Page 26 - Social Media Marketing for Dummies

and purchasing decisions, and you, the reader, are probably one, too, without
realizing it. We discuss the specific types of influencers in the section
“Understanding the role of the influencer.”

» Platforms: We used to believe that the social media platforms on which
marketers, influencers, and consumers published content were neutral
technologies without playing a role in whose content got promoted and shared
the most. However, in recent years, the actions of the major social media
platforms have shown that their leadership has an active role to play in what
gets promoted, shared, and inversely censured on a social media marketing
platform. If you’re a small company, their influence may not be noticeable but
for larger companies who market and sell many products online, understand-
ing how the platforms and their leaders think about content is important.

It isn’t enough to market to the consumer anymore; as a marketer, you have to
market to your potential customers’ social influencers as well so that they, in turn,
influence either overtly or just by what they publish and share online. And that’s
what social media marketing is about.

Changing roles of the social
media marketer

Anyone who has worked in online marketing for a while has watched amazing
changes take place. Starting in 1994, one of this book’s authors, Stephanie, worked
at AOL, watched that company and other online services help start a social media
revolution that continues to change the world. At that time, the other author, Shiv,
created his first website using HTML 1.0 and added the ability to comment at the
end of each page.

Since then, a lot has changed, and today many marketers are looking for a specific
set of rules to follow to be successful. We can assure you that there aren’t any, but
there are some guidelines. Following are some of the actions that social media
marketers must take if they want their company to compete successfully in the
new social marketplace:

» Become the top persuader.
When you lead an SMM team, you need to understand that persuasion is your
most important tool. You persuade your team that you can help its members
achieve success, and you persuade your customer to buy your product.
Throughout this book, we discuss the role that influence plays in social media
and in the art of persuasion. Before you influence, you need to figure out the
persuasive message that will sell. When you do that, you can unleash the
groups that influence your customers.

10 PART 1 Getting Started with Social Media Marketing