A cat and a tiger are pretty similar, one’s just the next model up. Following the same train of thought, I would say social media marketing and traditional marketing have a lot more in common than people sometimes think.
A quick look on Twitter shows companies trying to market themselves using techniques that wouldn’t work in any form of traditional marketing. It seems as if companies are seeing the internet as an entirely new thing when it comes to marketing. Surely it just another medium?
What Are We Trying to Achieve?
I would say that marketing is about getting your message to your intended audience in the most effective way possible. I wonder if the companies on Twitter who use their feeds exclusively to list their special offers are getting their message out in the most effective way. Do you broadcast like that? If so, what have you found to be the benefits?
From a business perspective, I think that social media is offering new opportunities. The level of engagement that social media allows with your prospects is exciting. Businesses have the chance to interact with their customers on an unprecedented scale.
Yet from what I’m finding as I explore Twitter further is that it seems that companies are cautious to engage. If they don’t engage, they’re not at as much risk of things going wrong. But isn’t risk an integral part of marketing and/or business?
If You Know It Works…
As Mark said in an earlier post, the internet is about Old Rules, New Tools. The format may be different, but from what I can see, there is no radical retraining needed. I wouldn’t put an advert for compost in Hayfever Weekly, and similarly I wouldn’t put content for Twitter on Facebook, and vice-versa.
Because I’m a graduate in my first marketing job, perhaps I’m seeing things differently. But what I am seeing is something that is relatively new and exciting, filled with possibilities, not something scary that should be done only if absolutely necessary.
What are your thoughts? Do you dread social media, or are you excited by the possibilities?
I wish more companies, large and small, would stop obsessing about social media. Unfortunately, the term does nothing to educated traditional marketers about the power of social. To break it down, “social” should be called “networked” and “media” should be translated at “marketing channel.”
Networking as a means to market yourself or your business has been around since the inception of the Rotary Club, Kiwanis and your local Chamber of Commerce.
Think of social media as a digital handshake with the power to amplify your message with the megaphone effect of happy clients and brand evangelists.
What’s not to like?