Don’t Be Anti-Social
In his upcoming book “The New Influencers,” longtime IT industry editor Paul Gillin writes, “Blogs, podcasts, video-sharing services, social networking sites, RSS feeds, and other parts of the social media ecosystem challenge nearly every existing assumption about online marketing.”
He’s right. Marketing used to be about courting mass audiences, a one-way distribution of carefully crafted messages. But as Gillin points out, the emergence of social media means that effective marketing is now about “leveraging the value of small groups of highly motivated people.” In this new model, marketing consists of a conversation that empowers individuals, communities and niche audiences and encourages action.
How will this benefit your organization?
Social media aren’t about being hip or cool; they’re about targeting and influencing the core constituencies that make a business successful: customers, employees, investors, and business partners. The early adopters are already out there doing innovative things with social media, especially blogs and podcasts.
Blogs are the cheapest, most interactive customer relationship tool ever invented. Customer-focused blogs demonstrate concern for the end user and enable two-way conversations, solicit feedback–both good and bad–and provide a forum for learning. Any business benefits from hearing from consumers who care enough to contribute to the conversation. Even if the feedback is negative, it may be a catalyst for fresh ideas that spark products or approaches to serving customers that otherwise would never have been considered.
Social media can also be effective as a way to defend a brand. Perhaps the best example is General Motors’ response to some negative publicity in ”The New York Times.” Columnist Tom Friedman wrote a scathing article in which he said, “The sooner GM gets taken over by Toyota, the better off our country will be.” Initially GM went the traditional route, writing a letter to the editor. What it found was that gatekeepers demanded some changes. GM objected and turned to its blog to respond.
Brian Akre of GM corporate communications began his post this way: “I’ve spent much of the past week trying to get a letter to the editor published in ‘The New York Times’ in response to the recent Tom Friedman rant against GM. I failed. This is my story.”
The result was an incredible coup for GM. Hundreds of bloggers were praising GM, and before long the mainstream media were onto the story, mostly highlighting GM’s innovative response. The GM blog post received far more attention than a published letter to the editor ever would have.
Another, more proactive example, is the reason Whirlpool is awash in buzz and increased traffic around its podcast series called “The American Family.” This effort is focused on conversations with interesting people about the challenges of raising a family today. Refreshingly, while the topics have ranged from healthcare to childcare to nutrition, the one thing that has never been on the agenda is washing machines.
The lesson here is that, if old-world companies like these can effectively use social media, one has to imagine that the sky’s the limit for company’s born in the Internet economy.
Today the trade and business media are increasingly skeptical of “official” sources of information, whether it is a press release or the comments of a company spokesperson. To counter this, many companies are incorporating social media into their communications plans as a means for providing a more casual, conversational environment for delivering information. Early returns indicate that reporters are far more likely to sign up for an RSS feed for a good blog or podcast than they are to read a perfectly crafted press release.
How to get there
Social media are hungry beasts. They need to be constantly fed with new content in order to thrive. Think about it: A TV show cannot build an audience if it airs only once every five weeks. Similarly, to truly harness the power of social media, organizations must constantly provide a reason for people to visit blogs and listen to podcasts and–more important, a reason to return.
Indeed, quality counts just as much in social media as it does in product development. Blogs need to be written by experts, passionate people speaking to a passionate audience. A CEO pontificating from the corner office doesn’t cut it. Corporate blogging should be open to employees, to the people whose brainpower, passion, and creativity drive the organization forward. That doesn’t mean being reckless; well-established guidelines are essential. But if the U.S. military can let soldiers in Iraq blog, a company should be able to afford select employees the same level of responsibility. An organization without this modicum of trust has problems well beyond anything a fresh blog can cure.
Effective podcasting requires quality production. While it is inherently more informal in nature, if the end result sounds as if it were produced in someone’s garage, it is not likely to be revisited or valued–or to reflect well upon the organization responsible for it. That means sufficient recording tools, well-written scripts, professional-sounding voices, and episodes of the right length and file size. Podcasts should follow a consistent theme to build momentum, they should be published at regularly scheduled intervals, and they should be made available in streaming format or as a download.
This is an exciting time to be involved in corporate marketing. We have a whole array of new tools, methods, and vehicles for influencing our most important audiences. Use social media in all elements of the marketing mix, from newsletters to Websites to marketing-focused media outlets. Embrace them, have fun, and be creative.
The age of social media is not a time for the timid. Be bold, be daring, and become an influencer of critical constituencies. The opportunities at hand are not a fad, but instead represent the dawn of a new day of marketing communications.
Tina Stewart is vice president of marketing for Arbor Networks, a developer of anomaly-detection solutions and other cyber security products.
