BREAKING NEWS: Corporate America agrees that social media is essential to successfully communicating (and engaging consumers with) your brand in today's ever-changing global marketplace.
As consumers become more diverse, demanding, and connected than ever before, it's important for firms to understand the global trends and local conditions that define their environment (and the consumer's too!).
The new marketplace is now being defined in consumer terms. As such, blogs are an important tool in this new two-way communications world. With traditional media such as newspapers appearing to be that of Neanderthals (my apologies to the Geico cavemen), brands now use blogs to tell their story. And more importantly, they CONTROL the content.
However, just as important, firms cannot miss out on the CONVERSATION part. Blogging, or social media in general, is another promotional platform but it is as much about listening as it is about publishing content. Firms must understand that in order to catch the attention of their target audience, they need to be informative (or even entertaining), engaging, and true to the brands they represent.
Blogs. Facebook. Twitter. Flickr. Digg. YouTube. They're all great communications and marketing tools but they must be used efficiently. Firms should not SPAM social media, it will backfire. Instead, prioritize your efforts on sites where your audience may be looking for you and integrate/connect these back to your blog. This way, the brand message will be more authentic and meaningful to the consumer.
Articles:
Beckford, Avil. On Corporate Blogging: Interview with Don Martelli of MS&L. November 9, 2009.
Brogan, Chris. Shut Up - You're Helping the Customer! November 4, 2008.
Image from Savage Brands.
Good comments. Firms definitely need to realize that social media is a platform for conversation...not advertising. Its a fundamental concept they need to understand before they can ever hope to get good at social media.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your comment that firms have to invest in the content in their social media in order to make it interesting, entertaining and informative to consumers. I would also add - useful. Otherwise why would people go to company's blog etc? Definitely they wouldn't do it to watch a commercial they just skipped on their TV.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I don't read blogs much. But I would definitely go to a company site to do so if I knew that it provided some useful information and knew that my feedback is going to be noticed.
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