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Welcome to Marketing Mondays!!

11/30/2009

4 Comments

 
Since this is the inaugural edition of my blog, I’d like to thank you for taking the time out of your Monday morning to read this weekly blog.  I hope you have a cup of something ready in hand – a cuppa (i.e. tea), white coffee or maybe a chocolat chaud for the more exotic. 

Those of you, who have worked with me before, know that I’m passionate about what I do and marketing in general.  Now that I’m trying the freelance thing, I thought I would put my years of marketing experience, education and most of all passion, to use.  I’m teaming all that with some interesting facts I’ve gotten from here, there and everywhere, then jotting down some thoughts and trying to see what you all have to say about it.


So...to kick off this weekly blog, I’ve decided to focus on the medium I’m using right now...marketing through social media channels.  Don’t yawn...keep reading...trust me!

Writing a blog, driving traffic to it and even developing a website would have never been something I’d consider a few years ago and that, in itself, amazes me.  After working in the corporate world for nearly 10 years (can’t believe it has been that long!), I actually didn’t think too much of social media other than it was a good way to stay in touch with friends.  What would I do without my clever daily fb update or snooping on what my old best friend from high school has done this past weekend?  (Hey - you know you do it too!)

 But I now realise the impact social media has on the marketing world as a whole...it will never be the same.  It all comes down to the fact that everyone is doing what I’m doing and everyone is going online.

As of September 2009, one in four people globally use the internet (3 out of 4 in North America)[1] –isn’t that amazing...especially when you think of the fact that most of the world is hardly developed??   People used to go to the park or parent/teacher meetings to instil a sense of community; now they go online.  It may be a sad state of affairs but it is true. 

For serious marketers, this makes it an important, if not the most important, marketing medium we have today.  What makes social media marketing even better is the fact that, as marketers, we have the ability to test various messages – ask real questions and get real answers.

I’m a research gal and I love to get in the minds of the customer – I can’t think of any other way to do this as fast, cost effective and engaging as through social media.  As soon as I decided to develop a site of my own, I realised the importance of getting it known considering all the clutter on the web.  I now understand why optimizing your search, networking through social networking sites and blogging are essential tools for the marketers toolkit.

It’s incredible because a couple of years ago i had no idea how important this was to the future of marketing.  Maybe it was me having my corporate goggles on or maybe just a lack of understanding on how quickly this would all move.  I’m sure there are marketers out there now who still don’t realize the impact this has on our profession.

Well for me I know that now, whether I’m freelancing or working for someone else, this will be a key focus for any marketing activity I do. 

All of us marketers need to focus energy on understanding how social media fits into our marketing lives – whether it’s your own business, your corporate role or anything else.

Like Teddy Roosevelt said, “if you build it, they will come”.  I truly believe social media now gives us marketers the ability to build a business, a brand, a strategy, in a real and exciting way!  Once we build it and drive traffic to it (through social networking sites) those customers (whether existing or new) will come. 

So...what do you think???  I know its Monday but have your coffee and tell me your thoughts...
[1] http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm, Nielsen Online, September 2009.

4 Comments
Keith Foutty
11/30/2009 03:31:32 am

First of all, congratulations on the new blog.

Social media is a pretty amazing concept, when you get down to it, because in most cases the people to whom you send your marketing messages are in fact, waiting to hear them. When you place a site on facebook, for example, those who become your fans are in fact genuinely interested in what you have to say. This is unlike mass-media advertising, or even direct sales, when the audience is generally uninterested and your job is to get them interested and then motivate action. With social media, one step is already out of the way.

Another interesting aspect of social media is that it really accentuates the concept of "word of mouth". Word of mouth marketing can be a very creative and beneficial way to market a business (ask Red Bull), and social media is the ultimate controllable method to create such campaigns. No marketing plan should be without it. It's vital for small businesses, but even large companies ignore this at their peril.

In a recent class at Weatherhead, we saw the dangers companies face by not paying attention to social media. Someone put out a campaign bashing a product, and did it creatively. The word went out like wildfire and only weeks later did the company in question respond. The response, by the CEO, was horrible (poorly worded, badly-filmed, etc), only aggravating the situation. It didn't matter that the claims made in the original message were spurious, the damage was already done and will need a long time to repair. So marketers need to be keenly aware what goes on with Twitter, Facebook or whatever or they could suffer.

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Miriam link
11/30/2009 02:17:34 pm

Hi Keith, Thanks for your feedback and insight. You've given some great examples of where social media has made an impact. I agree with your take on companies who ignore what is being said in the social networking domain...it can make or break a company. Blogs, facebook and the like have a lot more impact than corporates think they do. I've read some examples of companies who've actually used social media to address an issue with a product head-on - its been to their advantage and has turned the situation into a positive news story. An important lesson for all of us marketers but also those in senior management positions.
Thanks for your support. Miriam :)

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Keith Foutty
12/1/2009 02:46:15 am

You might be interested to know that DuPont has a "Social Media Policy". The statement of rules governing employee use of social media frameworks is several pages long and very complex. If I understand things correctly, an employee like myself must fill out a form and send it in to an individual in Wilmington for permission before I conduct any sort of DuPont business via social media.

I understand the desire to control brand messaging, but the bureacracy involved here is a little counterintuitive to the idea behind social media marketing...

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Miriam link
12/2/2009 10:30:12 pm

I totally agree - many corporations have different attitudes to social networking sites.

Some allow it freely, others allow its use to some people in an organisation and other companies ban it all together.

There are 2 camps of thought - if I let my employees roam freely on facebook or other sites, they will just blow the day away spying and chatting with friends OR if I allow social networking they will create a community and possibly raise the profile of the organisation.

The funny thing is about this new channe, is that it actually raises a traditional concern common to most corporations. Am I employing the right people and are they working to their fullest potential? In my view, if people are busy and engaged in their work, they won't be messing around online - they'll be using it as a way to gain new customers, talk about improvements/successes in their projects and communicate with colleagues around the world.

I think it would be a good test for an organisation to just cut the chains and see what happens. A test in proving how solid their workforce is - if they have a solid group of people behind them, social networking will work in their favour not against.

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