Posts Tagged ‘traditional marketing’

The Social Media website Facebook has done in nine short months what it took television 13 years to do – build a network of 50 million users.  Social Media sites like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn and others also account for 11 percent of all worldwide Internet usage. That is 11 percent of what the entire world is doing online and with the multitude of activities one could be participating in online, those are serious statistics!

The results of Social Media Marketing differ drastically from the results of traditional marketing efforts like television or direct mail for two main reasons:

Consumers today are not the same consumers of yesterday.  Today, consumer are watching television, updating their Facebook, texting on their cell and eating dinner, simultaneously.  Until something strikes their curiosity, they have the ability to not fully focus on any one particular task.

Consumers today have built infiltration systems and are less likely to respond to one particular advertisement.  Advertisements are on billboards, web pages, products, text messages, commercials, blogs, and social media sites.  With so much information surrounding each consumer it is only reasonable for the human brain to cope by filtering all this information. Statistics show that consumers are more likely to trust a friend’s opinion or advice over that of an advertisement. This goes to show you that consumers are more interested in what their friends have to say and social networking is one of the places they interact with friends. Therefore, if their friends are commenting on a companies page or product on social media sites, their friends will see and  are more likely to respond.

So where does this leave Social Media Marketing?  It leaves social media sites to do what it does best, socialize.  By having hands on contact with consumers companies are not only letting them into their world, but they are also in theirs.  Consumers are laying their cards on the table and all you have to do is play.  Think outside the box when it comes to social media, think beyond banner advertisements and mass emails but open yourself up to the concept of the opportunity to capture the attention of the world by opening the lines of communication.

There is a clear difference between hunting and farming, have you ever thought about the distinctions in approaches for these two styles of obtaining food? Both of these methods provide food, however the two styles are much different from each other; mainly due to the time it takes to get the end result.  In hunting, almost directly after the prey has been killed the “hunter” can eat.  In farming much more time and effort is involved.  A seed must first be planted, a good environment for growth has to be established, the planted seed requires consistent water, nourishment and TLC. After a few weeks of this consistency the crops are ready to be harvested and then the farmer can eat.

Hunting can be compared to traditional marketing, while farming is much like social media marketing.  In traditional marketing take for instance telemarketing, within a matter of a few minutes you can tell if the client on the other end of the phone is interested in the products or services that are being pitched. Within a few moments after that, it is quite easy to know whether the deal is sealed not. Traditional marketing more often than not provides almost instant gratification. Social media marketing is much different, like farming or face to face networking; social media marketing requires time and consistency.

When utilizing social networks as a tool to promote a business it is important to treat the interaction on the platforms like you would if you were farming.

• First develop or plant a relationship with the network that is built.
• Secondly water those relationships consistently.
• Thirdly monitor their growth, to see if anything needs to be changed in the strategy

Then with patience and perseverance like farming, you will see the results of the harvesting. Eventually the crops will grow and business will begin to flourish because of the time that was spent with your network.

The purpose of this analogy is to show that the time frame to measure the success of a social media campaign is not set in stone, nor is it immediate.  The goal is to plant and water a seed for a lasting relationship with the network you build over time, which will create the opportunity for a successful partnership, if the time spent with that network is meaningful.  A successful partnership is the end result of participating in the conversation happening on social networks. Forming a relationship with your targeted network of decision maker’s, results in increased profits over time.

Every effort put into a social network profile whether it is interesting status updates, helpful information and insights, news and information on your industry, or feedback and interaction about your service will help your organization grow into the business you envisioned.  Social media marketing can help a business grow to the next level while creating the opportunity for more quality business relationships.