Page 48 - Social Media Marketing for Dummies

» Community: Online communities and social networks have seen explosive
growth in the last few years. The amount of time that people spend on
community websites is significantly higher than anywhere else on the web.
Online communities include social platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter,
and the more private online communities and forums that are often tied to
company websites or niche interests.
For example, The Well (shown in Figure 2-2) is one of the most famous, early
online communities, just as Facebook is the most popular social network in
the United States as we write this. The reasons people participate in online
communities are myriad. Suffice it to say, community participation is a key
type of activity online. However, when people are engaging with each other,
they participate less in marketing campaigns because engaging with one
another captures all their attention. They have no time for advertising
because they’re busy hearing each other’s opinions. When consumers are
searching for information or looking to buy a product, they are more open to
advertising. This is exactly why social media marketing, with its unique
approach, is important.

FIGURE 2-2:
The Well.

» E-commerce: Consumers across the country continue to choose to buy more
goods online. The fact that the products have to be shipped has done little to
hinder many consumers from using the Internet to make retail purchases.
The largest online retailer continues to be Amazon (www.amazon.com), with

32 PART 1 Getting Started with Social Media Marketing