Back before social media conquered the world, there was the esteemed “taste-maker.” The taste-maker could make or break a company, movie, or an idea with a mere sentence or public proclamation. They could be the Arts Editor at the New York Times or the Publisher of Consumer Reports. Regardless of the industry, there were a handful of people who could control a product’s destiny with a good or bad word.
Of course, our world is still ruled by taste-makers, but that world is no longer dominated by editors and renowned critics. Social media has democratized the “taste-making” process, and in fact, there’s a new word for it: social media “sneezers” (believe it or not.) There are the folks that make an idea go viral, and this phenomenon is the topic of this interesting article in Forbes.
Bottom line: the next phase of social media – and the primary component of your firm’s social media marketing strategy – will center on getting the right people to broadcast your message, recommend your products, and boost your brand. In other words, quality over quantity. Because as democratizing as social media may be, no two opinions are the same: certain blogs, writers, and sites carry more influence than others.
