Introduction

“Social media” is not new. Human community and conversation have been hallmarks of civilization for thousands of years.

Throughout history, when differing groups (families, tribes, or other units) of people would meet, shared commerce would often be the basis of their communication. What did one group have that the other needed? What would be accepted for trade?

This is how social communication has worked over time among many cultures. Some cultures may not have liked each other, but they would often find a way to talk and trade, despite their differences. In fact, trade often became the reason for communication, as trading tribes became communities that ultimately expanded and grew into our present society.

In Western cultures today, however, the need for face-to-face communication has faded somewhat. The advent of the telephone and the automobile redefined the nature of communities. But while modern ways may have changed the structure of the community, we have not done away with our need to be together. After all, we still love to socialize.

We see this now in the popularity of new social media, as technology enables us to connect to each other and form social groups not based on material survival alone but on other, more personalized interests. Today’s technologies allow communities to form as “instant” networks of people who discover they have much in common to share. Parents exchange child-rearing tips through like-minded community websites. Doctors conduct combined research—in real time—with peers linked at other labs. Teachers run virtual classrooms with children across the globe.

We are still trading—only now the common currency is information.

For PayPal, which helps facilitate faster, easier, safer commerce online, social media is yet another opportunity to assist its customers. Organizations today have exciting new ways to share profitable opportunities through social media and viral marketing. PayPal recognizes this, and helps serve merchants who are eager to fully utilize social media to grow their businesses.

In The PayPal Official Insider Guide to Social Media, you will learn the following:

• How to navigate the social media landscape

• The best way to plan and implement a social media branding strategy

• How to create content for social media networks

• How PayPal tools provide an effective ecommerce solution that works with your social media strategy

This book will help retailers understand the basics of social media and how to engage and prosper in conversations with their customers.