The Buzz on Social Marketing
I recently asked my linkedIn connections to prognosticate about the future of social marketing. Most of those who responded defined “social marketing” in terms of the act of using a social network (e.g., like facebook) to persuade others, rather than the more traditional definition of seeking to affect social change for the greater good. Interestingly, regardless of definition, all felt that the role of social marketing in general, and in the B2B space in particular, was going to increase dramatically in future. I agree completely, especially regarding the growth of social marketing in B2B: The more complex the product or service, the more important will be social marketing because expert opinions, experiences and recommendations are commensurately more valuable. Of course, social marketing is not a new phenomenon. People have been seeking to influence others for a long time. It’s the explosive growth of online networks and their inherent advantages (24/7, instant, worldwide…to name a few) that is powering this growth in social marketing. But while it seems to be “all steam ahead” for marketing through social networks, I see two big issues with it. First is knowing where the line is (and learning not to step over it) between adding value and being transparent about your vested interests, on the one hand, and just seeking to influence for personal or corporate gain on the other. Second, is figuring out how to effectively measure the impact of those efforts. While lobbyists and other PR professionals have dealt with these issues for a long time, the internet is now putting this powerful influence management paradigm in the hands of inexperienced but eager masses. The results are sometimes ugly, even for otherwise experienced marketers (Sony, Walmart). But I have no doubt that, as with all other marketing channels, we will learn the rules of the road. A bit of road kill along the way helps us learn faster and keeps the abusers at bay. The process is inherently self-regulating.
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I like the metaphor of roadkill.
It’s very interesting to view the rapid succession of niche-finding of the various social networking sites, and the variety of sites that fell off the face of the earth after the newbies became the big kids on the block. And still, many of the big brutish kids on the block get shoved aside by younger, smarter kids.
Even facebook.com might not be safe – remember when everybody thought myspace.com was too big to fail? And, certainly, it hasn’t failed, but it has definitely been eclipsed by facebook.com. Now twitter.com, seemingly one of the simplest, ridiculous concepts for a website possible, is growing by leaps and bounds. It’s very unpredictable, at least thus far, which makes it such a challenge for marketers in terms of harnessing their potential.
I’m very interested to continue following the development of all of these players.