Mediaboss Marketing

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Social media is entering its AM radio phase: If marketers want to get that post or tweet into heavy rotation, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn now expect to get paid to do it.

"If you really want to get reach, you have to pay to get the word out," said Aaron Magness, vice president for marketing at Betabrand, the San Francisco crowdfunded retail clothing firm. "All those people who invested in a million-plus fans and then are relying on that organic reach for results are not seeing a lot of return right now."

Before Web hipsters roll their eyes that Magness is some sort of Internet marketing luddite, know this: His 51-person Betabrand is as sophisticated and intelligent a digital marketing engine as I've heard about over the past several months.

First off, Betabrand's entire business is based on harnessing the power of crowds frictionlessly using the Web to weigh in on the design and making of clothes. Part Kickstarter and part Quirky, Betabrand has built a line of about 200 items and styles based on direct design submissions from its pretty darn large community. More than 19,200 users submitted photos, for example, to be used in various company imagery. And if investors bother to look at hit products such as the Gray Dress Pant Sweatpants, Silver Reversible Disco Hoodies or Chakra Shell Tops, they'll see that Betabrand knows how to mold the gesture of the unruly digital mob into a real product that moves the bottom line.

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#DigitalSkeptic: Social Media Enters Pay-for-Play Era