The New Community Rules: Marketing on the Social Web

From the book:

Social media, which relates to the sharing of information, experiences, and perspectives throughout community oriented websites, is becoming increasingly significant in our online world. Thanks to social media, the geographic walls that divide individuals are crumbling, and new online communities are emerging and growing. Some examples of social media include blogs, forums, message boards, picture and video sharing sites, user-generated sites, wikis, and podcasts. Each of these tools helps facilitate communication about ideas that users are passionate about, and connects like-minded individuals throughout the world.

Social websites have been built to unify individuals with similar interests: social news sites that are governed by the "wisdom of crowds", social bookmarking sites that allow individuals to discover websites that a large number of other people have already discovered, and niche social networks that unify individuals under a common interest. As such, a new discipline, "social media optimization", also called "social media marketing" has evolved.

Using available social media tools, users endorse approved content for their peers. As soon as an active user of a social news site of influencer discovers a piece of content and spreads it, word of mouth commences. The idea is a viral spread, which is heightened by online communities and the cross-pollination of content on other social media sites.

Given a compelling marketing strategy and creative demonstration, social media marketing can lead people to purchase the desired product or service. If you're getting links out of your social marketing strategy, it's because people are talking about you. It's important to note that social media users are seeking out the voices of their peers - they're not listening to you as a corporate entity anymore.

Partial Contents:

• What is "Social Media" Marketing?
• What Makes "Social Media" Marketing Different?
• A Brief Introduction to Social Media Portals
• The Web as a Means of Giving Consumers a Voice
• It's Time to Join The Conversation
• Are You Ready for Social Media Marketing?
• Researching Your Social Media Community
• Formulating Your Strategy
• Networking Within a Social Medium
• The "Participation is Marketing" Phenomenon
• Reputation Management
• A short History of Blogging
• Blogs as Online Influencers
• A Beginners Guide to Blog Platforms
• Writing for Blog Audiences
• Microblogging and Using Twitter
• Business Uses of Twitter
• Facebook, Myspace, Linkedin, and other Social Networking Sites
• Using Yahoo! Answers for Social Media Marketing
• Create Your Own Wiki
• Using Social Bookmarking Sites
• The Wisdom of Crowds
• What is Social News?
• Using Pictures to Market
• The Video Marketing Guide
• Strategizing in Social Media Communities

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