In many respects, social media has turned the worlds of
marketing, advertising and public relations upside down. The practiced and
preached marketing models, which some CEOs are still more comfortable with yet
today, have been tossed aside for a completely new two-way communication
approach. No more are the days when public relations professionals and
marketers pushed out information to consumers, or developed flat campaigns to
be disseminated through traditional media approaches. The seemingly one-way
tube of communication has been broken. Let’s just say the average consumer now
has an invite to the cocktail party…and he’s making a big entrance.
By entering the cocktail party at all, the consumer enters
the conversation. This shift in control—or rather, loss of control—for
marketers and public relations professions is a difficult thing to grasp at
first. The level of transparency only increases from here, and that can sometimes
hurt a brand’s image or a campaign’s objective. The voice of one unreasonable
individual can be heard by all, and can raise concerns among other consumers. However,
when used correctly, social media is truly the beginning of a lasting,
meaningful conversation.
Companies should note that there are many, many individuals
in the general public who want to speak with or about you. Social media
provides a platform for conversation and increases two-way communication. No
longer are websites static, they are now filled with dynamic, interactive
content. With the rise of online conversational hosts like forums, Twitter,
Facebook, blogs, and comment functions, consumers can share opinions, concerns,
questions and praise with the vast audience that makes up the Web 2.0. In this
new world, your brand or company already belongs to the public. In a sense,
content and information has become democratized.
By now, big media outlets have even contributed to the
shift. Time magazine, for example,
picked “You” as person of the year in 2006. With all of the recent growth
online in blogs and social networking sites, it seems the media is still less
reluctant to accept such changes, while big business has not fully come to
terms with just how effective social media can be.
Prof. Robert Lauterborn, author of The New Marketing Paradigm, describes this shift as
‘demassification.’ According to Lauterborn, from 1950-1970, the marketing
systems in the United States functioned like well-oiled machines. “Then,”
Lauterborn says, “technology collided with society and human wants and needs.” In
the 1950s, power was in the hands of the marketer. In the 1980s, the channel
had the power; in the 1990s and after, the power shifted to the consumer.
Take Amazon, for example. Years ago, Amazon.com allowed
unfiltered comments on their products sold online; at the time, competitors
were astonished. Now, this consumer-based comment forum is standard, and
consumers hold the communication power.
The key is to not view this new social media shift as a
public relations disaster. Yes, consumers can provide instant feedback, some
good, some bad, and some certainly ugly. Jim Tobin, author of Social Media is a Cocktail Party,
advises public relations firms handling a company’s communication to do two
things when negative comments are posted. “One, you leave it up. Two, you
evaluate the point the person is making,” Tobin says.
But it is important to remember that social media also easily
positions a segmented, specific audience in the hands of public relations
professionals. Instead of seeking out a target audience, public relations
professionals can quickly identify and communicate with targeted groups at the
start of a major campaign. What’s better? Before even conceptualizing a
campaign, professionals can read about nearly any subject of interest to the campaign
from the viewpoint of the consumer, as there are likely already groups online
talking about it.
Perhaps even more significant is how the public can
essentially create the campaign for the public relations specialist. Alongside
the occasional critic are brand enthusiasts who are motivated to share their
excellent customer service experience or product satisfaction with a large
web-based audience. Not only is this helpful from a promotional aspect, but
also in gaining consumer trust.
It is no secret that public relations professions are known
to put ‘spin’ on things. Of course, professionals are trained to present and
position clients in the best possible light, but that comes with a price. Even
mildly-educated consumers know, for example, that the quotes used in press
releases are often crafted by public relations specialists and are not uttered
by the individual at all. The consumer often becomes skeptical of promotional
efforts, or even comes to resent public relations campaigns.
Enter social media, and suddenly, the communication and
recommendations are being shared consumer-to-consumer. Even if a public
relations department is able to publish a feature article in a local daily
newspaper, for example, readers will ponder what public relations firm was able
position such a piece. On the other hand, hearing information from friends,
family and trusted individuals with no stake in product sales whatsoever
produces results. Third party credibility only increases transparency and
authenticity. Online word-of-mouth also saves the company time, money and
promotional effort.
In increasingly difficult economic times, return on
investment has become even more important for public relations professionals to
communicate back to the company. Luckily, when utilizing social media, there
are tools available to make ROI easy. Search engine optimization alone has
shown huge ROI for companies. Marketing segmentation of consumers online also
helps companies to target a relevant consumer population, rather than wasting
money on promoting a product to an irrelevant public. At the most basic level,
however, is the fact that consumers are on social media. If a company isn’t, it
is missing out.
As Jim Tobin so candidly says, “The party goes on with or
without you.” The fact is, if a company is not utilizing social media, it is
still being talked about at thousands of online cocktail parties. The problem
is, the company is not hearing the conversations, nor is it apart of the public
dialogue at all.
A common misconception that exists yet today is that the
segmented population using social media consists mostly of teenagers and young
adults, who perhaps do not have the purchasing power of older adults. The fact
is, nearly half of Facebook users are over the age of 35 and the median age for
LinkedIn users is 36. Older consumers are certainly already at the cocktail
party.
Finally, many have predicted that social media is a fad that
will die hard, as trends typically do. Many companies are still skeptical to
develop departments, expand budgets or increase resources around what appears
to be a communication trend. This will prove to be a costly mistake. A good
public relations firm will advise its clients to integrate traditional
promotional approaches with social media, even if the company is reluctant to
do so.
Social media has become an important part of consumers’ lifestyles
and daily routines; once integrated as a preferred communication tool,
consumers will be very reluctant to let go. This makes sense. Once guests are
able to engage in meaningful conversation at the cocktail party, why on earth
would they want to leave?
Brittany Rustad
University of Minnesota
Jour 3279
Blog Assignment
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