The marketing communications toolbox is exploding, and social media is fast becoming a game changer for businesses of all sizes and industries. We work with clients who understand the value of powerful language and smart marketing; so we don’t have to spend time educating them on why they should stay current with technology and new media channels. But we’ve had many conversations with people, even communications professionals, who continue to ignore the information channels on the social web. Why? Here are 3 of the most common social media myths and excuses we hear:
1. Our customers aren’t using social media, and who cares if you’re drinking Starbucks anyway?
Many companies lack the detailed analytics to fully document customer demographics, so they rely on assumptions. “Most of our customers pay cash for their cars. They are just beginning to use computers,” said one business. I explained that that may be true today, but tomorrow’s customer is the son, daughter, or grandchild, and they live on technological devices. They experience BSA—bandwidth separation anxiety—if they lose their cell phone for 5 minutes. Good marketing reaches the customer and aims for the children, peers, and parents. Social media usage has skyrocketed in the last 18 months across every age, gender, and economic group. Who cares if you’re drinking Starbucks coffee? Starbucks cares and the commercial property owner who is leasing to Starbucks cares. And Ford cares if you’re tweeting about their Sync system, and the local pizzeria cares if you complain about cold pizza. Our advice is to ease into social media, keeping a foot in traditional advertising to maintain contact with viewers in those channels, and then establish a presence in social media to integrate traditional and new methods, attract new customers, and create a platform to introduce your story. Your 60-year-old customer is thrilled to be on Facebook reconnecting with old classmates and business associates. And your 20-something customer is happy to tell an entire fraternity about your service or product. Understanding all the marketing tools at your disposal is smart business.
2. I don’t have the time to fool around with Twitter.
My guess is that if Fortune #7 Ford CEO Alan Mulally has the time to sit with @ScottMonty and tweet and even comment on blogs, then you probably have time to learn it too.
Knowledge is power, and today’s business climate is survival of the informed. When an executive refuses to learn the advantages of a new technology, it’s a poor signal to shareholders, customers, and employees. Telling your story in every appropriate channel is the best use of marketing resources. If your customers are there, you need to be there too. New media has ushered in a new era of marketing: It’s no longer a one-way push of sales information and service benefits. An integrated marketing campaign now includes a presence in traditional advertising forums—local dailies, weekly business journals, outdoor, radio, TV, magazines—and then a concurrent engagement in new media circles such as Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and many others. Check out these executives who do have time for Twitter @CEO_INGDirect, @Zappos, @Padmasree (Cisco CTO), @Werner (Amazon CTO), @MichaelDell.
3. Words don’t matter as much in our micro-messaging world.
Actually, words shoulder more power now. You have mere seconds to capture our time-starved attention with powerful language. A well-chosen word can define your company, increase your Google search rankings, attract the attention of a Wall Street Journal editor, become a tag in your digital brand, and trend on Twitter. Your communication materials give a first impression of your company’s core values and brand. And that includes tweets and blog posts. Chances are high that the first time a customer learns about your company will be on a social media platform or Wikipedia, not at the chamber of commerce mixer. Although writing online appears less formal and unscripted, your words form a transparent trail of your personal and business brand. If you leave irascible, snarky comments on blog posts or in emails, or your tweets are narcissistic, reconsider your strategy. The words you use are like the radioactive isotope Uranium-238—everlasting!
On the positive side, our clients want their words to be everlasting. Engaging in social media is exactly where they see a profitable and positive client experience with rich customer feedback. The good news is that it’s not too late to engage and learn exactly what your customers think, before they share it with your competition.
“Actually, words shoulder more power now. You have mere seconds to capture our time-starved attention with powerful language. ”
You captured mine … great job and excellent info for the people at the top who believe they can live with technology.
Thanks, Jacqueline! Many C-levels are beginning to grasp the importance of understanding social media and harnessing its power. It’s to their company’s benefit when they do. Thanks for sharing.
Awesome! Could not have said it better! It is clear to me that Anne works with top exectives and certainly understands what CEOs expect! Great read.
Excellent Anne! In particular, the power of Twitter is communicating what is important in as few words as possible…a strategic marketing challenge unto itself. Cutting to the chase with relevant insights is sorely lacking in today’s traditional marketing environment. The need to understand the power of social media will not go away because people at the top may choose to ignore it. The time to build communities, nurturing and engaging, is now.
Great post and video, Anne. If Ford’s CEO has time to engage their customers then other company execs should consider why they’re not using Twitter and other social media channels. I appreciate this inside look.
Thanks Amy, Cheryl, and Bear for the nice remarks. It’s imperative to have C-level buy-in for social media to succeed. When executives validate the “conversations,” then the entire employee force becomes the branding agents. We’re all working through one of the most amazing transformations in marketing and communications. Great opportunities for companies and communicators!
Great post Anne, I come across many of those comments as well. The other comment we hear is “how does anyone have time for Twitter, Facebook or Blogging?” Some quick searches to demonstrate and the answer is; A LOT!