Social Marketing: Reach Out and Engage Consumers
Rather than plaster every available screen with advertising, break through the clutter and develop relationships with the real people at the other end of your communications.
Rather than plaster every available screen with advertising, break through the clutter and develop relationships with the real people at the other end of your communications.
Americans report having fewer close confidants due to longer work hours and lengthy commutes, reveals a recent Duke University study by Professor Lynn Smith-Lovin. This is hardly a surprise. One can see the results of this phenomenon in the rapid adoption of social marketing, including wikis, message boards, online forums, and other collaborative forms of media. All these technologies fulfill a very real human need to connect.
When a friend recently confided she had a serious medical problem, the first place she turned was the Internet. It not only provided detailed information on her disease and options, but, more importantly, it provided forums and message boards where she could get support from others in her situation. (My column on NFPs cites several examples of this.)
As marketers, we must understand these personal needs and social trends. Rather than plaster every available screen with advertising, we must break through the clutter to develop relationships with the real people at the other end of our communications. As marketers we are brand ambassadors and partners with our consumers.
Social marketing enables marketers to take engagement to the next level. It’s about having a public dialogue in which consumers and marketers alike participate and respond. Marketing is no longer just about broadcasting a message to a mass audience to drive sales and buzz. Instead, it’s a return to old-fashioned communication that happens to occur in a public forum. Marketing is participatory. Jim Nail, CMO of Cymfony, calls this Influence 2.0.
This has important implications for how marketers develop ongoing relationships with core consumers. Doing social marketing right takes time, thought, caring, and, most important, an ability to listen and respond with empathy. Socialtext CEO Ross Mayfield has graphed his Power Law of Participation, a great visual that shows levels of user engagement and its relative strength.
Using Social Marketing to Connect With Customers
Ways to incorporate social marketing into your marketing mix include:
Measuring the Results of Social Marketing
To assess how the use of social marketing has improved your business, check these metrics:
Consider less direct metrics, such as improved corporate image and customer satisfaction, as they may not immediately translate into sales. Engaging consumers and interacting with them in a positive way creates opportunities for future sales.
Social marketing is one way to engage consumers directly in a relationship you can work to build over time. Like any other form of marketing, social marketing requires planning, resources, and measurement of results. Doing a good job at these one-on-one interactions isn’t easy, but it builds bonds to your target market that are difficult to acquire in any other way.