Despite the social media hype, the Google razzmatazz, and the Web 2.0 bonanza, a large proportion of marketers are still struggling to accept that times have changed. I spend much of my time reading and observing discussions from various online marketing groups, and I see a clear dividing line between the traditional and the more web-savvy marketers. It's like watching footballers from the 1960's Premier League playing against the 2010 line up of Manchester United.
I started my online publishing career in 2002 and, at the time, print media were the dominant force in publishing. And, indeed, advertisers where lining up behind most of these print publications rushing to include their display ads in the upcoming issues. Yes, print advertising has worked very well for centuries. But I always believed that something was missing, which was the key aspect of any marketing campaign, and that is customer engagement. How can you engage with a piece of paper?
Print advertising is really all about hoping that customers would react positively to the campaign and call the advertisers to enquire about their latest deals and product releases. As an entrepreneur, I don't believe in hope, I believe in definitive action and making things happen, which is the reason why I became involved in online publishing.
Back then, online media were seen as a secondary, perhaps even tertiary media that not many people took very seriously. They were seen as the cyberspace for geeks and spammers. My company struggled to convince many of the advertisers at the time that online advertising is actually much more cost effective and produces better results than print advertising. Nonetheless, with the enormous growth of the Web 2.0 concept, eight years later, more and more advertisers are becoming more obsessed with online advertising and social media, in some cases without knowing exactly how these actually work. Though, I do believe that this lack of knowledge is also the reason why many marketers and publishers alike are in some state of denial that we are now living in the cyberspace, whether we like it or not.
The Marketing World has Changed Already
Face it, traditional advertising is fast becoming a thing of the past. Let's not forget that most successful marketing campaigns are the ones that are the most engaging with the customers. One argument that was thrown at me was that TV ads are quite engaging since marketers and media companies are capable of capturing the viewers' imagination using the model of short films with strong story lines. Indeed, this is very true and I do agree that this model is much more powerful than the static model. However, this is still an indirect engagement with customers. Not to mention, TV ads are eye-poppingly expensive.
Web 2.0, on the other hand, is all about direct engagement with users and prospects, and at a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising models. Web 2.0 is, in fact, a quick and easy starting point for an effective marketing campaign, and in some parts of the world, online online advertising spending models have overtaken TV ads. This is a strong indication on where were are heading.
One good example of a great online marketing tactic, where social media played a huge part, is Apple's pre-release campaigns of the iPad. Prior to Apple's official announcement of the iPad, there were lots of “rumours” and speculations that circulated the web for months, about Apple's plans of producing some sort of tablet/handheld computer. Of course, Apple's insiders started spreading these rumours in order to create the hype that we've witnessed prior to Steve Job's keynote where he officially revealed the iPad to the world. This allowed hundreds of bloggers and journalists to discuss with their users about this new tablet and, of course, the social media space was bombarded with millions of user opinions and tweets. And all of this is taking place before the release of the iPad later this year! And, indeed, this hype was intensified much further after Apple's official announcement. This will eventually turn the iPad into the biggest and most successful product of 2010.
Now how many ads have Apple released about the iPad? None!
Of course, Apple is in a very strong position to be able to achieve this. In fact they have mastered this marketing technique for so many years that it has become their bread-and-butter marketing approach. For the rest of us, this is one of the key marketing strategies that we should embrace in any business infrastructure.
Follow Your Customers
I'm not suggesting that we should kill off traditional advertising completely -- well, not yet anyway. But certainly marketers should not put the same level of effort and money into ad campaigns, including non-dynamic online banners, as they have done in the past. Social media is the platform on which you should start building your marketing efforts, in addition to the rest. Why, you ask? Because this is where the users -- Your potential customers -- are storming towards in their millions. Hence, it doesn't make any economic sense to follow the medium that once was successful. Instead, follow the medium that is currently successful and take full advantage of its current offerings.
How Can Marketers Benefit from Social Media?
Like with any pre-marketing campaign plan, the first and foremost exercise that you must perform is analyzing the marketing medium that you chose for your campaign. The questions to ask include: is this medium popular amongst users? And why? Once you can answer these questions clearly, then you will know how to market your products through this medium.
The second exercise is to actually learn the ins and outs of this medium. How does it work from a user's perspective? Become a regular user yourself so that you fully understand how other users benefit from this medium and where your campaign would fit in this picture. Ask yourself, how would my campaign add value to the user's experience? Is it too intrusive? A user's page in a social medium is his/her private space. If you force yourself in to their space, you will lose this user for good. And I say for good because they will remember your name!
The key point that you must always remember is that social networks are hugely successful because they allow their users to engage with each other and share their favourite content and knowledge. So as a marketer you MUST follow the trends of the medium involved. So in this case, marketers need to engage with the users, communicate with them, advise them and setup sub-communities and focus groups where needed. The aim of this is to offer these users something that they are looking for (one of the big challenges!) and offer your support and expertise to advise them. Do NOT turn this into a sales pitch. If they need more help, then you can take it to the next level, which usually leads to a sale. In my company, for example, we offer a number of lead generation programs where the advertisers provide us with whitepapers and interactive content that can help our users with their work and it has proven to be very successful. So, again, it is all about engagement.
But, be Warned!
As life has taught us so many times, all good things will some day come to an end. Social networks, including Twitter and Facebook, will potentially be replaced by something bigger and better. The Internet is a fast moving and vicious world, thus marketers can be caught off-guard and find themselves without their favourite and much needed platforms. So it is imperative that you stay in touch with the latest news and developments in the social media space in order to stay ahead of your marketing game. If this is a race, your web knowledge, accompanied by your marketing wisdom, are your secret formula to succeed over your competitors in the future
