Book excerpt: Social media has provided endless opportunities for marketers, fuelling their desire to learn more about their consumers through this dynamic online environment. Yet many organisations are finding it difficult to create effective marketing strategies, making decisions that are based on research that is highly focused on the nature and boundaries of social media. The changing behaviour of consumers, variety of platforms and changing culture indicates that much of the research around this topic is still highly fragmented. Social Media in the Marketing Context: A State of the Art Analysis and Future Directions provides a comprehensive overview of the current literature surrounding social media and the marketing discipline, highlighting future development opportunities in both knowledge and practice. includes extensive literature search on social media in the context of the marketing discipline provides key areas for future research and recommendations for practitioners shows the importance for marketers of understanding individual behaviour on social media