Customization

In terms of social media, customization means more than just the colloquial sense of putting your own personal spin on something. It means, on a fundamental level, enabling a user to create an online presence that, to the best of their ability, blurs the line between the personal and the professional. Every aspect of the social media platform, from the kind of content that's shared to how public or private a user wants the account to be, is subject to an almost dizzying array of choices.

For businesses and influencers, it's an act steeped in the philosophy of strategic branding, ensuring that every facet of their online presence sends the same signal regarding what kind of 'space' their account occupies—an online personality that perfectly matches or even exceeds the wildest expectations one might have in a face-to-face encounter with the subject. Listening is just as important as doing, though, when it comes to audience interaction on social media. Those under the impression that conversation on social media occurs only in real time haven't been paying attention.

Businesses and influencers can (and should) engage in social media listening to the same extent that people working in public relations can. For both groups, having these seemingly omniscient platforms to eavesdrop on conversations about their brands is an invaluable tool.