One of the things that drives me nuts are people that create web strategies without any thought of how it helps a company. (Brand reinforcement on its own is not a successful goal.)
I go crazy when I see people still citing digg as a viable social media strategy, or when I see people state that more traffic equals more money. I can send you loads of crap traffic, please tell me if it makes you any real money.
Social media is not all about digg traffic, or sending people from facebook to your site. Sure, it can be used for that, but in no way is that an effective use of your time.
A good social media campaign will focus on creating a relationship. Taking the old media method of advertising – a one way conversation – and making it a joint marketing production. Asking questions, finding out how to make your product better, and making your consumers a part of your innovation and publicity is Marketing 2.0.
Instead of trying to get on the front page of digg all the time, target niche social media sites. Have a product for women? Get your blog posts on the front page of Kirtsy. Internet marketer or social media guy? Make sure you’re reading Sphinn.
By looking at smaller more focused communities you’re able to cut out people that don’t care about your product. You target only those that might buy your product instead of wasting your time on others.
This idea isn’t only applicable to digg and social news site, but also social networking sites. I’ve already said before that advertising on facebook is a waste of time. Instead use it to cultivate a community. People are interesting in learning about you, showing off that they bought your products, and be a part of a group.
There’s been a paradigm shift in marketing. Welcome to new media marketing.
The old thinking of content being king, the thoughts that traffic is money, and the idea that branding is for large companies, is a thing of the past. Now customer relations is taking a front seat. Creating brand loyalty and getting people to talk about you is king. The community and communication is most important.
And how about a second look, or even a FIRST look at the benefits of online communities? The conversations taking place in online communities can equate to a gold mine for the right marketers with the right attitude and willingness to invest time in an online community. I’ve said time and time again that I do get the concept of scale. But at some point, isn’t a targeted approach that can achieve success on a micro-level better than one on a macro-level that produces nothing? I’m no advertiser, but at some point there’s a common sense factor here.
@Angela You’ve got it exactly right. The idea of targeting massive audiences isn’t going to work. You can’t create the tight knit relationships social media is known for, without targeting smaller groups. Chris Brogan just wrote an excellent post about this “Cafe-Shaped Conversations“
Samir: Do you predict any of that happening in 2009? I am working on a list of how I think marketers should approach online communities in 2009. I am going to quote you. And I’m also heading over to Brogan’s post. I think I missed it. Thanks.