Behavioural Targeting

Digital direct: Social media means brands will need to learn some manners

By Ross Taylor. Revolution UK 01.05.2008

Is it really possible to introduce social media into the marketing channel strategy?

It's not a question of choosing between Facebook, Bebo or MySpace foryour banner ads. It's all about recognising that these propertiesreflect a fundamental change in the way people use the net to share rather than to consume.

From a marketing perspective, the challenge is not what will be the nextFacebook, but how we can evolve the way in which we think aboutmarketing products, so we can take part in the ensuing conversations onwhatever new cool platform breaks cover.

The real question is: how can we use this evolution in behaviour tointroduce brands and products in a way that will be welcomed and valued by users?

Think about how users will now find information on your products in theway they want - make sure your Wikipedia entry is up to date, make sureyour archive, current product, marketing images and videos are widelydistributed, so they can be easily found. Also, make sure you know whothe key influencers are in your service space and actively engage withthem, use your internal expertise and share that with consumers on theirown terms in spaces such as Yahoo! Answers. Above all, be generous, beopen and be honest at all times. Recognise that you are now a guest atthe party. Be individual: interaction at a social level is about people,and not about brands. But most importantly, be responsive. Social mediais all about social interaction and, of course, manners, and there isnothing more off-putting than asking a question only to be ignored.

In terms of integrating social media into the marketing channelstrategy, it is a vitally important tool in ensuring that your productis seen, discussed and admired online. It should always be considered aspart of any overall communications strategy, but it is highly unlikelythat simply translating the campaign proposition into a Facebook page isgoing to give you the results you are hoping for. Social media requires,fundamentally, rethinking how you interact with your customers andprospects, releasing control and embracing dialogue. And, that is notgoing to fit into a traditional channel strategy.