Social media marketing refers to the process of gaining traffic or attention through social media sites.
Social
media itself is a catch-all term for sites that may provide radically
different social actions. For instance, Twitter is a social site
designed to let people share short messages or “updates” with others.
Facebook, in contrast is a full-blown social networking site that allows
for sharing updates, photos, joining events and a variety of other
activities.
Why would a search marketer — or a site about search engines — care about social media? The two are very closely related.
Social
media often feeds into the discovery of new content such as news
stories, and “discovery” is a search activity. Social media can also
help build links that in turn support into SEO efforts. Many people also perform searches at social media sites to find social media content.