Online Marketing: A User's Manual

Chapter 1

Social Media – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

INTRODUCTION

Social media is about creating conversations and cultivating relationships online. As a marketer, you need to understand that it’s already mainstream, not something in the distant future. Twitter sees more than 50 million status updates every day – larger than the population of England – and Facebook has over 500 million registered profiles – that’s larger than the population of the United States. And while there is a lot to learn about social media, at its core it is just what it says it is – social. You will hear a lot of buzz terms like “Listening” or “Viral” or “Engage,” and these are all important tactics within social media marketing, but, as I said, the key thing to remember is that all social media is about communication and relationships.

So what does social media mean for marketing? Marketing in the 20th century was primarily about broadcasting a message and interrupting what people were doing to tell them your message. In the 21st century social media marketing is about engaging in relationships with your customers and making your message and brand part of their online experience.

People online are embracing brands through social media:

• 46% of Facebook users say they would talk about or recommend a product on Facebook.

• 44% of Twitter users have recommended a product.

• 25% of search results for the ...