“There is no such thing as national advertising. All advertising is local and personal. It’s one man reading the newspaper in the kitchen or watching TV in the Lounge” – Morris Hite
So if that’s what social marketing shouldn’t be – what should it be? As I said in part 1, there’s no single rule-book, merely best practice. To unpack it all in a few blog entries would be impossible. All I can offer you is my best understanding and the sound advice (hyperlinked) of the thought leaders. So bear with me...
Here’s where we’ve got to so far. It’s big, it’s fast and has the potential for almost incalculable reach and engagement - it puts us in touch with an audience far quicker than we ever thought possible. But besides a handful of glowing examples, it’s often misused simply because marketers can’t get over how lucky they are to have it.
But in our quest for a piece of the sunny action in social networks, we’ve forgotten to get rid of our old advertising hats. How does the social marketing paradigm differ from the old world, “broadcast ads at them” paradigm?
When Ford embarked on a journey to build social media as a new communication channel it set a compelling vision:
“To Humanise the Ford brand and to put people in touch with Ford Employees”
Implicit in the statement was the understanding that traditional advertising could only go so far in humanising the brand, in giving consumers a personal touch not only from the product but from the people who assemble it. At the same time however, Ford did not dispense of traditional advertising, it merely took a realistic perspective about what it could and couldn’t achieve. It understood that the language of social networks was different to that of traditional broadcast channels. And it understood that the traditional agency model didn’t necessarily know how to speak this new language.
The best analogy explaining the shift from traditional advertising to the new social paradigm is provided by John Willshire who likens the former, particularly television advertising, to a fireworks display. It’s impressive, often highly anticipated by the viewer (just look at the pre match buzz surrounding the annual Super Bowl commercials) but unless utterly spectacular (Apple’s 1984 Commercial) or clinically clear in its messaging (Rubbermaid or Google) the effects can be transient. Also, one fireworks display is very often like another. Again, this is not to dispense of television advertising, a vital channel for marketers for at least the last 40 years and which in many countries is by no means the oversubscribed and spent force it is becoming in North America.
Besides, the most powerful form of “commercial” remains that which people say about your brand to others, not what you say about your brand to people. Built in talkability. This, remember, is because we are communal and social beings before we are connoisseurs or lovers of advertising.
Thus building a brand’s social presence has been likened to having campfire on a beach. A group of people is sitting around admiring the sunset, sipping on beer and wine. Someone sets a small pile of tinder and kindling and speculatively places his cigarette lighter beneath it. Small though the blaze is, he is impressed by the glow and wonders if it could become something more. He sets off up the beach to find a bigger piece of drift wood. He returns with a few pieces, adds more and stokes the flames. Impressed by his effort, his companions now join in. They now depart on forays of their own, returning with ever growing armfuls. There is laughter and excitement as the fire moves from being a fun distraction to a fully-blown communal undertaking. One big guy even comes back dragging a log. Before long it’s late at night. More drinks have been procured and someone has fetched a guitar and is singing old favourites. A few people are cracking jokes. Two girls are toasting marshmallows. Memories are being made and friendships deepened. An evening which began as a short walk to admire the sunset has turned into a feast of spontaneity, goodwill and memories.
The task of the social marketer is thus to start fires of conversation – small fires at first – either in groups he has created himself or in existing groups where they have a damn good chance of becoming bigger, more irresistible....more inclusive. No reckless pyromaniac is he – his contributions are speculative, his approach humble and his touch light and deft. He models himself on the natives of the place to which he brings fire. He understands not only the fuel he must use but how to keep the fire alive. He is focussed on facilitating and delivering evocative and resonant conversations to the people he befriends. He understands that his primary objective is relationship. Relationship first. Sales second. He is focussed on marketing with people, not at people.
In part 5, we will dig deeper into the currency and economy of these relationships.
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