Social media are revolutionizing the way people interact—not
only with each other, but with businesses, organizations and cultural
institutions. Social media allow consumers, through blogs, message boards and
other user-generated content, to post and share their opinions and perceptions.
Similarly, social media are revolutionizing the way companies communicate. In
other words, new technologies underline the limitations of antiquated
communication models and theories (e.g., cybernetic model and frame analysis)
and greatly facilitate two-way communication. Thus, social media are challenging traditional notions
of advertising and marketing in the contexts of technology, culture and
commerce.
Social media are changing the way companies communicate, allowing them not
only to achieve incoming and outgoing communications, but also
to communicate 24/7 about their brand. In fact, there is an
expectation of 24/7 personal service: consumers expect that they will not be
subjected to mass, non-targeted information and that any concerns will be addressed
quickly and personally. Dave Folkens describes the shifting landscape thus:
By engaging proactively, PR teams can create new opportunities to create a favorable brand impression that can lead to the beginning of a social media relationship and a potential business relationship.
Companies and institutions are now exploring the ways social
media fit their communication activities—activities such as marketing and
public relations; community building; crisis communication and issues
management; product, sales and support; ongoing, real-world, real-time
feedback, insight and participation. Each of these activities is social, and
social is about relationships. Marketers must understand and participate in
social media and integrate them—in a relevant way—into multichannel marketing
strategies.
Doing this presents a three-pronged challenge since social
media can be found on the Internet, on handheld and mobile devices, and in many
new media. Social media centre on user-generated content, on the ability to
post and share such content with others, and on greater ease of conversation and
engagement. Social applications, by their very nature, allow the interaction to take place and supplement, rather than
replace, interactions with others. Thus, anyone participating in the
conversation, using whatever technology or medium best suits him or her, is
part of the social web. Moreover, this social web reflects cultural norms and
mores, and provides channels to communicate thoughts, ideas and opinions on any number of topics, including companies and their business models.
Here’s a look at today’s leading social networks and
user-generated content technologies, and an overview of how they’re becoming tools in marketers’
social arsenal.
Message boards
Savvy marketers know message boards can build
customer-service oriented online communities, and they also know that health of
the community and timeliness of responses are an important metric. In addition,
because they know super users and subject matter experts are important
resources for both the organization and the community, marketers strive to find
ways to motivate such users to participate actively in the conversation.
Blogs
Blogs are a ubiquitous, influential medium, allowing authors
to create unlimited content about the topics that interest them. Although not
as community oriented as message boards, blogs nevertheless allow users to
publish content to elicit other users’ comments or viewpoints.
Social networks
Mass media coverage of
social networks (e.g., Facebook and MySpace) has led more and more consumers to seek them out as online and
mobile destinations that let them engage with one another and share content.
With more than 460 million users worldwide, Facebook is a ripe opportunity for
marketers eager to step into the social web: Facebook Pages allow organizations
to distribute content to fans, and the new Facebook Timeline lets organizations
share their corporate story and milestones.
Equally important is social networks’ ability to encourage
participation. Suffice to say that marketers need to strike a balance between
marketing and engagement; this varies from one organization to the next, based
not only on products, programs and services, but also on customer demographics.
YouTube
LinkedIn
Twitter
Conclusion
In less than a generation, the digital revolution has affected almost every aspect of how we live, work, play, communicate, share and make decisions. Digital technology provides passage into a world of possibilities, and Web 2.0, a tool for bringing together the contributions of millions of people and making them matter, has unleashed social media and social networks, structures through which individuals and organizations maintain relationships. In sum, social media have not only helped to dispense with the command and control method of governing and communicating, but in so doing have also reshaped traditional notions of advertising and marketing in the contexts of technology, culture and commerce.
In less than a generation, the digital revolution has affected almost every aspect of how we live, work, play, communicate, share and make decisions. Digital technology provides passage into a world of possibilities, and Web 2.0, a tool for bringing together the contributions of millions of people and making them matter, has unleashed social media and social networks, structures through which individuals and organizations maintain relationships. In sum, social media have not only helped to dispense with the command and control method of governing and communicating, but in so doing have also reshaped traditional notions of advertising and marketing in the contexts of technology, culture and commerce.
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