Three unrelated articles on WebProNews caught my attention today. Whilst unrelated, together they send a clear message, particularly to those who are in business.
The first article discussed the current aversion to social media and social marketing by a majority of business owners, a point I will return to shortly.
The other two articles may need to be taken with more than passing attention, not because of the content contained, but the ramifications. One article discussed a new Twitter show called “Rick Sanchez Direct”. The other article discussed HBOlab and its new web series featuring Jessica Rose of lonelygirl15 fame.
Once mainstream media starts to take an interest in a topic and commences broadcasting to the world at large you often see a sudden surge in the number of individuals either using, or at least visiting and checking out that topic – in this case social media. Even if the shows flop in the first season, the exposure will have long lasting effects.
Returning to the first article, the slow take up of mainstream business in social media and social marketing may prove to be a huge error in judgment over the long term. Smaller businesses that are using the system to their advantage are starting to see results. The results are not huge at present, however they are improving.
If mainstream media does start to incorporate social media themes into its day-to-day programming then social media will become an accepted part of almost every online user’s life. This provides a business with the ideal audience to target with social marketing – particularly branding.
Branding is where is social marketing will give businesses their best return. With a good brand marketing campaign business can lock in customer loyalty long before they become the customer. Big business will find that over time, if they haven’t joined in, current customers will have switched camps to what they are now familiar with. The old saying, “out of sight, out of mind” has never been truer. Social marketing keeps you ‘in sight’ and on people’s minds. Be careful you don’t miss the boat.
