Defining social media is like trying to define the Internet, in part, because the technology, platforms, and use of the platforms are in constant evolution. Who would have thought just 16 years ago that we would have powerful platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google+, Vine, Tumblr, Flickr, and more?
We also have technology that has given us real-time sharing opportunities, through mobile apps.
Social media is by its very nature about sharing, the creation of community, and interaction. Social media is about being social, it is about a participatory culture, whether on a large scale or small scale. There are people who consume social media content, there are people who share, and there are people who create content. This results in an enormous amount of information being shared, some positive, some negative, some personal, some about businesses and organizations. Like it or not, social media is the future of communication.
Brian Solis, a digital analyst, anthropologist, and futurist studies the effects of disruptive technology on business and society. Solis (2012) believes we should think about social media in a broad perspective:
“We should think about social media and mobile behavior as it’s related to psychology, anthropology, communication, economics, human geography, ethnography, et al. After all, everything comes down to people. Unfortunately, in new media, we tend to put technology ahead of people.” (Solis 2012)
“Relationships are not a function or derivative of technology. At best, the definition of relationships when technology is at the center of connectivity, can mean nothing more than the way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected, or the state of being connected. Relationships are not static. They are in fact dynamic and becoming more so every day.” (Solis 2012)
We share both the good and the bad experiences online just as we do in person with family, friends, and coworkers.
“The connected evaluate shared experiences of those they trust, and expect businesses to respond to their socialized questions. As a consequence, they don’t follow a linear approach through the classic ‘interest to intent’ funnel during their decision making process. Rather, they follow an elliptical pattern where their next steps are inspired by the insights of others, and their experiences are, in turn, fed back into the cycle to inform the decisions of others.” (Solis 2012)
Social media is a force that has changed our lives. We keep in touch like never before through social media; we share pictures and videos at unprecedented rates; we post reviews of products we like and dislike for thousands to see; and if we are an unhappy consumer, we can tweet our dislike and even share a picture for thousands to read. As consumers, the power has shifted from a push mentality by marketers to interactivity requiring smart businesses to listen and respond. We also make mistakes, as individuals and as businesses. In part, that is why we need to study social media ethics, understand what is appropriate, what is not appropriate, and why every business and organization needs to have a social media ethics policy in place.
Enter: The Power of Word-of-Mouth Recommendations and Online Reviews
How powerful are word-of-mouth recommendations and reviews in person and online?
“According to a study from marketing firm Lithium Technologies, one third of Americans said they don’t trust advertising to give them information about a product or service they are interested in buying. More than two-thirds of the respondents in the U.S. said they were more receptive to recommendations from family and friends than to online advertising, the study found.” (Wall Street Journal 2014)
“According to Nielsen, 92-percent of consumers believe recommendations from friends and family over all forms of advertising.” (Whitler 2014)
This is an incredibly powerful statistic. Just think about this for a moment. Over 90 percent of us trust recommendations from family and friends over all forms of advertising. In addition, we trust online product and service reviews from people we don’t even know, more than traditional advertising. This is why, it’s so important to help businesses and organizations understand the importance of establishing social media ethical guidelines.
Consumers are evolving faster than businesses can keep up with them. Why? Because we live in a 24/7-connected world.
As we proceed in this book, let me quote from parts of NPR’s code of ethics,
“The Internet and the social media communities it encompasses can be incredible resources. They offer both a remarkably robust amount of historical material and an incredible amount of ‘real-time’ reporting from people at the scenes of breaking news events. But they also present new and unfamiliar challenges, and they tend to amplify the effects of any ethical misjudgments you might make. So tread carefully. Conduct yourself online just as you would in any other public circumstances. Treat those you encounter online with fairness, honesty and respect, just as you would offline. Be honest about your intent.” (ethics.npr.org n.d.)
Summary
In this chapter, we have learned that the definition of social media is evolving based on new technologies, platforms, and applications. However, the constant is that social media is about sharing. As humans, we have a need to share the good, the bad, and the ugly. We do it in person, and now in greater numbers, we do it online.
We also learned that over 90 percent of consumers now trust recommendations from family and friends—and yes even from online reviewers we’ve never met—more than traditional advertising.