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RSSConsider that of the innovations I listed above, only Google has achieved "effective" monetization through proper (read: relevant) integration of marketing. Mobile and TiVo/DVR, while laden with promise and suitors, has yet to find the breakthrough for marketer integration/relevancy. I do believe that automobile GPS will achieve ubiquity within a few generations of cars, and effective monetization will be achievable very quickly given the interface's non-personal nature, but this has not happened yet (more on this another week).
Then there is social media. The most difficult proposition facing marketers here is that they have to find a way to appropriately interact and integrate with a media like no other. Whereas traditional media was a form of pushed entertainment, social media is instead a very important combination of push and pull media for the purposes of entertainment and communication.
This past weekend I asked my girlfriend to marry me. Shockingly, she said yes! Without even thinking twice, we both updated our "status" on our various social networks, while making the phone calls to friends and families. Before we could get ahold of even immediate family through our cell phones, people we had only met virtually were congratulating us on our social networking profiles. By the next day my fiancée had received enough comments, or messages, that Microsoft's algorithm found it appropriate to serve bridal advertising on her Facebook home page. Now I am new to all of this, but I am assuming it's a bit early for this (maybe not, what do I know). More to the point, had my fiancée been actively seeking information for weddings, or marriage, by having a "dialog" with a search engine, these ads would have certainly been relevant, but there is something very different about relevance for marketers within a human dialog. Inserting advertising into a dialog among people feels a bit creepy.
Certainly the content on her page does not make it relevant to serve bridal advertisements to the people visiting her page. Just because she got engaged doesn't mean people visiting her page would be interested in wedding-related ads. Nor would they perceive her as an expert on the subject, as she only recently got engaged. So what's a marketer to do?
For me, three things happened this weekend. I became the happiest man on the planet. I realized the rapidly increasing role social media was playing so naturally, even in the most important events in my life. And I got to live a crystal-clear example of why you can't simply plug effective marketing methods from other media (like search) into social media and expect relevancy. Social media is quickly becoming the preferred method of mass interpersonal communication, even destabilizing email's role as the killer app for younger generations. Marketers and platform providers need to recognize and respect this difference between social media and traditional media and rethink their approach to marketing integration.
How has social media played a role in how you communicate?
(P.S. Thanks to all of those who wished me and my fiancée well on Facebook or Linkedin -- in case I don't get to respond to everyone!)
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The Social Media Pull marketing is not about clicks, it's about developing brand loyalty and retaining consumers. Very, very slowly the paradigm is shifting from the producer making what they want and drumming up sales using advertising to persuade the buyer they need and want the product, to using Social Media to draw in and retain customers in order to get feedback on their products. It's all about partnering with the consumer.
I think you will be seeing more and more of this company/consumer relationship marketing with the larger brands that are budgeting a portion of their advertising dollars into developing a Web 2.0 presence.
Congrats on wedding. Note to all: Candlesticks make nice presents.
chris boak
Is the bridal advertising relevant? Well, in a way yes, since your fiancee will use the page and presumably have interest in wedding products. Others that visit her page, many family and friends, will attend the wedding and want to buy gifts. Overall, the issue with targeted advertising/marketing online is automation. Algorithms make decisions based on data. In this case they only have the information on the page to go by, no insight onto the demographic of the users that visit the page, many of whom are anonymous.
I use social media as a means of pinging people.
Email overload is alive and kicking - especially for well-known people.
So, I have found that pinging them on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn is a more effective means of reaching them via phone or email -- although the telephone is making a comeback. :)
I am careful not to overuse the social pinging, because when it's not urgent, I'll just as soon send an email or call.
I work for a small company that offers branded social media. More and more brands are offering social media sites so that people can share information about the product, share opinions about the product and interact with the business that makes the product. In addition to this, they are creating online contests asking users to sign up and upload photos and/or videos promoting the brand.
Instead of pushing intrusive ads into social media as a "marketing campaign", companies are folding it into their marketing.
For instance, Arby's has just started a new marketing campaign using the "Rescue Brigade." Part of launching this is a video contest. The promotion of the video contest is being included in the television marketing, from their arbys.com home page and print marketing. http://www.rescuebrigadeaudition.com/
Companies who take this route are counting on the videos going viral, at least on a personal level. For instance, I create a video and upload it to the site, then I plug it into my Facebook page and tell all my friends to watch my video and vote for me.
The sites are safe because the company can review a video or picture before allowing it to be published. This keeps out copyrighted material and unsavory assets.
A great contest site that we launched a couple of weeks ago for Paramount is whencloverfieldhit.com It was launched to kick off the DVD release of Cloverfield.
Arby's and Cloverfield are both a great example of where social media as a marketing tool is going.
I actually think you may be looking at how Facebook sells ads incorrectly...those ads are only seen by her when she logs on to Facebook, and that's because she noted in her profile that she is Engaged. (It doesn't have anything to do with the conversations she's having on her wall.) Because she (and you) are offering the info that you're engaged, Facebook can serve up relevant ads. People who visit her profile will see different ads, based on what they have in their profile. It's about as targeted, smart, and easy to purchase as it can be...
Of course, there is the assumption that the those who visit a person's page is likely to have things in common with that person. But it's more likely directed to the owner of the page. And actually, I think it's pretty cool.
If I have posted on my Myspace page that I have just started sewing my own wardrobe (I have, BTW) and fabric stores posted ads with special offers for patterns - I'll see it when i go to update my page, and I'm most likely going to click on it and see what they have available.
To me, this seems less intrusive than a lot of the other types of social marketing out there. And a hell of a lot more relevant. Which should translate to a lot more successful.
As a mother of six grown sons living in various parts of the world Facebook has become an important vehicle in how our family communicates. Recently my 90-year-old-mother has joined the family on Facebook - now we have four generations sharing our day-to-day news and celebrating special occasions. Cousins who barely knew one another have become close friends, and old family battles have been resolved and laid to rest. I cannot imagine starting the day without catching up on the family updates.
I do believe Mom is the oldest person I've found on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=16142205725
peace! Gayle
Congrats. I think the huge challenge for marketers is that social media is about relationship and conversations - and it is hard to build relationships or participate in conversationst with ads and campaigns.
Perhaps a more clever solution to the example you provided might work like this.
1. The Wedding Planning Marketer hosts or is a valuable member of a large, vibrant, consumer centric forum/community.
2. Instead of serving ads, perhaps they simply send a message to your Bride-to-Be that there is a whole community of Brides-to-Be that talks about everything - and maybe she would find it useful.
3. She participates and learns the ropes, if the WPM is a valuable contributor to/sponsor of the community they will earn her trust.
Thanks for Sharing
TO'B
We had some interesting development in riots here in Iceland last week where social media played a big role: http://blog.scope.is/marketing_safari/2008/04/riots-20---riot.html
For me personally, I get most of my clients and do almost all my learning and networking through social media. I don't want any info on paper, only through my social media channels.