.6 percent.

By acquiring iLike, MySpace solidifies their already leading position as the most popular online identity for bands and perhaps stop the bleeding as Facebook continues to dominate the social media space.

Women, long the keeper of the household checkbook, are increasingly taking charge of the family investments as well. Increasingly, women are stepping into the role of family CFO. America is becoming a “Femocracy” with women making the key purchasing and investing decisions in millions of households – in effect, making “Mom” the chief executive officer, chief financial officer, chief purchasing officer, and chief operating officer.

Word of mouth is hugely influential among women when making financial decisions. More and more of those recommendations are coming in the form of social media engagement, particularly for financial decision-making. According to Oppenheimer, women manage 1 trillion dollars a year, yet they still often lack the knowledge and confidence to invest their money. Increasingly, women are looking to social networks for advice and information—not just on life issues but on financial decisions. A survey commissioned by Citigroup’s Women & Co. unit, which offers financial services aimed specifically at women, found that 63 percent women themselves the CFOs of their households—responsible for making the majority of financial decisions.  Additionally, women are no longer waiting for one of life’s big transition events — like divorce, widowhood — to develop a financial plan.

Women are increasingly empowered by the abundance of financial services information online, but the onslaught of information can be overwhelming. Women are strongly influenced by word-of-mouth (WOM) and look to their friends for advice. With the rise of social networking, blogs and viral video, this group has many user-generated sources for information about financial services. The fact that women favor WOM, combined with their use of social networking, indicates they are a strong audience for financial WOM marketing efforts.

Women investors have taken to social media in big numbers, and they are listening closely to what their peers have to say. A 2008 study by Cogent Research, which examines the impact of social media on investment-related decisions, reveals the following primary trends:

• Women investors are highly engaged in social media;
• WOM influences a majority of investment decisions;
• One out of every four U.S. online adult is engaged in WOM that deals specifically with personal finance and investing;
• Social media leads investors to question the accuracy of information delivered by official sources (advisors and  investment firms)

Social media offers financial services companies the opportunity to engage online, connect with women in a personal manner and subsequently become their trusted resource. Many financial services companies are missing opportunities to an leverage  social media to educate, inform and engage women. To remain relevant,  financial services companies  need to create lasting, valuable relationships with women by responding and engaging through WOM.

The seven words which best describe this are below, thanks to Internet pioneer and venture capitalist, Fred Wilson.

• Global
• Open
• Social
• Intelligent
• Playful
• Mobile
• Instant

Why these words? Why do we believe these are important, vital tenets of the new wave of communications?

Global – because the Internet is borderless but also because campaigns must break through the clutter and speak to everyone on a personal basis.

Open – because clients which are transparent will reap the benefits of consumer trust.

Social – because the new campaign must be good enough to get people talking about it. But social because we are seeing a new era of communications where people can, and do, talk about the brands/organizations they use. More importantly, these organizations and brands can now talk back!

Intelligent – because we must not talk down to consumers any more.

Playful – because we want to have fun!

Mobile – because consumers are no longer confined to the cinema, to the TV or to their computers. Mobiles and smart phones are the fourth screen and increasingly the method of choice for users to access the Internet.

Instant – because who wants to wait? The Internet has made us impatient consumers of information and those clients who make their customers wait will be penalised for it.

What do you think? Are there any words you’d add – and why?