The Big Secret to Social Media Marketing?

First let me confess... I really think most traditional advertising is soulless and a waste of money so if you still think that is the way forward, you may not find this post very useful. 

I remember the 'Where's the Beef' and the 'Bud Bowl' ads as much as the next person...highly entertaining and I'm sure they won a ton of awards by people in the advertising business self congratulating themselves.  They were very memorable. 

The issue for advertisers? I almost never eat at Wendy's or drink Bud unless there are no other options. And you might say I am a bit of a curmudgeon and an outlier...but I just don't think so. Was there really ROI on those campaigns?

The issue for me?  Neither of those advertisements mattered. They didn't offer any compelling reason why my life - or anyone else's - would be any better for either consuming the product or sitting through the advertisement itself. And another beef (OK that was a pun!) is that the 'good' advertising is aspirational (i.e. it makes you feel bad because you don't have what is on offer) and the bad advertising displays foolish people making bad decisions that you are supposed to avoid by buying something (which makes you feel bad because you're expected to be just smart enough to not be one of the really dumb people in the ad). What is with making people feel badly about themselves for corporate profit? But I digress.

The exception to my general disdain for advertising is when it supports things I care about with relevant information that matters.  Let me say it again...because this is the secret...relevant information that matters.  For example I live in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston we have a local laundromat/car wash which advertises on local cable news.  The ad is completely ridiculous and kind of silly but it 1) supports local news which I care about and 2) I occasionally need a convenient car wash so it is relevant. But the ad itself would never win any awards. Ditto the local restaurant ads that advertise in the JP Gazette...but they give my neighborhood its character and they matter to me both because I go out to eat locally and it is associated with content that I want to support.

Taking an example of a mass consumer campaign the Dove 'Real Beauty' campaign is one of the better types of things coming out of marketing agencies these days. Sure it highlighted a brand but it also provided education and programing for teenage girls who notoriously struggle with their body image.  That matters to me. 

Notice how all of these are traditional marketing examples?  Well everything I'm talking about becomes infinitely more important if you want people to proactively talk about your product or service in a positive way online.  It has to matter...and it has to matter beyond just doing the job it is expected to do. For example, I'll keep buying my toothpaste because I like the taste...but I'm not going to talk about it...ditto for most of the other things I purchase unless the product or experience is really truly exceptional. So you have two choices - make the purchase of a product about something bigger than just buying the product or offer a truly exceptional product/service. If my toothpaste company gave a free tube of toothpaste to a foodbank for every tube I bought? I am much more likely to talk about that because it matters. 

The hard part, of course, is making it matter...and authentically meaning it. Making marketing meaningful is even harder in the B2B space because the goal is make your core audience rock stars in their own organizations which takes content, coaching, and time...and then get them to attribute some of that success back to you. Choose your customers wisely.

So, make your company matter whether it's by actually solving the world's energy crisis or by solving a much more mundane need but contributing to a bigger cause in the process.

Maybe I'm crazy - Maybe I am part of the fringe...but the fring will start teaching the majority of the market to expect more from the companies with which they do business.  How are you going to make your business matter?

Comments

[Derek Showerman]

Rachel, well said. Companies will not only survive, but thrive when they deliver on the expectations the customers have of them. I was speaking with prospectus employeer today that knows the future of their business hinges on their ability to engage their customer base and execute a new business plan based on their feedback and expectations.

[Michael Chin]

I couldn't agree more. Why the focus on advertising when you talk about marketing? I think it's easy to beat up on advertising because so much of it is done poorly. But marketing in general, are there disciplines/channels that work?

I believe that all marketing will be 'social.' Social will cease to matter (yes, I say that for effect). Marketing is at its core telling people about your product and what's great about it. Nothing's changed other than the channels available--crap marketing will always be crap marketing (even in a social media world).

[Rachel Happe]

Thanks for stopping by Derek & Michael - maybe it's just that...I'm tired of bad marketing :) Has nothing to do with the social media piece really!

[Kathleen Buckley]

Rachel- Thank you for sharing your thought process on how & why you choose the businesses you patronize. This is encouraging news to me because I choose to sponsor local non-profits and charitables (I own a real estate brokerage firm) because those things matter to me and make my community a better place. If clients decide to interview me because of that--wonderful. Nothing new under the sun with sponsorships.

The second point in your story: if I understand correctly, it is through "traditional" channels (TV and newspaper ads) and not via facebook or twitter that you were made aware of or (more likely) made your decision to frequent these businesses. When people refer to social media marketing are they referring to f/b, twitter, blogging or to appealing to prospective clients sense of, I dunno, social responsibility?

By the way, I came to your blog via Chris Brogan's tweet:
Nice night out with the pirates. I agree with @rhappe. More mischief next time. :). #pmn01. I checked your profile and clicked on your website. Glad I did!

[Rachel Happe]

Hi Kathleen -

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my website.

After reading the above comments and talking to people about this, I realize this post was only partially formed. The point I was trying to make is equally applicable to traditional marketing and social media marketing. The difference is that social media marketing is more conversational...and you never get to have a conversation unless your content is meaningful and relevant to start out with. In more traditional forms of marketing, it's easier to ignore the fact that they marketing content is not actually connecting with the viewer.

I think as an culture, we are starting to want more for what we buy - not just a great product/experience but also one that is made & distributed ethically (which will be different for different market segments).

Does that make sense?

[Richard Clark Marketing Blog]

Great article, well constructed and written in a very compelling way.

Whilst I agree to a degree some areas I wonder on. For instance just because you don't eat at Wendy's doesn't really matter. I am guessing you never have and although I don't know you (or Wendy's for that matter) I am suspecting you aren't in their target market. Hence their advertising probably wasn't meant to influence you.

Also to quote "choose your customers wisely", I think it this is an outdated premise. The advent of social media means companies can no longer choose customers (if they ever could), people now choose the companies they deal with and the information they wish to consume.

All that being said, you are right about creating conversation. I am much more likely to recommend and interact with a company that gives me a reason or motivation to do so.

I have a few posts on Social Media on my blog - happy for you to give me some honest and open feedback http://richclark.wordpress.com

Great blog btw

[Internet Marketing]

Social media marketing proves gaining customers , reaching greater audiences through social communication and interaction .