I hear the subdued hiss of cold steel as the long knives are drawn.
“This guy has lost the plot. We’re in business to make money. Money is made by selling stuff. Communication to consumers must make them buy our stuff not tip-toe around them in the hopes they might one day buy”.
You are all correct. Don’t hear what I’m not saying. I am not advocating a bloody revolution. Some brands, services and businesses shouldn’t be fouling up social networks full stop. But for those that do belong, social media’s unique role in communication strategy must be clearly defined, and the entire process must both submit to old world disciplines and merge seamlessly with your existing (traditional) media strategy. Look at “Obama08” – it was a keenly balanced blend of old and new. And a strategic masterpiece to boot.
And because the social norms of online communities are so radically different to those of “advertised consumer groups”, communicating within social media must be approached with caution, employing a new language in relational patterns that is often counter-intuitive for big business. Only then can such platforms achieve the results you could never hope to achieve with traditional media.
Apart from being digital in nature (a tongue I am only just beginning to learn), what else is unique about this new language? In a nutshell: it’s uncomfortably, even recklessly generous.
The language of Social marketing is “pay it forward”. No room for a scarcity mindset here. So anyone seeking to enter this space has to radically reframe the concept of value. And though it’s not a comfortable journey the rewards are significant. Just ask the Grateful Dead.
An article by Abe Sauer in Brandchannel commented on how the iconic 60s band had become one of the stronger music brands in North America thanks to mastery of this important principle. Citing “Management secrets of the Grateful Dead” by Joshua Green, Sauer shows how the brand’s refusal to let a sense of greed infect their marketing was building not only loyalty amongst existing fans but stoking demand amongst fans they weren’t targeting in the first place.
What constitutes “free” in the world of music? For the GD it was a sense of goodwill in the band’s attitude to the filming of their live acts on mobile devices. Even with the tightest security at concerts, it realised that a ban on the filming and circulation of footage online would be practically unenforceable. It also realised that anyone inclined to tape a show could become a valuable ambassador somewhere down the line. Of course, this ceded a major revenue source in potential record sales, but the results of such material in widening their audience have proven incalculable.
As GD lyricist John Barlow points out: “if I give my song away to 20 people, and they give it to 20 people, pretty soon everybody knows me, and my value as a creator is dramatically enhanced”
– and here’s Barlow’s clincher people ...
...“the important correlation is between familiarity and value, not scarcity and value – the best way to raise demand for your product is to give it away”.
The economy of social networks is counter-intuitive. It is a gift economy, a pay it forward economy. Of course I’m not saying that social marketing is about giving away free stuff all the time. But the touchstone is nonetheless one of “giving” – giving information, giving advice, giving feedback, giving encouragement. It is about projecting brands, not protecting brands. It’s about relinquishing control, safe in the knowledge that sooner or later all that “lurve” is going to come back to you.
If you’ve come this far, you’re no doubt asking: “Where do I start?” Part 6 gives some answers to this question.
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