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Social media marketing is incredibly powerful. It can do amazing things. But is this just theory, or is it really the answer to all our marketing problems? Can we reach brand utopia via social media? And if not, what is stopping us?
What are the obstacles between you and social media marketing perfection?
According to Thomas More, 16th century statesman, writer and philosopher, if you sailed out West into the Atlantic Ocean from Ireland, the first landfall you would make was not the Americas. Instead you would come across an extraordinary island state - Utopia.
Utopia was extraordinary because it contained a perfect society. There was no famine, no crime, no war. There was complete tolerance of belief. There were few laws. Even better, there was no need for lawyers. This is why Utopia has become a modern byword for a perfect society. But Thomas More was not an idealist; Utopia was a satirical work to highlight the inequality and imperfection of real life. And this historical introduction gives us a fascinating context for the challenge we currently face with social media.
Social Media Utopian Principle #1: Customers would come to us instead of making us go to them.
Why not? This is the concept at the heart of inbound marketing. We know that buyers are increasingly looking for brands to help them with issues rather than products. Creating good content and making it available over the web is a proven way to pull prospects into your sphere of influence when they are at the right stage in the buying process rather than interrupting them when they are not ready to buy.
Social Media Utopian Principle #2: Our customers would work for us
Its a nice thought, isnt it? But isnt this what they are doing when they distribute your content for you? You just need to create something useful and release it to the world. If it is thinly-disguised sales collateral it wont travel far. But if you do something that transfers a little of your expertise to people who want it, they will pass it on. People want to help, people want to look good; and passing on highquality does that. In effect, they do some of your work for you.
Social Media Utopian Principle #4: Our products could not be copied
Its too easy these days. Technical features can be duplicated and brought to market in weeks. Ideas can be reproduced, even improved on leaving the original innovators with a big R&D cost and little to show for it in return. But what if some of the investment went into establishing a presence in the social communities where your buyers are most active. When presented with identical products, which supplier will they prefer? Again, it is a brand preference situation and social media can be an extremely powerful tool for encouraging buyers to perceive greater value in your version of what might otherwise be seen as a commodity product.
Does your companys technical infrastructure encourage social media usage or block it?.
3. The Attitude Obstacle
Senior management buy-in: If you have a CEO who thinks social media is a nice thing to have rather than a way in which you are addressing a fundamental change in buyer behaviour, you have a big obstacle. Every director-level dissenter, every senior management sceptic is working against you if you want to achieve perfection. Build it into the brand: Is true engagement with customer something that is part of your companys stated vision? Is it in the brand guidelines? If its not fully sanctioned and recognised at brand level, it is going to be impossible to implement across the company. Customer attitudes: In a perfect world, your customers would be using every social media channel every day, making them perfect candidates for engagement. Of course this is not true. Yet. But it is changing. According to Morgan Stanley figures, at the end of 2006, users spent twice as long using email as they did using social media. The figure is now reversed.
The truth is no one will actually reach Utopia. But some marketers will get a lot closer than others.
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