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View Full Version : Traditional Marketing Unsuccessful on Social Media Sites



KristineS
08-18-2008, 08:34 AM
I've often wondered about this, and came across an article (http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2196857/traditional-marketing-failing-social-networks) about a study from Forrester Research which says that traditional marketing campaigns don't work on social media sites. If companies want to be successful on social media sites, they need to form relationships and offer those on the site something they value.

I think this is just another indication that there is a right way and a wrong way to use social media. I also think a lot of the big companies are getting it wrong.

vangogh
08-18-2008, 12:40 PM
That's a great article and one people should read if they want to understand social media. I think too many businesses focus on the work 'media' and simply look at social media and just another marketing channel where they can push their message.

The more important word though, is 'social.' I won't pretend to have figured out social media completely. It's still relatively new and most people are still trying to figure out how it works. What I can tell you is the answer lies in the social part. If you're going to make social media successful for you it's about interacting with the social community and not trying to force your message to them.

Social communities can easily spot those who are disingenuous. They stand out like a sore thumb (to everyone, but themselves it seems). It's easy to tell whether someone is being authentic or whether all they care about is marketing themselves. There's nothing inherently wrong with marketing yourself or your company through social media channels, but the medium is profoundly different than traditional offline marketing channels.

KristineS
08-18-2008, 03:25 PM
I know I'm certainly more inclined to trust someone who appears to be on a social media site to interact and not to push their own agenda.

I do agree that there is a different method that needs to be employed when interacting on a social media site. I think a lot of people haven't figured out what the right balance between interacting and marketing is yet. If you don't find the right balance than you risk looking fake and as though you're only there to benefit yourself. That generally turns people off.

vangogh
08-18-2008, 03:45 PM
I agree people are still working out how best to market themselves through social media. A balance is definitely part of the mix. I don't have any problem with people marketing themselves on social sites to a degree. The problem is when that's all they do. You very quickly ignore what that person is saying.

On the other hand if you provide value to the community most of the time and then leave a link in your profile or occasionally drop a link into a message I don't think it's a problem. Traditional marketers are seeing that balance in many cases and still trying to push their marketing message 100% of the time.

KristineS
08-18-2008, 04:31 PM
I think that some marketers, particularly at larger companies where they seem to sometimes be behind the curve, think that simply being on the site is enough to give them credibility. You also have to be authentic. That's where a lot of companies fall down on the job I think.

vangogh
08-18-2008, 04:34 PM
Authenticity is definitely important. What people don't seem to get is that it's so easy to tell who is and isn't authentic. You see people all the time thinking they're being sly and that no one will notice, but they do. All it really takes is one person to see through things for everyone else to know about.

Another thing people forget is before you start trying to market yourself through a social site is to spend time at the site as an end user. Take some time to see what is and isn't acceptable with the community. Some communities will be more open to self promotion where with others you need to completely stay away from any kind of promotion at all.

orion_joel
08-19-2008, 01:59 AM
For a user point of view, i spend way to much time on Social Media sites, such as Facebook and Myspace. Some elements of this type of media are addictive. I think that it really does provide a lot of potential for some fairly targeted marketing. However due to the way that many traditional companies have set themselves up it is going to be a massive effort for them to break from this view into the new avenue of social media.

Even for companies that can adjust to the way of social media, for many of the bigger companies it is still going to be a major challenge for them to actually find a way that they can take advantage of this type of media and not throw up a massive red flag that says i am trying to market to you.

vangogh
08-19-2008, 02:39 AM
A change of mindset is needed to market through social media. It's actually a good thing for us small businesses. We can adjust much more quickly than larger businesses. It gives us a way to compete where the big guys are dragging to change with the times.

KristineS
08-19-2008, 10:29 AM
I think the thing that a lot of small businesses do is find out the surface details about this new way of marketing and then think they understand it. So, when they do attempt to join the groups there are either so many rules about what they can and can't say that their interactions come off as stilted, or they simply keep pushing their marketing message until they turn everyone else off.

Being on the sites isn't enough. You have to understand how to use them.

vangogh
08-19-2008, 12:37 PM
That's a good point. It's really important for people to take the time to first understand the community before jumping in and trying to market yourself. Think of the situation with forums. How many times do you see someone join and their first post is simply to drop a link back to their site. It's obvious why they joined and the type of member they plan to be and they usually get banned very quickly.

It's the same thing with social media. There are written rules and there are also unwritten rules put forth by the community and you do need to understand both before social media can work for you as a marketing channel.