Social mapping is a visual representation of a social network used by anthropologists and marketers. It can be literal or abstract, representing relationships and connections. It is used to explore digital identities and reputation, revealing new markets and consumer attitudes. Social networking sites use social mapping to provide personalized content and targeted advertising.
A social map is a visual representation of a social network. Social mapping has historically been used by anthropologists to trace connections in the populations they study. The Internet has become a powerful tool for marketing, making connections and studying how online populations interact with one another. There are a number of applications designed to generate social maps for a variety of purposes. People interested in tracking themselves on a social map can take advantage of free services, many of which are linked to social networking sites.
In some cases, a social map is a literal map that fixes people geographically. Others are more abstract, representing relationships and connections without regard to geography. The map is usually centered on a subject such as a person, brand, company or community. Connections are visually represented with lines, bubbles, and other features that provide insight into how objects on the map relate to each other and to the central feature.
For marketing purposes, social mapping is used to explore digital identities and digital reputation. The explosion of social networks, blogs and other online tools has forced companies to interact with the Internet in various ways. Social mapping is used by businesses to see how they relate to other elements online and how this affects their reputation. The social map has become an essential tool for companies that want to know how they are perceived by Internet users and where their sphere of influence lies.
A brand-focused social map, for example, could reveal a new market by showing a community that engages with the brand online, but currently receives no attention from the company. It can also provide revealing information about consumer attitudes; for example, some areas of the social map may reveal negative feelings about the brand. These areas will show where feelings originate and how they spread, allowing the company to take action to improve its reputation.
Social networking sites that allow people to connect with friends, colleagues, and people with similar interests use social mapping extensively. Each user has a social map that the site can use to provide personalized content. The site may tailor advertising, event announcements and other materials to the preferences and inclinations of individual users. This is a highly requested service by advertisers. The ability to create targeted campaigns to get a response from consumers at a relatively low cost is an extremely useful and valuable marketing tool.
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