Socialmediamarketingreferstotheprocessofgainingtrafficorattentionthroughsocialmediasites.•Socialmediamarketingprogramsusuallycenteroneffortstocreatecontentthatattractsattentionandencouragesreaderstoshareitacrosstheirsocialnetworks.TheresultingelectronicwordofmouthreferstoanystatementconsumersshareviatheInternetaboutanevent,product,service,brandorcompany.Whentheunderlyingmessagespreadsfromusertouserandpresumablyresonatesbecauseitappearstocomefromatrusted,third-partysource,asopposedtothebrandorcompanyitself,thisformofmarketingresultsinearnedmediaratherthanpaidmedia.SocialmediaplatformsSocialnetworkingwebsitesMobilephonesSocialnetworkingwebsites•Socialnetworkingwebsitesallowindividualstointeractwithoneanotherandbuildrelationships.Whencompaniesjointhesesocialchannels,consumerscaninteractwiththemdirectly.Thatinteractioncanbemorepersonaltousersthantraditionalmethodsofoutboundmarketing&advertising.Socialnetworkingwebsites•Socialnetworkingsitesactaswordofmouth.Socialnetworkingsitesandblogsallowfollowersto“retweet”or“repost”commentsmadebyothersaboutaproductbeingpromoted.Byrepeatingthemessage,theuser'sconnectionsareabletoseethemessage,thereforereachingmorepeople.Becausetheinformationabouttheproductisbeingputoutthereandisgettingrepeated,moretrafficisbroughttotheproduct/company.SocialnetworkingwebsitesInordertointegrateSocialNetworkswithintheirmarketingstrategies,companieshavetodevelopamarketingmodel.InamarketingmodelbasedonSocialNetworksisprovided.Themodelincludesthefollowingsteps:•selectionofpotentialSocialNetworkstouse;•definitionofafinancialplan;•definitionoforganisationalstructurestomanagetheSocialNetworkinthemarket;•selectionoftarget;•promotionofproductsandservices;•performancemeasures.Socialnetworkingwebsites•SocialNetworkingisusedby76%ofbusinessestoday.Businessretailershaveseen133%increasesintheirrevenuesfromsocialmediamarketing.Mobilephones•Mobilephoneusagehasalsobecomebeneficialforsocialmediamarketing.Today,mostcellphoneshavesocialnetworkingcapabilities:individualsarenotifiedofanyhappeningsonsocialnetworkingsitesthroughtheircellphones,inreal-time.Thisconstantconnectiontosocialnetworkingsitesmeansproductsandcompaniescanconstantlyremindandupdatefollowersabouttheircapabilities,uses,importance,etc.Becausecellphonesareconnectedtosocialnetworkingsites,advertisementsarealwaysinsight.AlsomanycompaniesarenowputtingQRcodesalongwithproductsforindividualstoaccessthecompanywebsiteoronlineserviceswiththeirsmart-phones.Approaches•Thepassiveapproach•TheactiveapproachThepassiveapproach•Socialmediacanbeausefulsourceofmarketinformation.Blogs,contentcommunitiesandforumsarecommonnowadayswhereindividualssharetheirreviewsandrecommendationsofbrands,productsandservices.Asaresult,socialmediahasbecomeaninexpensivesourceofmarketintelligencewhichcanbeusedbymarketerstotrackproblemsandmarketopportunities.•Forexample,theinterneteruptedwithvideosandpicturesofiPhone6bendtestwhichshowedthatthecovetedphonewouldbendmerelybyhand.Theso-called“bendgate”controversycreatedconfusionamongstcustomerswhohadwaitedmonthsforthelaunchofthelatestrenditionoftheiPhone.•Howeverapplepromptlyissuedastatementsayingthattheproblemwasextremelyrareandthatthecompanyhadtakenseveralstepstomakethemobiledevicerobust.Unliketraditionalmarketresearchmethodssuchassurveys,focusgroupsanddataminingwhicharetimeconsumingandcostly,marketerscannowutilizesocialmediatoobtain‘live’informationaboutconsumerbehavior.Thiscanbeextremelyusefulinahighlydynamicmarketstructureinwhichwenowlivein.TheactiveapproachSocialmediacanbeusedasapublicrelationsanddirectmarketingtool.Thereareseveralexamplesoffirmsinitiatingsomeformofonlinedialogwiththepublictofosterrelationswithcustomers.BusinessexecutiveslikeJonathanSwartz,PresidentandCEOofSunMicrosystems,SteveJobsCEOofAppleComputers,andMcDonaldsVicePresidentBobLangertpostregularlyintheirCEOblogs,encouragingcustomerstointeractandfreelyexpresstheirfeelings,ideas,suggestionsorremarks.NarendraModicurrentprimeministerofIndiaranksonlysecondafterPresidentBarackObamainnumberoffansonhisofficialFacebookpageat21.8millionandcounting.ModiemployedsocialmediaplatformstocircumventtraditionalmediachannelstoreachouttotheyoungandurbanpopulationofIndiawhichisestimatedtobe200million.HisappealwasfurtherbuttressedbytherecentcrowdturnoutatMadisonsquaregarden.