A quick look on Facebook will show you that many companies have not yet discovered how to really leverage social media for the benefit of their target market. I have to admit that whilst this all sounds good in theory, it can be hard to apply and get right. If companies want to excel in this area, they need to remember that engaging and relevant content is key and they must therefore have the right resources dedicated to it.
Not all content is king
As many of the social media “experts” state “content is king”. However, we must remember that not all content is king. Getting the right content to attract the right audience is key to your success online.
There is a tendency to not dedicate enough time or the right people to creating content and therefore ending up with half baked content, last minute posts and too many “offers”. The wrong content can not only dilute your message, it can also confuse and frustrate your audience. The example below shows what can happen when you create posts that are perceived as spam.
Taking your audience on a brand journey
Justin Cox, Sr., Brand Strategist, Pereira & O'Dell says that marketers need to remember that consumers want to be entertained and that we should “behave like an entertainer”.
According to Anoop Sahgal, Executive Marketing, Adobe Systems the key to success is in becoming “a great storyteller, not just a traditional marketer”. For many people, this requires a huge shift in mindset. If the secret is now to become what people are interested in rather than interrupting what people are interested in (as per my previous post), this reinforces the need for brands to tell a story and take potential and current customers on a brand journey. Developing relevant, original content that doesn’t just resonate with the audience but also search engine-optimised to ensure people can find you is logical, but not always as easy as it sounds. Anoop suggests that we should bring these skills inside the organization so we can be quick and flexible. Whilst I don’t necessarily think that the person has to be employed by the company, (they could potentially be contracted) I do think they need to spend a lot of time within the organisation uncovering stories and insights to share with audiences. In my experience I have found that when the person developing content is in touch with the business, they are able to bring the brand to life.
Analysing the results and adapting to the market
The rise of the internet and digital technology has brought increased accountability to marketing departments. We now have the technology to gain insight into the behaviours of our target audience like never before. There is now an over abundance of information and the challenge for marketers is in how to determine what is important and what actions need to be taken to adapt to the market.
Getting the team right
One of the most essential components in creating compelling, relevant, interesting stories seems to be having the right talent with the right skill set. This is difficult when many of these roles didn’t exist until only recently. Brand storytelling could be described as being similar to the skills of a journalist or editor whilst analyzing online behavioral data and creating dashboards may be more similar skill-set to a CRM specialist. Once the team has been armed with the right skills, the next step is then ensuring all channels come together to tell a cohesive and compelling brand story - offline and online.
When determining our own team structures, many managers may spend a vast amount of time deliberating over how to set up the team for long term success. Taking into consideration the shift away from traditional advertising towards brand storytelling, there is no doubt that new skills are required in many marketing departments. Rather than simply appointing an “online marketing specialist” to manage all online marketing, would it be better to have a “brand journalist” and instead incorporate “online marketing” into the entire marketing teams’ role? At this point this seems to be the most logical thing to do considering the shift towards consumers researching and purchasing via online channels is only likely to continue. Technology is just the enabler, so perhaps we should be developing roles that are skill based rather than having “online” experts.
References
Chaffey, D, Ellis-Chadwick, F, Mayer, R, Johnston, K, 2009, Internet Marketing: Strategy, Implementation, and Practice, Pearson Education, England.
Cox, J, Sr, 2012, Rethinking the Marketing Department, CMO.com, viewed on 22nd April 2012, http://www.cmo.com/leadership/rethinking-marketing-department
Miller, M, 2010, The ultimate web marketing guide, Pearson Education, USA.
Reed, J, 2011, Get up to sped with online marketing, Pearson Education, England.
Sahgal, A, 2012, CMOs, Agencies Take Relationship To The Next Level, CMO.com, viewed on 22nd April 2012, http://www.cmo.com/agencies/cmos-agencies-take-relationship-next-level
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