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Social media: is this listening or a new way of broadcasting?
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Once upon a time marketing was about broadcasting the message. Captured audiences (magazines, TV, radio, newspapers), heard the company message. This was expanded by PowerPoint, brochures and formal presentations to tell people about the company. Listening to customers was done with focus groups, advisory councils, customer surveys and of course sales teams.
Enter Social Media. On one side social media is a change in how people discover, share information and read news. It is seen as a way to create multi way communication. Marketing is adopting these technologies as a method to engage with their communities. Yet, for some it is just another way to broadcast.
For example, Twitter is rift with egos and followers. Facebook is a place for posting what a company thinks is important and broadcasting its personality likeness. YouTube is the video version of PowerPoint. People can discover company information and share it with others. Companies can drive opinions, but is this necessarily a multi-way communication with customers?
For marketing to get to multi-way communication and listen to the customers, social media strategies have to be designed with the intent to listen. There are new processes to be put in place and new tools to use. Such as:
- Website tracking, scoring of activities and appropriate company responses
- Ability to watch and observe in a disciplined manner all modes of social media
- Processes for generating fresh content that is relevant to interest expressed
- Openness and active engagement with inquiries
Social Media necessitates some of the same discipline of advisory groups and surveys. If a company was not ready to take action on the information provided, these activities were a waste of time.
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