Marketing using social networks is the current hot topic at the moment and I have written quite a few blogs on the subject as well as presented to various audiences about how to use these within B2B and B2C marketing.
This subject will continue to tax and engage the majority of marketing departments over many months to come and I have no doubt that I shall write further on the subject as it’s reach continues to grow, but there is also another area that we need to consider in this regard namely Personal Networks.
Personal networks are an important part of the marketing mix and in particular the social networking/online marketing mix as whilst it is great to be benefiting from the power of fan pages, corporate pages and twitter feeds from blogs etc. one of the most important areas we want to infiltrate is that of our fan’s personal network and it always amazes me how many brands try and stop others talking, listening and watching them when on the other hand they are spending so much money trying to feed packaged advertising to those very same people.
There are 6 key areas for social network marketing:
Listen
Respond
Converse
Lead
Create a Multilogue
Devolve Power
It is the last 2 of these that are important in leveraging the personal networks of your contacts, as you want them to talk to their contacts and friends about you and your brands and for this conversation to multiply without your input. The current craze is all about Old Spice and you can see one of their adverts below:
This campaign was successful (sales of Old Spice increased by 50% in one month) as a result of the use of personal networks.
To make your campaign successful (even if not video related) you need internet users to spread the word to each of their friends and colleagues and embedded items like videos in their own sites (just as I have done). In this way they create a multilogue where others are taking about you and your brand. Millions were talking about Old Spice without them having to do anything but monitor the action. You can achieve this as well and your millions may only need to be 1,000′s or 100′s to have the desired effect on your sales and income. You do this by devolving power, whilst managing your brand but not being precious over the assets. If a doctored video for example is posted then leave it unless it is derogatory or offensive as this not only encourages the use of personal networking it also makes the sneezers (those doing the sending) even stronger advocates of yours.
Personal networks are important in all sectors and within B2B it is important to leverage these as well and so whilst a consumer brand may be successful on Facebook and YouTube your business can influence and create a multilogue about you on many other social networking sites such as Linkedin or trade related networking sites.
In summary personal networks are hugely influential, word of mouth is still the biggest builder and killer of brands, so you need to nurture and encourage their use for your benefit. Social networks are one way of developing these I will look in later blogs at how other marketing techniques can be used as well to leverage the most out of these vitally important cogs in the marketing mix.
On 18th January McDonald’s started a twitter campaign to promote the brand’s guarantee of fresh produce with the hashtags #MeetTheFarmers and #McDstories. The wholesomeness of the campaign’s intentions soon crashed and burnt as consumers started to supply their own #McDstories (and comments). Topics covered included the meat content, McDonald’s horror stories – such as fingernails [...]
