A reflection on LSM Appendix “A Refresher Guide to Social Networks That Matter Most”
I am currently reading Likeable Social Media for one of my graduate school classes on Marketing for Entrepreneurs. It has been a nice refresher on how to use social media as a business instead of a user. The two perspectives are incredibly different and the thought process behind marketing campaigns is fascinating. Marketing agencies have come so far past simply creating witty commercials for the Superbowl. I remember the first time that I heard about a company using a flash mob to create a media frenzy, now that flash mob is multiplied by millions as one piece of content (video, picture, or even piece of text) can fly over the internet and appear on everyone’s personal computer screen. It is a fascinating new world of marketing. I will be discussing the appendix of the book which outlines some of the most recent movements in social media.
I would first like to say that I am very pleased with writer Dave Kerpen’s ability to stay unbiased in his discussion of the prevalent Social Medias. Often we find the market changing so frequently that once you have become an expert on a certain Social Media (SM) another one is just popping up. Along with the frustration one might feel over having spent time and effort on a quickly aging venue, but also one would feel the need to highlight and exaggerate its continuing relevance in the marketplace. Kerpen has done away with the ego usually associated with being a SM guru and tried to present us with the most up to date and comprehensive guide to emerging SMs.
That being said, I believe that the content of this book and how the list of relevant SMs is drastically changing as we speak lends me to believe that unless you are the mastermind behind all of the SMs, you are never going to be an expert on all of them. Currently the updated list should include Vine and Snapchat along with any other SM that our 13 year olds are currently experimenting with. Having spent quite a bit of time studying the SM world two years ago, I now feel like an 80 year old when it comes to staying updated with the latest and greatest ways to spread your opinion. I believe that this book is a great way to lay a foundation, but the only way that we will improve our knowledge of SM marketing is to be hands on in the field and learn from successes and failures of the marketer around us.
Having dabbled with most of the SMs that Kerpen lists, I did find the list to be helpful as to how each one can be used in a full faceted marketing plan, appealing to each demographic in their language, with their interests and browsing habits in mind. We often forget, as marketers, that there is a large separation between people that just use Twitter and people that just use Facebook, and then a lot of people that use one or the other in conjunction with one but not another SM. This means that if you are not exercising a proper presence on all platforms, you might be completely missing a key target audience. Learning these nuances of marketing truly fascinates me and I am already (as demonstrated in the second chapter) playing with Facebook advertising to try to target specific groups of people that I know will respond well to our product.
I am particularly interested to learn more about the way Facebook is turning social participation into money. It is incredible to me that they are offering a service, but as a website, they do not produce any content besides venues for people to be social in. Facebook is not directly responsible for providing users with entertainment, it simply introduces you to people that you might find entertaining. I believe that this was the gem that Twitter took away from Facebook. However, Facebook is running the market on targeting the most inconspicuous groups of people. Our author talks about “hypertargeting” and “nanotargeting”, no other advertising media has ever had the opportunity to anonymously select one particular person based on specific criteria and then send marketing directly to his line of sight. I have known about these things, but seeing it in affect is amazing. I look forward to participating in personal tests with my business and learning this model because I believe that it will persist into future SMs.
Overall I am very intrigued as to the content of this book. It will jump start a larger thirst for knowledge how I can use social media in my future businesses as it free for any business to jump into. The ability to create a following with a time investment is truly the most cost beneficial form of advertising I have ever seen. I look forward to expanding my knowledge.
Surreal Entrepreneur 