Comments on: Social Media Biggest Shift In Marketing Strategy Since Television?

By: Tom Cunniff

Tom Cunniff — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:59:04 +0000

Social media is important. But, because it’s so personal, I worry it is already becoming self-important.

Bigger than TV? Really?

No matter how high-impact a single customer service moment is, we should always remember it is still an individual moment.

Here’s a sobering thought: Most big brands today drive 25% or more of their sales through Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart demands speedy product turns. If you don’t sell fast enough, you’re off the shelf, forever. Once you lose that 25% of your business (imagine a bullet wound that takes up 25% of your body), your product is fatally wounded.

No matter how brilliant a social media moment is, or how many of those we can perform, or how big the ripple is from each of those positive actions, the reality is that social media alone cannot drive the billions of individual product sales that big brands require.

Good TV advertising — which we’re so quick to relegate to the dustbin of history — is one of the few mediums that can drive significant volumes of product while still building some emotional connection to the brand.

I’m not saying social media isn’t important. What I am saying is, let’s keep its role in perspective.

There’s a pretty ginormous difference between being an important thing, and being *everything*,

By: Being a Geek is Finally Paying Off! « Continuous Beta by Pete Spande

Being a Geek is Finally Paying Off! « Continuous Beta by Pete Spande — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:43:14 +0000

[...] Tags: Dave Knox, early adopter, Karl Long, Social Media Karl Long has a great post entitled Social Media Biggest Shift in Marketing Strategy Since Television? In it he examines the differences between marketers “dipping their toes in the water” [...]

By: The V Curve of Risk Taking in Brand Management « Hard Knox Life: A Brand Manager Blog

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:20:21 +0000

[...] to experiment, willing to take smart risk, willing to act like a gambler and go all in. We need “revolutionaries who are participating in the conversations.” We need companies that encourage this risk in order to reward innovation. What we really need [...]

By: Karl

Karl — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 21:50:53 +0000

I totally agree Toad, I actually think the biggest opportunity in social media is for companies to understand their customers are part of a complex ecosystem where customers are actually able to create value and meaning.

By: Toad

Toad — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 21:40:27 +0000

Problem with Social Media, of course, is that Your Brand Is Not My Friend™ – and so you have to be extremely careful how you operate in that space. And not every brand is regarded the same way. There are a few Prom King brands, brands people want to be friends with, and then there are all the others.

(In case you couldn’t tell, I’ve written about this extensively.)

By: Grant A Johnson

Grant A Johnson — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 23:45:53 +0000

Karl,

And the key is the ROI payoff. It still amazes me how the “old” media model, the “big bang fire and forget model” as you put it is still so prevalent.

Notice I did NOT say relevant.

Today marketing is about accountability, measurement, and that begins with relevance and dialog. Quickly, tell me, right now, what super bowl commercial you recall and which one made you buy?

It’s hard to do. Why?

Those ads are produced under the “killer creative” philosophy and typically do not work — drive sales.

Thanks for the blog.

Grant A. Johnson

By: Karl

Karl — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 04:47:28 +0000

Yeah, it really is. I would say the last year or so the idea of social media has really started to take off and become a lot more mainstream. Any marketers falling into the “revolutionary” category that are using social media to build deeper relationships through genuine dialog with their customers are going to be the big winnners. Soon this will not be a “missionary selling” activity to sell this into companies and it will just be part of doing business.

By: Mack Collier

Mack Collier — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 04:15:30 +0000

So what you’re saying is, being a geek is finally going to pay off?