As social media grows not only in popularity but as a genuinely effective marketing method and arena, there are 3 distinct ways in which it has improved how brands are being marketed and communicated.
The Lost Art of Listening
Social Media’s lasting legacy on brands/companies/organizations might be that it finally forced them to listen instead of just selling. A lot of this might have to do with the fact that most social media forums are not their arena to preach about their brands. In actuality, conversations are taking place and they’ve realized that they have to monitor and participate before they try to market and sell.
A Voluntary Think Tank
If a brand approaches it right, throughout the online world, there exists an active think tank that is expressing their thoughts and desires, and whose opinions could provide dividends if properly harnessed. How much were companies paying for focus groups, where most people joined just to receive free giveaways or cash?
Real Time Research
Before we execute any tactic a solid foundation of research must be in place, and social media provides a constant stream of real time research. Of course, many argue that we can’t properly measure sentiment as it is subjective, but social media still provides a window for us to see how our brands and reputation are discussed in public forums.
Enjoyed the post! Very good points on how brands should be using social media in their marketing department. One more benefit I would add is that social media inherently provides emotional benefits for the consumer from the brand (eg. acceptance, friendship, belonging, etc) which create stronger loyalty than a brand would get from functional benefits alone.
Comment by Ben — February 2, 2010 @ 11:18 am
I agree that social media can create emotional connections between a person and a brand when done properly. It definitely has more of a community feel than simply trying to sell all the time.
Comment by Robert Shapiro — April 21, 2010 @ 10:28 am