Really interesting post in the technology viewpoint area of Business Week on February 19th. This is a classic line that many marketers sometimes assume to be true: “Using social media to market your business is a good idea. Just don’t plan on getting your whiz-kid nephew to do it for free“.
Quickly here are their 6 ‘myths’: full descriptions in the complete article.
1. Social media is cheap, if not free.
2. Anyone can do it.
3. You can make a big splash in a short time.
4. You can do it all in-house.
5. If you do something great, people will find it.
6. You can’t measure social media marketing results.
David Veneski Social Media Myths, Social Media
Traditional marketing as we know it is changing. Heck, it’s changed a LOT over the last few years with the rise in user-generated brand advocacy and criticism. Companies need to start thinking about social media in this way- and some already are, like Scotts:
Adotas profiles them in their February 20th article:
“The Scotts site leverages social media to elevate the consumer experience. Scotts enables consumers to participate in blogs, forums, and photo galleries that are designed to inspire and assist gardening enthusiasts….. Within days of rolling out the social media features, thousands of visitors registered to create blogs, connect with other lawn care enthusiasts, and share their stories and pictures. To date, the Scotts site has hosted more than 246,000 social interactions between consumers.”
Allowing people to connect on your site around their passion points to elevate your brand affinity…smart.
David Veneski Integrated Marketing Brand, Integration, Social Media