Part II: Lecture Notes
Chapter 1: The social media environment
Chapter overview
In Chapter 1, students are introduced to the social media landscape and social media marketing
and its many applications to address marketing objectives. This chapter is critically important for
level-setting and building shared vocabulary before moving forward in the course. The social
media value chain explains the components of the social media landscape: the web, social
channels, social software and connected devices. The chapter introduces the zones of social
media marketing, the framework upon which the text is based. The chapter concludes with
information on social media marketing jobs.
Running Case Study: Meet 221BC Kombucha
Critical Reflection: How Algorithms Influence Our Social Media Experience
Teaching tips and resources
For instructors who want to understand more about the existing social media networks and their
characteristics:
Learning objectives
When students finish reading this chapter, they will be able to answer these questions:
1. What are social media? How are social media similar to, yet different from, traditional
media?
2. How does the social media value chain explain the relationships among the Internet,
social media channels, social software and the Internet-enabled devices we use for
access and participation?
3. What are the major zones of social media that make up the channels, modes and
vehicles for social media participation?
4. What is social media marketing? What marketing objectives can organisations meet
when they incorporate social media in their marketing mix?
Chapter outline
I. It’s a Social World
• Digital Natives were born in an era in which digital technology has always
existed.
• Social media are the online means of communication, conveyance,
2. Facebook, a social utility that offers synchronous interactions and
asynchronous interactions, content sharing of images, video and music,
games, applications, groups and more, has as of the time of this writing more
than 2.2 billion active users.
• Figure 1.1 is an infographic with stats about several social media
networks.
• Table 1.1 provides several mind-boggling social media stats.
B. Social Behaviour and the Philosophy of Participation
1. Think of social media as the way digital natives live a social life.
II. The Infrastructure of Social Media
• The social media value chain illustrates the core activities of social media
users and the components that make those activities possible.
• Figure 1.2 illustrates the chain.
A. The Web as Platform
1. Web 2.0 offers a cost-effective solution that provides access to rich data; the
collective wisdom of its users; access to micro-markets; software that operates
on multiple platforms (mobile phone, PDA, computer) and beyond (cloud
computing); and user interfaces that are easy, accessible and interactive.
creators. This participation and sharing means that each additional user adds
value for all users. Economists refer to this as a network effect.
B. Social Channels
1. Social channels are the networks and platforms that support social media
functionality and connections.
2. These are covered in the Zones of Social Media.
C. Social Software
1. Social software applications are computer programs that enable users to
interact, create and share data online.
D. Devices
1. Devices are pieces of equipment we use to access the Internet and the range
of activities in which we participate online.
2. They include any Internet-abled equipment and most recently have
expanded to include Wearables like smart watches and fitness trackers.
E. People
1. Social media work only when people participate, create and share content.
III. Social Media Zones
• Media are means of communication.
• Mass media (means of communication that can reach a large number of
individuals) includes broadcast, print and digital channels. Personal media
(channels capable of two-way communications on a small scale) includes
email, surface mail, telephone and face-to-face conversations.
or telephone. Part of the complexity of social media is due to the sheer
quantity of channels and vehicles, with new ones coming online all the time.
• Zones of Social Media organise the social media landscape.
1. Zone 1 is social community.
2. Zone 2 is social publishing.
• All social media are networked around relationships, technologically enabled
and based on the principles of shared participation.
• Figure 1.3 illustrates the social media zones.
A. Zone 1: Social Community
1. Social communities describe channels of social media focused on
relationships and the common activities people participate in with others
who share the same interest or identification.
2. Social networking sites (SNSs) are online hosts that enable site members to
construct and maintain profiles, identify other members with whom they are
connected and participate using various services the site offers.
B. Zone 2: Social Publishing
1. Social publishing sites aid in the dissemination of content to an audience.
2. Blogs are websites that host regularly updated online content that may
include text, graphics, audio and video.
C. Zone 3: Social Entertainment
1. Social entertainment encompasses channels and vehicles that offer
opportunities for play and enjoyment.
2. Social games are hosted online and include opportunities for interaction
with members of a player’s network as well as the ability to statuscast (post
updates to one’s status) activities and gaming accomplishments to online
profiles.
D. Zone 4: Social Commerce
1. Social commerce refers to the use of social media to assist in the online
buying and selling of products and services.
2. Reviews and ratings are on review sites or branded e-commerce sites.
3. Deal sites and deal aggregators aggregate deals into personalised deal
feeds.
• Figure 1.4 illustrates the zones and the exemplar communities.
IV. Monetisation and Social Media
A. Business Models and Monetisation
1. Social media providers (whether they are social communities, utilities, software
providers, or game and app developers) need a monetisation strategy.
B. Psychic Income
1. Psychic income is a perceived value that is not expressed in monetary form.
2. It is also referred to as social currency.
V. Social Media Marketing
• Marketing is the activity, set of institutions and processes for creating,
communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings that have value for
A. Marketing Communication: From Top-Down to Bottom-Up
1. Traditional marketing focuses on push messaging (one-way
communication delivered to the target audience) using a large dose of
broadcast and print media to reach a mass audience.
2. Boundary spanners are employees who interact directly with customers.
3. E-commerce sites are websites that allow customers to examine (onscreen)
different brands and to conduct transactions via credit card.
B. Figure 1.5 illustrates the evolution of marketing communications.
VI. Social Media Achieves Marketing Objectives
A. Promotion and branding
1. Extend and leverage the brand’s media coverage and
2. Influence the consumer throughout the decision-making process
3. Three core types of media are paid, owned and earned. Marketers are
assessed monetary fees for paid media, including purchasing space to deliver
brand messages and securing endorsements.
• Table 1.2 illustrates the types of media across each zone.
B. Social media marketing can influence consumers across the purchase process:
1. Increase awareness
2. Influence desire
C. Customer Relationship Management and Service Recovery
1. CRM practices focus on what we do with a customer after the first sale.
2. Social CRM embraces software and processes that include the collective
intelligence of a firm’s customers to more finely tune the offer and build
intimacy between an organisation and its customers.
3. Service recovery refers to the actions an organisation takes to correct
mishaps and win back dissatisfied customers.
4. LARA framework:
1. Listen to customer conversations
2. Analyse those conversations
D. Market Research
• Social media provide new tools to listen to customers as they discuss
their lives, interests, needs and wants. This type of social media
marketing activity is called social listening
E. Retailing and E-Commerce
• When brands use social media marketing as a retailing space, create a
venue for and/or encourage consumer reviews and ratings of products
and enable applications that help friends shop together online, we’re
solidly in the social commerce zone.
VII. Careers in Social Media
• Table 1.3 describes several typical jobs in social media marketing
• Social media editor
• Social media strategist
Chapter summary
1. What are social media? How are social media similar to, yet different from, traditional
media?
Social media are the online means of communication, conveyance, collaboration and cultivation
among interconnected and interdependent networks of people, communities and organisations
2. How does the social media value chain explain the relationships among the Internet, social
media channels, social software and the Internet-enabled devices we use for access and
participation?
The social media value chain explains that social media are made up of core activities and
supporting components. The core activities include the things people do with social media such as
3. What are the major zones associated with social media that make up the channels, modes
and vehicles for social media participation?
The major channels of social media include social communities, social publishing, social
entertainment and social commerce. Each channel incorporates networking, communication
4. What is social media marketing?
Social media marketing is the use of social media to facilitate exchanges between consumers and
organisations. It’s valuable to marketers because it provides inexpensive access to consumers and
5. What marketing objectives can organisations meet when they incorporate social media in
their marketing mix?
There are several marketing objectives achievable utilising social media marketing techniques.