We’re all connected: The power of the social media ecosystem

doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2011.01.007

Business Horizons

Volume 54, Issue 3, May–June 2011, Pages 265-273

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2011.01.007 Get rights and content

Abstract

Consumers are adopting increasingly active roles in co-creating marketing content with companies and their respective brands. In turn, companies and organizations are looking to online social marketing programs and campaigns in an effort to reach consumers where they ‘live’ online. However, the challenge facing many companies is that although they recognize the need to be active in social media, they do not truly understand how to do it effectively, what performance indicators they should be measuring, and how they should measure them. Further, as companies develop social media strategies, platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter are too often treated as stand-alone elements rather than part of an integrated system. This article offers a systematic way of understanding and conceptualizing online social media, as an ecosystem of related elements involving both digital and traditional media. We highlight a best-practice case study of an organization's successful efforts to leverage social media in reaching an important audience of young consumers. Then, we conclude with several insights and lessons related to the strategic integration of social media into a firm's marketing communications strategy.

Section snippets

Marketing myths revealed

Consumers are no longer merely passive recipients in the marketing exchange process. Today, they are taking an increasingly active role in co-creating everything from product design to promotional messages (Berthon, Pitt, McCarthy, & Kates, 2007). The rise in interactive digital media has catapulted company and consumer contact from the traditional Web 1.0 model to the highly interactive Web 2.0 world, where consumers are dictating the nature, extent, and context of marketing exchanges. As

Platforms for influence

According to Hansen, Shneiderman, and Smith (2011), social media technologies have engendered radically new ways of interacting. To this end, Harris (2009) notes that there are literally hundreds of different social media platforms (e.g., social networking, text messaging, shared photos, podcasts, streaming videos, wikis, blogs, discussion groups), and Anderson and Wolff (2010) highlight the importance of mobile devices for accessing these platforms. Interestingly—and, possibly, confusingly—it

Spheres of influence

Recently, the Economist's Intelligence Unit examined how technology would empower individual customers in the next 5 years (Garretson, 2008). Referring to this empowerment as ‘bottom-up marketing,’ Karpinski (2005) describes consumers of media and marketing messages as intelligent, organizing, and more trusting of their own opinions and the opinions of their peers. This bottom-up marketing occurs because “billions of people create trillions of connections through social media each day” (Hansen

The social media marketing ecosystem

As a sphere of influence, the social media ecosystem centers on the consumer experience. As stated by Mike DiLorenzo, director of social media marketing and strategy for the NHL, “Social networks aren’t about Web sites. They’re about experiences” (Wyshynski, 2009). These experiences arise when marketers are able to incorporate reach, intimacy, and engagement into the company's overall integrated marketing communications strategy through the interconnectedness of online social media combined

The 2010 Grammy Awards: Engaging fans

An illustrative composite of how the social media ecosystem was utilized successfully by the music/recording industry is provided here as a case in point to portray how attention to reach, intimacy, and engagement can generate long-term rewards. This case study (Wesley & Rohm, 2010) provides vivid detail regarding how a social media campaign was formulated and implemented with little to no budget, in a very short time frame.

The Recording Academy is the premier organization for honoring

Lessons learned and implications for practice

Technology has transformed the traditional model of marketing communications. The rise in interactive digital media has catapulted company and consumer contact from a Web 1.0 passive model, to a Web 2.0 interactive model where consumers are simultaneously the initiators and recipients of information exchanges. The combination of both traditional and social mediums allows companies to develop integrated communication strategies to reach consumers on a myriad of platforms, enabling a wide sphere

Conclusion

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Digg, SCVNGR, YouTube, and numerous others have begun to revolutionize the state of marketing, advertising, and promotions. These social media have transformed the Internet from a platform for information, to a platform for influence. Because of the dramatic and global growth of social media such as Facebook (550 million users) and Twitter (100+ million users), companies of all sizes from different industries now view social media marketing as a

References (24)

A. Kaplan et al.
Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media
Business Horizons
(2010)
Alexa. (2010). Top sites: The top 500 sites on the Web. Retrieved September 30, 2010, from...
Anderson, C., & Wolff, M. (2010, August 17). The Web is dead. Long live the Internet. Retrieved September 28, 2010,...
P.R. Berthon et al.
When customers get clever: Managerial approaches to dealing with creative consumers
Business Horizons
(2007)
Corcoran, S. (2009, December 16). Defining owned, earned, and paid media. Retrieved September 30, 2010, from...
V.L. Crittenden et al.
Technology and business-to-consumer selling: Contemplating research and practice
Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management
(2010)
Garretson, R. (2008, September). Future tense: The global CMO. Retrieved September 29, 2010, from...
D. Hansen et al.
Analyzing social media networks with NodeXL: Insights from a connected world
(2011)
Harris, R. (2009, September 3). Social media ecosystem mapped as a wiring diagram. Retrieved September 27, 2010, from...
R. Karpinski
The next phase: Bottom-up marketing
BtoB Magazine
(2005)

R. Levine et al.

The Cluetrain Manifesto: The end of business as usual

(2001)

C. Li et al.

Groundswell: Winning in a world transformed by social technologies

(2008)

Cited by (1032)

Communication in Social Networking Sites on Offline and Online Social Support and Life Satisfaction Among University Students: Tie Strength Matters
2024, Journal of Adolescent Health
Use of social networking sites (SNS) is highly prevalent among college and university students. Conflicting findings were found on the effects of SNS use on well-being, and very few studies examined the effects of social interaction with strong ties and weak ties on SNS on online and offline social support. The present study examined the association between social interaction with weak ties and strong ties on SNS and life satisfaction among Chinese college and university students. The mediating role of online social support and offline social support was also examined.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 26,547 students from 30 colleges/universities in Shanxi province, China.
Social interaction with strong ties on SNS was associated with increased offline social support but had no significant association with online support. Social interaction with weak ties on SNS was associated with higher level of online support, but lower level of offline social support. Both offline and online social support were associated with life satisfaction. The direct effects of social interaction with strong ties and weak ties on life satisfaction were not significant. Mediation analyses supported the full mediating effect of offline social support in the relationship between social interaction with strong ties and life satisfaction, while online and offline support mediated the relationship between social interaction with weak ties and life satisfaction.
Social interaction with strong ties and weak ties on the SNS was associated with life satisfaction through different pathways. Interventions to maximize the benefits of SNS use are warranted.
Beyond the basics: Exploring the impact of social media marketing enablers on business success
2024, Heliyon
In today's fast-paced world, social media marketing is crucial for businesses. However, many Saudi Arabian organizations need more skills and resources to use this strategy effectively. This article outlines organizations' top issues when adopting social media marketing and provides valuable insights into how to overcome them. After conducting an extensive literature review and consulting with experts from various sectors, 19 critical issues hindering social media marketing adoption in Saudi Arabian organizations were identified. The study employed the DEMATEL approach to analyze these issues and determine their impact level and cause-effect relationships. The study found that customer support, platform trust, secure data sharing, and perceived value significantly impact a business's social media marketing success. By addressing challenges like customer support, platform trust, and perceived value, businesses can enhance their social media marketing success and promote themselves globally by attracting and retaining customers through their social media presence. The insights gained from this research offer valuable guidance for Saudi Arabian organizations looking to refine their social media marketing strategies. To overcome the challenges hindering the adoption of social media marketing, businesses must address the “cause” and “effect” category issues. By adopting a formal and pragmatic approach, Saudi Arabian organizations can achieve sustainable growth and promote themselves to a global audience.
Guidelines for sponsorship signaling within socially complex markets
2024, Business Horizons
Organizations use sponsorships to influence various marketing, financial, and public relations outcomes. Sponsorship communications occur in socially complex markets where messages diffuse quickly. Such messages are also widely accessible to and influenced by various audiences, which can be supportive, neutral, skeptical, or decisively antagonistic. These conditions require managers to adopt nuanced and holistically integrated ways of making their messages acceptable and engaging for a wide variety of audiences, while also being robust to scrutiny. The article addresses this challenge by drawing on signaling theory to present a process model and guidelines for managing sponsorships within socially complex markets. Specifically, it outlines how different message content and sponsorship characteristics combine to influence signal reception, market responses, and feedback. The model is then merged with research on sponsorship authenticity to guide managerial application. Initially, sponsors establish the signal content and primary target audiences through selecting sponsee partners with whom they have authentic fit (Guideline 1). Sponsors can then develop specific characteristics of commitment, observability, and credibility (Guidelines 2–4). Finally, sponsors should conduct prelaunch and postlaunch assessments to adapt to how the sponsorship is received by various audiences and subgroups on an ongoing basis (Guideline 5).
Beware the community type: engagement and growth in core vs. open online communities
2024, Small Business Economics
Exploring how consumer cooperatives might strategically incorporate social media to distribute wine
2024, Journal of Consumer Behaviour
The effect of social media on bank performance: an fsQCA approach
2024, Electronic Commerce Research

View all citing articles on Scopus

View full text

We’re all connected: The power of the social media ecosystem

Abstract

Section snippets

Marketing myths revealed

Platforms for influence

Spheres of influence

The social media marketing ecosystem

The 2010 Grammy Awards: Engaging fans

Lessons learned and implications for practice

Conclusion

Business Horizons

When customers get clever: Managerial approaches to dealing with creative consumers

Business Horizons

Technology and business-to-consumer selling: Contemplating research and practice

Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management

Analyzing social media networks with NodeXL: Insights from a connected world

The next phase: Bottom-up marketing

BtoB Magazine

The Cluetrain Manifesto: The end of business as usual

Groundswell: Winning in a world transformed by social technologies