Introduction to Social

Digital Marketing - Study Notes:

What it means to be social

People often use the terms ‘social media’ and ‘social’ to mean the same thing, but they are incorrect. Social media refers to the platforms and the applications where people are being social, whereas social refers to the interaction between people. A lot of brands think they’re being social, but in reality they’re just posting traditional ads on social media platforms. You can use three criteria in order to determine whether something is social or not.

• Is what you’re posting a two-way or multiple-way interaction? If you’re just posting to and outwards at someone, that’s not very social.
• Is the intent of your post to connect with people or build upon relationships? If you just want to push a message, that’s not very social either.
• Is the intention to add value to all parties participating? If it’s done only for your benefit, it’s not very social.

Wired to connect

Human beings are wired to connect. In his 2013 book titled Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect scientist Matthew Lieberman presents proof that social connections are as fundamental to human beings as food and water. This module is all about finding out what makes your audience tick and how to reach them through social media.

Role of a social media marketer

As a social media marketer, you use social media tools to connect to your audience socially, which should result in you selling products as well as getting subscribers and likes. But your fundamental role is to encourage and participate in interactions on social media. This means a lot of listening, as well as having discussions and positing questions that encourage two-way conversations. This will lead you to connect to people and build relationships with them, while all the time adding value to the parties participating.