Many people expect students and members of generation Y to be experts in social media. The truth is that is not completely accurate. Every college student might have a Facebook account, but that does not mean they know how to market to other students. When one of my “friends” starts sending me invitations to a group, my initial reaction is “I haven’t talked to you in months and you expect me to join your group?” The fact is that online relationships are completely dependent on your offline relationships. That is very cliche but a lot of people don’t get it. College students can grasp social media faster but most of them are participants in the network, not the facilitators. One great example is the difference in success in student organizations. If you are able to make friends with your members, they will more than likely to add you on Facebook and participate in your groups. If not, it doesn’t matter how great your organization is, no one will be engaged. My point is that social media still works hand in hand with traditional marketing like word-of-mouth. Without the support of offline relationships, your online channel is no more than an advertisement. Social media is about community engagement and relationships. Advertising is just raising awareness and shouting at your audience.