Social Media Marketing: Strategies for Engaging in Facebook, Twitter & Other Social Media

6. The Conversation Happens With or Without You

A funny thing happened when the Internet went mainstream. Ordinary people could talk to more people than just their neighbors, co-workers, and social club friends about what they were passionate about. Believe it or not, this started happening long before the term social media was even a forethought in anyone’s mind.

Conversations about brands, products, and services started happening online with the advent of message boards, forums, and web-based chat rooms. From 1992 on, comic book collectors could talk all about which series they loved, advertise any extras for sale, speculate on what might happen in the next issue of their favorite comic, and announce whether they were planning to attend local ...