It's amazing to think how far social media marketing has come in only a few years. Facebook, the social network started from a Harvard University dorm room in 2004, is now a publicly traded, global advertising juggernaut valued at $226 billion. As times change, strategies should too.

In the early years of social media marketing, companies were excited about the opportunity to engage their customers in hopes building brand loyalty and reaching a new audience through a digital version of word of mouth. Strategies revolved around increasing a follower base and encouraging users toward a back-and-forth dialogue that many believed would create richer relationships between brands and consumers. Flash forward several years and the landscape has changed significantly, primarily in the ways brands are limited in the organic ability to reach their followers.

Today, the social media giants have shareholders to answer to, and improving revenues and profits quarter over quarter is the name of the game. The social sphere is by and large a pay-to-play service, at least if you want to be effective in the space. The newest offering from Search Optics, Content Engage, leverages these principles by providing an outstanding demand generation strategy aimed at getting your content in front of the right eyeballs to help increase your revenue, and not just likes and comments. Social platforms don't care if you've built a great following, if your online community engages with every new photo you post, or if you're an influential pillar in the social space for your respective vertical. They care about the answer to one question: are you spending money with them?

Whereas once social platforms focused on fostering online communities, recently they've leveraged the data that users share to become powerhouse advertising publishers for brands. Understanding their interests gives you a leg up in knowing how to make the most out of your social media presence.