Citizen Marketers: When People Are the Message

The woman next to you on the bus, typing madly on her laptop, just might determine the ending to next year's blockbuster film or how quickly the hottest new PDA hits store shelves. In homes, dorm rooms, coffee houses, and waiting rooms around the world, millions of people are exercising enormous influence on what we buy--even though they have no official connection to those products and services. Who are they? What motivates them? Marketing experts Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba explore the ramifications of social media in their new book, "Citizen Marketers." As everyday people increasingly create content on behalf of companies, brands, or products, they are collaborating with others just like themselves and forming ever-growing communities of enthusiasts and evangelists. From the rough to the sophisticated, the "user-generated media" of blogs, online bulletin boards, podcasts, photos, songs, and animations are influencing companies' customer relationships, product design, and marketing campaigns, whether they participate willingly or not. "Citizen Marketers" is the first book to document this phenomenon, examining some of the early winners and losers in this new genre, as well as some of its most noted constituents. With their exceptional knowledge of the brands, products, companies, and industries, the citizen marketers are democratizing traditional notions of communication and marketing, even entire business models.