The document discusses social media and its role in marketing. It defines social media as online means of communication and collaboration between connected individuals and groups. It explains the key concepts of social media including the social media value chain, zones of social media channels like social communities and social publishing, and how social media can help achieve marketing objectives like promotion, customer relationship management, and marketing research. The document also covers characteristics of social media like user participation and generated content as well as how marketers can leverage social media as part of their marketing strategy and communications.