Social Network Marketing – It Ain’t Your Granddad’s Relationship Selling
My mom is 85 and does not have Facebook page, doesn’t tweet, in fact she does not have a computer. But, she has taught me everything I need to know about the value of social networks to an integrated marketing communications program.
Even though the cost is a penny of two more, my mom fills up her car at the same service station every week. She knows the owner and rewards the relationship with her business. People and businesses do the same. If everything is equal (price, quality, etc.) or nearly equal, we do business with those whom we have a connection.
With social networking taking center stage in any discussion of relationship selling, we’ve entered a new era of marketing through social media. But how effective is it? I was in an online chat about social networks and someone mentioned a 2008 Forrester Report citing that less than half of survey respondents indicated Forums, Online Communities, and Social Networks as being an information source impacting the decision making process. Does that mean the buzz about social network marketing is just that, buzz and nothing more?
In taking a look at the report I come to a different conclusion. With a title only an unabashed academic could love, The Social Technographics® Of Business Buyers, a key finding reports that four of the top six influencers on technology purchase decisions involve people-to-people contact. Social network marketing is about building those inter-personal relationships.
Here’s the list:
Peers and colleagues – 84%
Vendor, industry and trade Web sites - 69%
Your direct vendor salesperson – 69%
Technology or business magazines – 66%
Consultants, VARs and SIs – 65%
Industry trade shows or conferences (in person) – 59%
Forums, online communities and social networks – 45%
Dell Computers is the now well known business case example of integrating social media within a marketing program. Following a much publicized customer service problem, Dell embraced social media by launching a community site, numerous blogs, multiple Twitter IDs, and a Facebook account. In a public statement, Dell has acknowledged they’ve earned $1M in revenue from the use of Twitter alerts. At Dell, the use of social network marketing is a central element of their integrated marketing campaign.
And take a look at one of the latest promotional campaigns launched by McDonald’s to build brand association. The video shot at London’s Piccadilly Circus is moving up the ad charts that track viral videos. Does it sell burgers? Not directly. But building positive brand awareness through viral social networking will certainly move the brand scorecard in a positive direction.
Social networking provides capabilities for people to discover new ways of connecting with each other. Social network marketing offers B2B and B2C marketers the opportunity to establish those same connections. As I’ve learned from my mom, we buy from people we like.
•
del.icio.us
digg
facebook
E-mail this article to a friend (requires login).