Corporate Social Media Marketing
Monday, February 16th, 2009Social Media Marketing is not a new trend. In-fact one could argue that all marketing is social, in that you attempt to engage a number of people who share similar interests, passions or outlooks. If you’re successful, the first group you reach help spread the word on your behalf and in so doing recruit your next audience level, and so on. The main difference between traditional word of mouth promotion and Social Media Marketing is where it’s conducted.
Social Media Marketing is generally carried out in Social Networks, or Online Communities; i.e. digital meeting places where an audience already exists and content is provided by the users. Entry to these communities is typically free and allows users to do many or all of the following:
- Create personal profiles/accounts
- Grow a network of friends/colleagues/followers
- Collaborate with other community members
- Join Groups
- Submit content
- Comment/Vote on content
- Tag content
- Share content - using social bookmarks, posted links and/or activity feeds
The ‘media’ in social media refers to the platform as well as the content and includes:
- Blogs (web journals/logs)
- Wikis (small items of content, often with shared editorial rights)
- News Feeds (RSS - used to push news to followers)
- Social Bookmarks (tagged/shared items)
- Discussions (heading, posting and comments)
- Comments Walls
- Media files - Photos, Audio and Video
While the current choice of Social Networks is rather limited, and for this reason has perhaps put off a number of companies from advertising; this situation is starting to change. In recent months a growing number of niche communities have started to develop, as more users leave the established players and as the software that runs these sites becomes more widely available.
The nature and form of these new niche communities is comparable to the readership of a popular newspaper or magazine, the audience for major TV channel or Radio station, or the membership of a large association and professional body. As these communities have a much clearer focus they also represent a more attractive advertising space to the average company.
A rise in these diverse and focused communities, with their niche interests, may be the catalyst business has been waiting for, and could lead to the long waited development of Corporate Social Media Marketing. Let’s hope so.
Although in the meantime there’s always Facebook Pages and Groups, esp. if you need to appeal to the wider population.
