Social Media Week 1, Readings

The Digital Handshake pages 1 –35 (Consumer Trends)

Chapter 1 Consumer Skepticism Is at an All-Time High

Consumers are skeptical now due to the nature of the world we live in. Often they pay more attention to word of mouth advertising. While we read reviews on line, we more often we will trust those we know. Companies are now learning that they have to stop market to the elite and work for the trickle down, and go more to the peer to peer among the actual consumers.
We now live in the age of Jason Bourne now James Bond.  Bond never got a scratch and always got it right.  Jason Bourne gets beat up, looses the girl and has to struggle to survive. In other words, we do not live in the fantasy but the gritty cold world of reality.  Reality TV reigns supreme now because we can identify with the people on these shows.
We do not trust advertising as a whole because:

1. it is interruptive.
2. it is often deceptive
3. the companies do not seem to connect to us on our level.

Chapter 2 The Media Is Fragmented and So Is the Audience

In the 1960’s a single ad run on all three networks would reach 80% of its intended market.  $5 million and a few years advertising could bring it to 85%,  That was then.  Now we have hundreds of channels as well as radio stations to listen to.  DVRs and MP3s allow consumers to get content they want when they want it.  Since we have so much information at our fingertips and the same amount of time, something, advertising it is believed, is what will consume less of our attention.

Chapter 3 Who Is In Control of the Marketing Message? (Guess What. It’s Not You!)

Classis advertising is what is called the ‘command and control’ marketing.  Advertisers tell us what to do and we do it.  If we do not do as ask, a different method is tried.  Social media changes this so that the people have a voice that they did not have before.  Many businesses are locked in the old way of doing things, losing the chance to interact with the customers and losing customers as well as they empower themselves. ‘Engage and encourage’ may be the way to do things now. As these consumers form communities and voice their concerns marketers need to join these communities and directly help the customers. 

Chapter 4 Business Improve Your Aim

Most companies today need to figure out the niche that they need to market to and how to tell if they are getting a return on investment (ROI).  Traditional marketing will always have a place. ROI does not just mean the money received though.  The Internet allows for us to target groups and then through metrics see if that group is being reached. But time must be spent both in learning where these groups are and how to communicate to them. Then you must take time to listen to them.  Success comes when you can find a niche that you can fill.  You do not have to take on everyone at once, just the ones directly in competition with you. 
Chapter 5 Customers Are Mad as Hell, and They’re Not Going to Take It Anymore
Case studies on three companies that show how social media can be used for or against you.

• Kryptonite Locks – showing that bad media can follow you forever, especially if you do nothing about it.
• Motrin – making a mistake about nursing moms, Motrin had to back peddle, but still has not established dialogue with consumers, which could mean the same mistakes again.
• Dell – used the tools of social networking to turn a fiasco into a harvest.

The Digital Handshake pages 37 –52 (Start a conversation)

Chapter 6 What’s a Marketer to DO?  Start a Conversation

What does social media mean?  Media can be defined as tools, blogs, social network sites, wikis, microblogs, video share sites, etc.  Social has to do with interaction between people.  Because the barrier is so low, social media is less about tools and more about the people and what they can do with them.  It is sociology not technology.  We no longer have one way conversations as traditionally marketing had, it is not multi-stream. Social media is more about relationships then anything else.
Consumers are turning more to the internet. When was the last time you picked up the yellow pages to find something?  More and more the younger generations are the connected generation.  But the older generations are as well.  Less money is being spent on traditional advertising (newspapers, radio and TV) and thought they do not know how to use it yet, more is spent on social interactions.  It is possible for the small business to use the same tools the big companies do to sell themselves and make a connection with the users. 
The 90-9-1 principal states:

• 90% of users are lurkers
• 9% contribute from time to time
• 1% participate so much it seems they do not have a life off line

Being part of the 1% club means you influence the other 99%.  While most all people can participate, the majority do not.  Being part of the 1% however means:

• Servant leadership needs to be practiced
• Valuable content needs to be added
• Think of what will benefit the community
• Do not take things personally
• Research must be done

New marketing tools mean new  rules.  Old school tools of auto replies, scheduled posts and direct market ‘pitching’ will not work.  Think member first, marketer second. 

You Tube video

Basic telling of statistics for the new age of marketing and how to reach the people you want to.