THE ULTIMATE SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING GUIDE

Welcome to the Ultimate Social Media Marketing Guide: What it is, Where it’s going and How to stay ahead of the curve.

Part 1. Introduction to Social Media: Why It Is Important

“Social media is just the beginning of a much more significant shift in how people gather and use information. I don’t think that the fundamental shift has been fully appreciated.”

—Marc Monseau, Johnson & Johnson, as quoted in “The New Rules of Viral Marketing”

Social media and all that it entails—blogs, wikis, podcasting, networking sites, video-sharing, and so forth—has grown beyond a flash in the pan fad, or something that marketers and advertisers should consider participating in; it is now a full-fledged, concrete phenomenon, and absolutely essential to reach and retain customers in the online environment and beyond.

However, if you are still on the fence, and find the idea of sharing control frightening, you should consider the alternative—losing control. Here’s one pressing example: In 1995, an upstart new media company started selling books online, while Barnes & Noble did not see the need. It took the brick-and-mortar giant two additional years to launch its Website; since then, its stock price increased by 24% while Amazon’s is up 4,573%.

Still not convinced? Take a look at these figures: According to a survey by Universal McCann, over 80% of Internet users worldwide watch video clips online, over 70% read blogs and nearly 60% maintain a profile on a social networking site.

In some countries, the percentage of social network users is even higher: 64% in China, 66% in India, 70% in South Korea, 71% in Russia, 75% in Brazil and 83% in the Philippines.

In addition:

• There are currently 112 million active blogs (Technorati).
• 10 billion videos are viewed online each month in the US (comScore).
• Consumer-created content is the No. 1 aid to a buying decision (J.C. Williams Group).
• Reviews generated by fellow consumers have a greater influence than those generated by professionals (The Kelsey Group).

The only risk in social media is in not establishing a presence. If you don’t have one, you’re going to be left behind.

Part 2. Social Media 101: How to Use It

“I think it’s the way to reach fragmented audiences. The model before was you could take a shotgun approach through newspapers and traditional media like TV and it would be very effective. Now audiences are looking for communication resources that are specific to their interests so it’s harder to reach them traditionally. But you can still connect with them through social media and viral marketing.”

—Michael Saso, Abbott Laboratories, as quoted in “The New Rules of Viral Marketing”

Let’s assume that your company already has a blog or two, a Facebook profile and a section on your Website for customer interaction. Or, if there is a customer-created site, you take the time to visit it and participate. You may even be engaging your customers on their own turf—that is, in their own online environments.

According to an August 2008 Business Week article, you still need to do more. It isn’t enough to merely identify where your audience is, which sites they visit and which communities they belong to. It’s also not enough to establish a generic presence there, that is, a one-size-fits-all solution for promoting your message. Each site is different, so your content needs to be individually tailored.

If your content is good, your users will share it and build on it. You can even allow for user-generated content, ideas and campaigns. For example, the Converse Gallery on that company’s Website includes numerous 24-second films, all made by Converse fans. Some have appeared on MTV and other cable networks. Overall, hundreds of people have submitted films and millions have viewed them.

As reported in the book “Groundswell” by analysts at Forrester Research, Del Monte took this idea one step further with its dog food and allowed customers to participate in the development of the product itself. They were asked what their dogs would eat for breakfast if given the choice, and among hundreds of responses, the majority said the same thing: bacon and eggs.

So Del Monte created Snausages Breakfast Bites, which look like strips of bacon and fried eggs. Customers also helped determine whether or not the product would include vitamins and what the packaging would look like.

Another way to engage customers in the social media realm is through conversation marketing. This means relying on a completely different set of skills than those that have dominated marketing in the past, including the hard sell. The goal is to create a conversation with your consumers in which both useful and beneficial information is exchanged.

Conversation marketing is similar to word-of-mouth advertising in that it is often interactive, informal and involves a dialogue. It is becoming a significant force in reaching consumers—especially younger ones—as traditional mass media is being usurped by networks of individuals and small groups.

In a Bridge Ratings report, 93% of respondents said word-of-mouth influence was the strongest indicator in terms of making purchases and decisions. Peer networks have become so important that people will trust a complete stranger over a professional marketer.

Part 3. Social Media 201: The Next Wave

“Social media allows customers to express their opinions and publish them to the world, and we cannot afford not to participate in the conversation. I think in five years, you won’t specifically talk about social media. It will just be an integral part of how you go to market and how you get your marketing mix. Just like search engine optimization is today.”

—Eric Kintz, Hewlett-Packard, as quoted in “The New Rules of Viral Marketing”

While there are a number of future developments in the field of social media, the shift is more of an extension of what is already happening, rather than a complete sea change. Therefore, it requires merely mastering the current components, and evaluating how they will evolve over time.

Blogs, according to Business Week, are turning more and more to an ad-based model. Users want free content but maintaining a Website comes with certain costs. Even an average, noncorporate blog values advertisements, not only for the money involved, but for the credibility they bring it.

Thus, ads will provide a way for sites to remain free, as well as an opportunity for advertisers and marketers to reach their customers in every corner of the Internet.

Social networks, which have near-unlimited inventory, present different advertising opportunities. Advertisers will stand out only if they are able to work within the guidelines of the network: organically and unobtrusively. This can include bringing users to branded pages, providing various applications, allowing opportunities for feedback and connecting them with engaging, relevant content.

But because social networks are international, this content needs to be locally tailored, reflecting cultural differences, languages and the like. The audience is global, and you need to go where they live and engage them on their own turf to keep them.

Niche and do-it-yourself (DIY) social networks are the newest trend in social media. While there will always be a need for large, expansive sites that thrive on sheer numbers, people are starting to turn to smaller, more-exclusive communities that are centered on similar interests and ideas.

More often than not, these communities are also completely customizable by the users, offering a fully participatory, interactive experience. According to a report by In-Stat, the more specific a site, the more targeted the advertising can be, the more loyal the membership will be and the more chances the site will have to be profitable.

Mobile social networks, that is, those in which consumers create and share content over their mobile phones, will be used by over 140 million people worldwide by 2013, according to a report by ABI Research. The largest numbers will come from the developing markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC). Jupiter Research, in a separate study, concurred, although it indicated that technological rather than geographical factors will contribute to this growth.

However, because the social networking sites will retain the free subscription model, advertisements will become more important than ever. Companies selling mobile content—music, videos, games and pictures—will particularly benefit, as, according to ABI, mobile users of social networks consume two to three times more digital mobile content than those who do not participate in such networks.

Aggregators, according to Business Week, are keying up to be the most transformative social media trend. The rising popularity of aggregators could result in the elimination of surfing altogether, as users will simply wait for interesting items to pop into their inboxes or appear on their social networking pages.

Similar to the iPod or TiVo, which let users listen to and watch what they want when they want, aggregators will allow for nearly all content to be individualized. Whether it’s music, news or a Hollywood movie, content will travel in easily digestible nuggets. The challenge for marketers and advertisers will be to brand, sell or advertise on these nuggets.

While the future of the Internet is still being written, the cataclysmic power of social media—and the shockwaves it has created—cannot be understated. In fact, it’s not so much that the old rules no longer apply, but that they have been turned on their head.

However, keeping your own head right-side-up—and keeping it in general—requires only what was covered here: the understanding, implementation and mastery of social media.

Stay tuned for my next entry, which will show you how to market yourself on specifc social networks and social bookmarking sites.

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