Who is #SocialMedia
Posted by Dan | Filed under Blog, Thinking
Who is ‘Social Media’? Everyone is talking about them. Brands want to get close and use ‘Social Media’, the new kid on the block who is creating quite a stir. So often, companies/brands see others using this ‘Social Media’ and also want to jump on the train. ‘Has ‘Social Media’ got their own Facebook page?’, some ask… I want to be friends with them.
It’s true, the buzz around Social Media is still going strong and if we were to personify it, Social Media would probably be the most popular person on the planet right now.
Many brands want to join this ‘Social Media Revolution‘; our competitors are doing it, we must too, right?
Traditional Marketing
Far too often we here at We Are Shift F7 think that brands are jumping on this bandwagon, but using it in a traditional way; one way communication, getting ‘their message’ out there, not listening but shouting… who can shout the loudest gets the market share, right? This was the traditional method of marketing/advertising, by informing consumers of the benefits in order to sell to them. Focused around the product, to a degree, not so much the consumer. Obviously the best products filled a gap or need, then fly off the shelves, metaphorically speaking. Before this, before the internet, this was a given. You needed to let consumers know your brand exists in order to ’sell’ to them.
Combat noise by shouting louder!
We see a number Twitter profiles and Facebook Groups with little or no content or updates. This is not using ‘Social Media’ in a social way. This is using the platform to have the much needed ‘presence’.
Conversation
So what does the definition of Social Media actually mean? (from our beloved Wikipedia)…
Social media are media designed to be disseminated through social interaction, created using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Social media supports the human need for social interaction, using Internet- and web-based technologies to transform broadcast media monologues (one to many) into social media dialogues (many to many). It supports the democratization of knowledge and information, transforming people from content consumers into content producers.
Big point in that paragraph above, “Many to Many”! It’s not a straight up, one-way communication channel anymore, it’s two-way, and that’s also “Many to Many’.
Why, you ask?
Person A states comment about Brand X. Person A has many friends/followers on their social network. Followers/friends see this comment (word of mouth). Some pass this on to their friends/followers. And so on.
Resistance To Change
Brands too often take the traditional PR approach where they want to monitor and control all conversations. You cannot do this with social media, as you couldn’t in the offline world where people talk face to face. You join the conversation, take comments on board… and therefore improve the relationship between your brand and your consumers. Don’t take these comments personally, treat is as a live suggestion box.
So far, we have looked at one aspect of the conversations that could take place… but what else is ‘Social Media’?
Relationship Building
The traditional marketing approach is to build awareness, interest, desire that then leads to action by using such tools such as DM and Advertising (for example). Social Media as about building a relationship with your consumers, creating a two-way conversation channel. Think about it as a relationship with a real person. It is two-way, give and take and, most importantly, listen.
Social Media campaigns that are successful take this into account, add value to the consumers life, in addition to what to product does. Enable the brand to build a relationship with the consumer. This, in turn, is a stronger bond than what is effectively a chat up line. You go from one night stand to long term… What do you think holds more value?
Summary
Don’t think of social media as being one of those traditional tools of marketing, use the potential it has to create that conversation channel and build up the long term relationship you are both looking for. No need to shout. Listen. Consumers like to be spoken to and heard.
One Response to “Who is #SocialMedia”
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Tweets that mention We Are Shift F7 » Blog Archive » Who is #SocialMedia -- Topsy.com Says:
October 21st, 2009 at 11:38 am[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by andrew washington and Ignacio, We Are Shift F7. We Are Shift F7 said: New blog post: Who is #SocialMedia http://bit.ly/gt5Ek [...]
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