Getting Content Out There

            In the book Social Media Explained: Untangling the World’s Most Misunderstood Business Trend, Mark W. Schaefer addresses the key concept of getting your content out to the public through social media in order to sustain great customer relationships and higher sales. Schaefer acknowledges that in order to do this, a company must have a strong network, especially with those who have more influence over society compared to an ordinary person. In his subchapter titled “Targeted Connections,” Schaefer stresses the idea that posts on social media should not only be used to inform their customer base of new products and content surrounding their company, but must also include content that would help build a stronger network. By building a strong network through people viewing your company online, the number of people browsing your online content increases with each newly gained network member. If a company satisfies its network, the network will speak highly of the company, leading to a higher presence within the company’s market. Schaefer provides an example of how his expanded network helped improve his business when he describes the benefits of attending one of his book conferences. By attending this conference with a goal of expanding his network, Schaefer completed his goal far behind his original expectations. He found was able to find a new writer for his blog, make international connections that would fund his current projects, and was offered jobs to speak to the employees of highly successful companies, such as IBM and The Bank of Ireland. With these newly formed connections, Schaefer was able to reap the benefits for himself and his company, which lead him to gain more customers and more profits.

            In addition to his emphasis on an expanded network, Schaefer believes that it is essential to align your company with influencers of society. According to Henry Jenkins, influencers are small groups of people that others mindlessly follow. Theses small groups of people act as herders who will then have their “sheep” (the rest of society) follow their messages and decision-making (Jenkins et al., 2013). Once these influencers bring their extended networks along with them, people and companies can come in contact with people that could potentially help bring their company to the next level and become a well-known commodity. As the number of influencers a company uses increases, the chance that the individual influencers meet each other, which would lead to an even more expanded network and the potential for a success rate that could become the market’s new standard. As these influencers influence society’s thoughts and purchase patterns, the social buzz surrounding a company will lead to increased profits, notoriety, and overall searches online.