Social networking (and so called 'social media') is an example of evolution in human behaviour that has led to a revolution in marketing opportunity. Many businesses have not yet modified their thinking to be able to exploit this - but they will soon be forced to by competitive pressure!
The evolution in human behaviour:
Social media has not precipitated a radical shift in what we do as humans, it has simply facilitated an evolution of our behaviour. Look at most blogs, forums, chat rooms, social networks and you will find people doing what people have always done; chatting, publishing things they know about, asking questions, getting in touch, having a laugh, meeting new people, sharing experiences, learning about things... and of course, twittering!
There is nothing new about this. It is normal human behaviour. What is new, is the ease and speed at which it can all happen. They have not always been able to publish what they know about quite so easily, but think about 'letter to the editor' and personal announcements in local press. These are driven by the same human impulses that drive blogging and twittering? It is just so much easier now, so even more people do it.
The most interesting trend is the digitization of word of mouth. Word of mouth has long been a subject of great interest for marketing and brand professionals. I wonder how many management hours went into trying to figure out a way to management and direct word of mouth to deliver a measurable impact on sales or market share? Remember the marketing agency that employed actors to stand in bars and sit in trains talking about certain brands?
The revolution in marketing opportunity:
Social media has provided a place for 'word of mouth' to flourish - and because it is digital, it can be found, aggregated, monitored, measured and in theory, managed. A company that is doing nothing else with social media should at least be setting up RSS feeds to monitor the net for mentions of their brand or category 'keywords'. If nothing else, this will give you free consumer insight - it will probably do more than that and actually drive change through your business.
Then the possibilities get exciting. What are they saying, where are they saying it and who is doing most of the talking? Get some of the answers to these questions and you can now market directly to your most receptive audience - remember the Internet is narrow cast, not broadcast!
The best way to illustrate this is to imagine a bus stop poster that only displays your advert to people at the bus stop that are talking about your brand or category... and therefore you only pay for that level of distribution! Maximum impact, minimum cost!
In summary, social networking is here to stay - I can say that confidently because it was always here!
For help developing your social media strategies, contact will@strategynavigation.co.uk.
