The New Rules of Marketing and PR. David Meerman Scott. Читать онлайн. Newlib. NEWLIB.NET

Автор: David Meerman Scott
Издательство: John Wiley & Sons Limited
Серия:
Жанр произведения: Маркетинг, PR, реклама
Год издания: 0
isbn: 9781119651604
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in places where they are congregating right now.

      Just as a point of clarification, note that there are two terms that sound similar here: social media and social networking. Social media is the superset and is how we refer to the various media that people use to communicate online in a social way. Social media include blogs, wikis, video and photo sharing, and much more. A subset of social media is social networking, a term I use to refer to how people interact on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and similar sites. Social networking occurs when people create a personal profile and interact to become part of a community of friends and like-minded people and to share information. You’ll notice throughout the book that I use both terms. This chapter is about the larger concept of social media, whereas in Chapter 14 we dive into detail about social networking.

      Social Media Is a Cocktail Party

      If you follow my metaphor of the web as a city, then think of social media and the ways that people interact on blogs, forums, and social networking sites as the bars, private clubs, and cocktail parties of the city. To extend the (increasingly tortured) analogy even further, Twitter can be compared to the interlude when the girls go to the ladies’ room and talk about the guys, and the guys are discussing the girls while they wait.

      Viewing the web as a sprawling city where social media are the places where people congregate to have fun helps us make sense of how marketers can best use the tools of social media. How do you act in a cocktail party situation?

       Do you go into a large gathering filled with a few acquaintances and tons of people you do not know and shout, “BUY MY PRODUCT!”?

       Do you go into a cocktail party and ask every single person you meet for a business card before you agree to speak with them?

       Do you try to meet every single person, or do you have a few great conversations?

       Do you listen more than you speak?

       Are you helpful, providing valuable information to people with no expectation of getting something tangible in return?

       Or do you avoid the social interaction of cocktail parties altogether because you are uncomfortable in such situations?

      I find these questions are helpful to people who are new to social media. This analogy is also a good one to discuss with social media cynics and those who cannot see the value of this important form of communication.

      The web-as-a-city approach is especially important when dealing with people who have been steeped in the traditions of advertising-based marketing, those skilled at interrupting people to talk up products and using coercion techniques to make a sale. Sure, you can go to a cocktail party and treat everyone as a sales lead while blabbing on about what your company does. But that approach is unlikely to make you popular.

      This chapter is an introduction to the concepts of social media. In subsequent chapters, I go into much greater detail about blogs (Chapters 5 and 15), video (Chapters 6 and 17), and social networking (Chapter 14).

      “Upgrade to Canada” Social Program Nabs Tourists from Other Countries

      The travel market is crowded. Consumers have lots of places to find information about places to visit. In this environment, the best content and the companies that are most engaged with social networks can win the day.

      Canada Tourism engaged travelers with a terrific social networking program called “Upgrade to Canada.” Representatives from Canada Tourism intercepted travelers at the Frankfurt and Lyon airports and tried to persuade them to switch their holiday plans, on the spot, to visit Canada instead. People had only a few minutes to consider the offer. Fortunately, many of them were open to the serendipity of a real-time travel change, and they spontaneously changed their travel destinations.

      Canada Tourism then created real-time social content about the travelers and their experiences once they arrived in Canada, and the tourists themselves eagerly shared on their own social networks, including Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.

      “The results were extraordinary,” says Siobhan Chrétien, regional managing director for Canada Tourism. “Not only were we able to share firsthand the travelers’ stories with the world, but online we received further upgrades from over 100 countries by travelers who switched to Canada.” Social networking drove awareness of Canada as a destination. Canada’s share among competitive destinations increased by a remarkable 21.5 percent.

      “No matter how sexy a destination is, promoting a country for tourism purposes has its challenges,” Chrétien says, “especially with the world now being a smaller place with many travel options and competing experiences and destinations. The traveler of today and of the future has a vast array of options. It is not enough to run slick ad campaigns or hope that price alone will drive a sale and convert a tourist. The traveler needs to be inspired, motivated, influenced, and in some cases convinced on the spot that the time is now to make the trip!”

      Smart organizations understand this new world and build a buying process around the realities of independent research and the power of social networks. Instead of generic information dreamed up by an advertising agency, they tell authentic stories that interest their customers. Instead of selling, they educate through online content. Instead of ignoring those who have already made a purchase, they deliver information at precisely the moment customers need it.

      It’s not just travel destinations that can benefit from social engagement. Every market is influenced by what people are saying on social networks: the good, the bad, and, in some cases, nothing.

      Social Networking and Agility

      Social networking allows companies to communicate instantly with their existing and potential customers. That Canada Tourism built an entire awareness campaign around real-time strategies shows the power of instant communications. Yet many organizations don’t respond to people quickly on social networks.

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