the article "social network marketing" should not be merged with the article "social media marketing". in fact the article "social media marketing" should be eliminated due to the following reasons: - all of this relates to only one media anyhow which is the "digital media" - "social media" is a term that has been hijacked by the marketing community to describe "social network marketing" and "user generated content" - "social media" should be reserved for media with a social cause such as http://www.participantmedia.com—Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.165.57.69 (talk • contribs) 23:51, 23 April 2009

The article "social network marketing" should be merged with "social media marketing" since "social media marketing" includes social network marketing as well as other forms of social media marketing (e.g. mobile media, etc.) The word "social" was never intended to be used within the context of "a cause" but rather within the context of individuals "socializing" for whatever the purpose may be, including for "a social cause." 12.126.132.230 (talk) 19:49, 23 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Social networks (e.g., Facebook, MySpace) are a subset of social media. The latter includes a variety of channels with a social component (i.e., allow people to create, share and comment on content). Therefore, the article "social network marketing" should be merged with "social media marketing" as suggested above. The precept that "'social media' should be reserved for media with a social cause" is lost on 99 percent of the population. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Allthingstoallpeople (talk • contribs) 16:06, 21 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I believe that this entry on Wikipedia should remain separate; I mean that the term Social Media Marketing is a valid term, and it should be kept unique inside Wikipedia. The information provided by the poster below [above] me is inaccurate.

Social Marketing is indeed a very old term used to describe the activity of NGOs or related organizations to promote the common good. Social Media however is very new. It is not the collection of just all digital media. It is a very particular kind of digital media, the one that encourages participation and is not necessarily a Social Network. A case in point would be a wiki or a blog. Both are considered Social Media because they encourage participation.

Initially marketeers tried to use the term Social Marketing. Unfortunately this term was in use already, so Social Media Marketing was chosen. I wish there was a shorter way of writing it, but there is none so far. And unfortunately, the previous poster has been also misled. Social Network marketing is not Social Media Marketing. Social Network Marketing is a much smaller, more restrictive activity that only deals with social networks.

Social Media Marketing includes all Social Networks and in additions all collaborative electronic media, that includes blogs, wikis, and any Internet resource where people meet and can be reached electronically. Social Media Marketing also implies marketing campaigns similar to those made in traditional media are created to target people and meet any of these objectives: influence consumer behaviour, create buzz, build a brand, make someone famous or protect a reputation, or even sell something.

Some useful sources: Social Marketing History and Uses http://www.choosesocialmarketing.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=1

Social Media Explained in Plain English Youtube Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpIOClX1jPE

Social Media History which Includes Blogs and Wikis http://mbresseel.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!33234018BF280C82!345.entry http://socialmediarockstar.com/history-of-social-media

Social Media Marketing Presentation http://www.slideshare.net/SROshinski/social-media-marketing-overview-share

Josephhurtado (talk) 17:06, 6 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Social Media marketing and Social Network Marketing should not be merged. But they do need to be more clearly defined. Social Media Marketing implies the usage of a variety of media types such as articles, photos, videos, slide presentations, audio and graphics to convey a specific marketing or branding message and specifically on the Social Networking Sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Linkedin, Biznik etc Social Network Marketing does not imply the usage of anything other than text related information and growing ones network of connections, marketing yourself or marketing a personal brand through connecting with others on a social network. It's my contention that Social Network Marketing is the first step in an overall marketing strategy, first you have to build the network, build the list or build the following then you can start marketing to the network, list or following.

Social Media Marketing can only take place after the network has been built. Now you could argue that you could use Social Media Marketing as a means of building the network and though this is certainly true there have been a few studies by emarketing.com and others that prove that trust and repetition are the two biggest factors when it comes to actually getting a customer to open up their wallet and pay for the service or product you are marketing. Jeff Weidner