DISQUS

Lindsay · 1 year ago

For many companies, the hardest part seems to be to letting go of the "look" of their traditional print marketing when they move into social marketing. On of the writers on out site called it "Going beyond pretty"

It's really tough for people who came up through the ranks making attractive layouts and using flowery language to "sell" a product or image, to kind of leave that all behind and focus on the VALUE in the message. As time goes by, and those traditional marketers are replaced with more and more wired marketers, it will become second nature. But for now, those of us leading the charge at older companies face a daily battle over replacing large images and logos with content and links, and "what do you mean you want to let customers post their questions, concerns and complaints in plain view!!!"

Thanks for the good info. I will be back to read more!

Jessica · 1 year ago

Thanks Lindsay - I couldn't agree with you more. Making the transition from traditional print marketing to online marketing requires a shift in what we see as providing value to our customers. I think the best way to internally sell that value is by identifying the benefit to the organization and showing results, whenever possible. For those matured organizations, it might seem like a big leap of faith to move out of their comfort zone and try something different. But in the long run, their customers will thank them for it.

Joe Anderson · 1 year ago

If a company follows one of their customers on Twitter, for example, they are forging a relationship, promoting themselves and making that customer feel valued. Politicians use this to good effect.

Mike Moran · 1 year ago

Thanks for the plug, Jessica. I think one of the hardest things about social media is that marketers are taught to "message markets" instead of talk to a person. Marketers need to "unlearn" some of what they know to make this work. I've encouraged PR pros to break out of their traditional mold and realize that they are the storytelling experts--PR people know how to tell a story that customers will pass on, but most don't know it. Or they think viral marketing is, er, marketing--so it's not for them. I'm hopeful some of these role walls will begin to break down so marketers and PR folks can teach each other what they know. That will help them experiment more creatively and find what works more quickly. Thanks for the thought-provoking post.

Michael Goldstein · 1 year ago

Thanks Jessica. Well written.

Search Engine Optimization Jou · 1 year ago

Great article! It truly is hard to prove to businesses the value of social media as it is such an intangible and is hard to measure or track the success of it in many cases.

Scott Brinker · 1 year ago

We think there's a great opportunity for integrating social networking features into direct response online campaigns, such as landing pages for very highly targeted audiences.

If a marketer is already doing to hard work to bring a specific niche of people to a particular destination -- i.e., a Long Tail ad to a Long Tail landing page -- think of the value that could be unleashed by letting those respondents connect to each other?

A quick take of our thoughts on these social landing pages.

Emirhan · 1 year ago

I found this to be a really engaging article, as I like to keep my eye on where things are going with social media. I think a lot of businesses have been slow to catch on to the potential of this, and it is great to stay ahead in the game. Thanks!