Socialmediatoday.com recently posted an entry on how companies can set themselves apart in the coming year. They outline the top communications and PR strategies for 2012 and what they feel can be the most innovative ways to sell products.
5 tips are outlined for marketing success in the coming year:
These 5 tactics will help companies get their part of the intended market share, according to Socialmediatoday.com's research.
They say that by getting content online first before any other medium is crucial. Potential customers look at the web first, so to appeal to these eager customers, companies need to post first and print later.
Secondly, companies need to decide if social media will give them return on their investments. Social media only works if the target audience is active on these platforms, otherwise the time is not well spent here.
Companies should also use buzz marketing and use their friend contacts to help get the word out about their products. Positive personal testimonials often go a lot farther than ads.
By using customizable advertising tactics, companies can appeal to customers who appreciate novelty. The less generic, the more products can stand out and appeal to potential buyers.
Lastly, companies should begin to think like journalists: tell stories instead of creating graphic adds. People are more socially inclined and are captivated by stories. No one wants to be conned into buying a product by coerced and manipulative ads. But people can relate to and be moved by stories.
Socialmediatoday argues that using these ideas rather than traditional marketing has a potentially higher affect than the tactics in the past. I in part agree. Eventually customers will be conditioned to old ways of advertising and will be less likely to buy. Companies need to be innovative if they are to survive in a dog-eat-dog market.
*Photo courtesy of Socialmediatoday.com
The article makes really good points, especially its "Digital First" statement.
ReplyDeleteBeing a freelance photographer for a year, although not exaclty a company, I can testify on the positive results of going "digital" before doing print. My list of clients is relatively small, 12 clients to be exact, but what they all have in common is that each one of them either looked at my Flickr account or browsed through my Facebook photos before they hired me. Best thing of all: I have not spent a single dollar using any of these social networks. In short, although I plan to distribute print material in a near future, digital content has been the main driving source of clients for my starting business.
This article talks about decentralizing social media if your target audience is not active with social media. The problem with this is that, presently yes not everyone is involved with social media sites today, but think about 10 years from now. The incoming generation is living through social media, so I think to take it out of your business plan would be a mistake. It would be easier to maintain the social media sites until your target audience catches on, rather than pick it up later an possibly miss out on potential customers right now.
ReplyDeleteI wholeheartedly agree with the "I get by with a little help from my friends" section of this blog. Essentially, what is an organization without its' customers and people who will support them, either by paying money for the product or service or telling others about it, helping the company gain more customers. I really like the idea of the airline doing a campaign about the engagement, this shows that they care about what happens to their customers and promotes a positive image about the airline as well. I think if every company took notes and paid attention, they could get stories like this as well.
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