Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/books Saylor.org
Social media play a crucial role in viral marketing, due to the large, connected audience; in online
reputation management (ORM), due to the way that users talk about brands; and in WebPR. Social media
are used to express opinions and so are the bedrock of ORM. Any company or brand that is hoping to
communicate to this connected audience needs to learn to use social media. ORM is all about the tools of
listening and using social media to guide the conversation.
Viral marketing, online reputation management, and WebPR are expanded on in the following chapters.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Social media allow anyone to have a say.
- Brands need to go where their customers are. Media selection is dictated by the users.
- Marketing messages should be dictated by the users and where they are.
- Marketers should make it easy for content sharers to pass on content by using chicklets and easy-to-read
URLs. - Demographic information can be compiled to allow for more useful and targeted advertising.
- There are many benefits of social media to marketers. However, there are also huge risks.
- Social media have changed how traditional media operate.
EXERCISES
- What is the difference between advertising using social media and marketing using social media?
- What are the benefits of social media to each, and what are the challenges?