Week of 8/27

After reading parts of "Secrets of Social Media Marketing" by Paul Gillin, I feel as though I have just scraped the surface of how to perfect marketing in the booming age of social media. Gillin makes many valid and convincing points throughout this book, backing them up with examples from the real-world. He advises that when one is venturing into the world of social media marketing that they should create a plan. You should not just jump to a social media tool and try to mold it into what you need. Instead, recognize the goals of your project and then pick a social media tool that will best support your plan. It is also important to not get caught up in the always-advancing social media tools out there. If you already understand some basics of social media tools, don't buy into the fancier ones because it may not be worth the time spent re-learning all new gadgets. Along with this, it is important that one does understand how to use a variety of social media tools because different tools can be used to the best of their advantage for different jobs. While using social media is becoming a popular marketing strategy, Gillin says that it is not always the best path for every situation. For example, think about the audience you are trying to reach. If they are over 60 years old, the majority of your target audience is not hooked up on social media tools. Therefore marketing via social media would prove to be pointless because your audience doesn't access it.

Gillin stresses the point of relaxation. Too many large corporate companies are strung too tightly. They may react to the company being posted about on the internet negatively. In turn, they can harm themselves even more than if they would've just laughed it off. Attacking a customer is never a good idea, especially if they were posting something that was to boost the company brand. He reiterates the Dell computer story- a perfect example of the importance of relaxation over silly social media posts.

Later on, Gillin explains some of the highlights of social media marketing. One being the low cost for companies, which is an obvious incentive. Another being, that you can reach a large mass of people with a variety of interests at the click of a mouse. Not only does social media marketing reach people here in the United States, but Gillin says that some of the largest social media tools are in the overseas markets. No matter the location or the tool, the author states the all social media outlets have some general similarities: anybody can connect to them, users can personalize their information, and they support software applications. Keeping these general aspects in mind, it is most important to understand the individual "personality" of each tool. Knowing the purpose and drive behind social media sites can help one choose the best social media tool that will do the most for their marketing plan.

Dr. Howard gives a great introduction to the production of social networking communities and what we are doing with them these days. Companies are beginning to use the booming memberships of social networking sites to their marketing advantages. The way to be successful in creating an online community that lasts is summed up in the acronym RIBS:

Remuneration

Influence

Belonging

Significance

The second chapter clarified a lot for me. I didn't realize that a social network and an online community were not different things. Up until I read this chapter, I thought the terms were interchangeable. The main difference is their purposes. A social network's main focus is the users personal relationships with other users. An online community's main focus is that there is a shared purpose between all of the members, not so much on the individual relationship from one member to the other. I am interested to learn about RIBS more in depth as I continue to read through this book.