Chapter 2 of Paul Gillin's Secrets of Social Media Marketing is all about making smart decisions regarding social media in order to fully benefit a company.
Marketers need to keep in mind several factors when picking a social media network for their company. First, always know what point the company is trying to make. Next, balancing "ease of use, simplicity in deployment, and functionality" is always a vital part of starting a campaign. As marketers become more familiar with how to use their chosen tool, they can make their website more complex. Another thing to remember is that just because social media is new and very popular, there are still many ways that conventional marketing is better. For example, if a company is targeting an audience that is over 50 years old, it would not be very smart to focus on an internet campaign.
This chapter also discusses the importance of customer satisfaction and feedback over the internet. In today's world, it is much easier for customers to post opinions of a company's product or service, both positive and negative. For example, websites like consumerist.com, angieslist.com, and servicemagic.com allow people to write about their own experiences with local businesses. It doesn't take very many bad reviews on one of these websites to really damage a firm's reputation. The last two things that really stood out in this chapter are to “relax and listen." Many corporations do a terrible job of dealing with crises because they take themselves too seriously. Also, companies need to listen to customers because when they get online to talk about a product or service, it's generally because they want to be heard.
Chapter 6, titled “Customer Conversations” begins by describing the way social networks and brand marketing have conflicted because social networks have always been about connecting with other people, not an institution.
There are so many categories of social networks that can anyone can easily find one to be a part of. From general purpose sites like Facebook to recommendation engines like StumbleUpon, it is very easy for a person to be a part of several online communities. Many of the social networks have many similarities that attract people. For example, almost all sites allow users to have a personal space or profile page and connections to other people they know (i.e. friends or followers).
From professional to personal, the internet has made it so much easier to contact others and maintain relationships. Social networking sites like LinkedIn has allowed people to search for jobs more easily than ever before with direct links to employers while also displaying connections of everyone from college professors to past and present colleagues. Many universities also have websites similar to this where current students and alumni can search for jobs by employers who are interested in hiring students from that particular school. For example, Clemson’s JobLink.
In Professor Howard's book, Design to Thrive, he introduces the most popular types of online groups and the four elements that are vital to long-term success on the internet, also known as RIBS. Contrary to many people's beliefs, it isn't the technology that keeps a social network going, but the "design of the community and the core principles" behind it.
Chapter 2 compares social networks and online communities, which many people probably consider synonymous. Before building an online group, a person must decide between a social network and an online community, depending on the audience and the long term goal of the site. Professor Howard clearly explains all of the similarities and differences anyone would need to know before beginning this sort of venture.
Knowing the point or the goal that needs to be met is so essential when it comes to marketing. If there is no point to the marketing strategy, then it is not likely that it will succeed. Balance, is another huge part of marketing. I agree with the point you made about how conventional marketing can be better in different situations. Conventional marketing is certainly something that I believe has withered away over time; simply because of the changing times. Marketers feel that as the times change, they must also change the way sell or promote a company or product. While keeping up with the times is an essential part of marketing; however so is knowing how to balance new age marketing with the traditional form of marketing.
ReplyDeleteGreat job detailing the reading and explaining the fundamentals of social media. You highlighted the main points and added your own insights to the reading. I like how you mentioned that an internet campaign may not be the best outlet for a target group over 50--I find that especially true with people like my grandparents, or even my parents, who are not technologically savvy enough to quite figure out how to use facebook or other social media. It seems that every organization or club or job I have had have been quick to use facebook as their default means of advertising, but these readings have made me see that this is not necessarily always the case.
ReplyDeleteYou did a really good job not only picking out the major points of the reading, but also incorporating different types of social media that you are already familiar with. The internet has expanded social media so much by not only connecting friends and families, but also potential and current employees. Clemson JobLink is a great tool for college students who are preparing to go out into the real world, and most students end up finding careers through the site. I agree on Howard's quote that what keeps social networking successful is the community involvement, not the technology. Without relationships through social media, the networking wouldn't be nearly as successful.
ReplyDeleteYou pulled so many fantastic focal points from the reading, I don't even know where to begin. One statement that I most agree with is that it is so imperative for companies to realize that their audience is not just made up of tech-savvy, young, and modernized adolescents and adults. Firms can't lose sight of the fact that their are 40, 50, 60, and even 70-year old people that haven't, and may not ever make the transition to more current social media marketing strategies. You're also so right about how social networking websites have branched out to areas most never would have dreamed of when sites like MySpace and Facebook got started. Now dating sites, job searching sites, and blog sites such as this one, are providing ways for people to get closer, and giving opportunities to people to learn and interact about various topics on just about anything. The world is getting a lot smaller as we are able to communicate with just about anyone on almost anything on the planet! By the way, it's so true that the success of social networking is not at all dependent on the technology, referring to Professor Howard's text. In fact, we discussed this in my English 475 class, "Writing For Electronic Media," when talking about the incredible success of Wikipedia. Sure, the concept of Wikis is brilliant, that anyone can update an encyclopedia page from anywhere, given that you have a computer. However, it is the dedicated community of regular Wiki users that make sure the validity and legitimacy of the information on Wikipedia's millions of pages that truly make the network so reliable. Regular Wiki users are notified when their pages are edited, and those members care so much that they feel obligated to go in and fix what had been changed, that is if the updated information is false or not credible in any way. It is, without a doubt, the communities in these networks that make them run so well, and not so much the technology that makes the impact.
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