Twitter, Snitter, DoshDosh….Oh Blog; What the %#!& is Social Marketing?
Think of social marketing as coffee talk - with more meaning, greater intimacy and the potential for profound impact. But like meeting friends at a coffee house, it takes planning and tending. It’s a completely different value proposition than mass communication. Are there places for mass media AND one-on-one exchanges? Sure. Should small and big businesses toss one in favor of the other? No. So, where do you employ which method? The answer depends on what you’re saying and who you want to listen.
Sometimes called “viral” marketing, social marketing exchanges are the trails that blaze through this wide open cyber-world both directing and attracting attention and “harvesting” details about you. Since the field IS so vast, - and growing daily - for purposes of this 2-part column, we will start by exploring 2 basic social marketing tools - their uses and returns.
1. Facebook
Use: The primary purpose of Facebook is to link up of with others who share your background & interests. That could include favorite, music stores or even restaurants. It’s free to sign up and all you need is an e-mail account. Although it can be used to target certain demographics, it is generally not the tool of choice with business-to-business communications. It's geared toward consumer to consumer (C to C) or busines to consumer (B to C)...although business to consumer can be a lead generation tool.
Return: For business-to-consumers, it can reinforce your brand and create connections to your loyal customers through games, group discussions boards, contests, video and photo uploads. “Target does a great job in leveraging Facebook by staying connected,” says Adam Rosenkoetter, partner and technical director of Soldesign in Atlanta, Georgia. Plus the data from those who visit the pages, joined the group and shared it, can be harvested for future marketing initiatives. That means if there is an interaction with an application such as the profile, interests or ads, not only the user, but their connections can be harvested and used to target a particular demographic in the future.
Social ads can be useful tools as well. When a Facebook user clicks on a user-generated social ad, it broadcasts that interaction in a mini-feed which can be seen by friends of that user. Social ads allow users to track metrics by monitoring campaign results in real time. Privacy Options: Anyone who sets up a Facebook profile can manage their privacy settings. Control settings. Users can also control who is allowed access their information during a search.
2. LinkedIn
USE: LinkedIn is an online network of more than 30 million professionals from around the world, representing 150 industries. This is the primary tool of choice for business-to-business advertising. Unlike Facebook, it’s strictly a business-to-business network.
With this social marketing tool you can create a profile that summarizes your professional accomplishments. This enables you to find and be found by former colleagues, clients, and partners. You can even add more connections by inviting trusted contacts to join LinkedIn and connect to you. Your network consists of your connections, your connections’ connections, and `the people they know -- potentially linking you to thousands of people.
Return: Using your network, you can find potential clients, service providers, subject experts, and partners who come recommended. In addition, others can find you for business opportunities, search for jobs, even uncover connections that can help you land jobs and close deals. It is also used to post and distribute job listings.
Although it is free to join, they also offer paid accounts that provide additional tools for locating people who may not be in your network.`
Privacy Options: All relationships on LinkedIn are mutually confirmed, and no one appears in the LinkedIn Network without knowledge and explicit consent. You can always control how much other see about you by monitoring your security settings.
Next month we'll review the uses and returns from MySpace and Twitter.
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