Social media sites are proliferating, attracting more users, and playing an increasingly important role in users' lives; however, some brands are struggling to take full advantage of the opportunities that are available.
Many marketing managers and executives have learned to think like publishers when it comes to social media, and that approach does provide a basic blueprint.
However, social media is interactive in ways that traditional published media is not.
Consumers have different expectations for branded media content than they do for broadcast or print advertisements.
In Content to Commerce, marketing executive Avi Savar outlines a broad strategy that marketing professionals can employ to connect effectively with consumers through both established and emerging social media sites.
Author Avi Savar explains: • When it comes to social media, the typical mantra for marketers is to "think like a publisher.
" Publishers are adapting to the changing world of audience behavior, meaning that marketers must change the way they approach media strategies.
• Another way for marketers to think about media campaigns is through the lens of a television executive.
There are many channels, such as Facebook and Twitter, and audiences use these different channels in different ways.
• Using the "network model" shifts the focus from mapping a brand to its audience to mapping a brand to the conversation that its audience is having.
To succeed, it is key for marketers to remember that the name of the game is "conversations.
" With social media, marketing is not a one-way endeavor or about sending a message.
Instead, it is a two-way conversation.
• Managing multiple social media channels can be a challenge, and using "tent poles" is one way brands can both tailor their content to each channel and align those channels.
Tent poles are significant events that large numbers of people pay attention to or engage in, such as major sporting events or the back-to-school season.
• Creating and running a network is an ongoing commitment.
Most brands will need a minimum of four tent poles throughout the year to keep audiences engaged.
Social media can both amplify the effect of paid advertising campaigns and reinforce audience engagement between those campaigns.
• Because marketing is no longer a one-way street, marketers must remember to keep the audience's needs and desires at the forefront of social media campaigns.
Otherwise, audiences may ignore the marketing content or even react negatively to it.
Content needs to engage consumers, either because it is valuable or entertaining.
Content to Commerce by Avi Savar will benefit people who work in marketing or who oversee marketing strategy, such as high-level executives.
It will also be useful to people working in advertising and marketing agencies.
The book is written mainly for businesses that produce goods and services for consumers.
It includes several special features, such as research studies, graphics, an epilogue featuring input from executives who have led marketing campaigns, biographies of the people quoted throughout the book, an index, and an expanded table of contents.
This book is best read cover to cover.