Conversational marketing through social media is coming into its own in 2009. But are companies treating social media as a serious channel that can be integrated into their marketing mix?
The current economic climate affords accountability of marketing spend and, as a result, communication effectiveness measurement is high on the agenda. The timely rise of conversational social media marketing offers an attractive option that can be measured and evaluated quickly whilst achieving ultimate communication and business goals.
Harnessing 'the conversation' through social media for marketing purposes is understanding its fluidity, its reach and its speed. Conversational marketing initiatives must consider the wider channel mix (broadcast, mobile, online, mail etc.), what interaction social media has with these channels and the micro-social media interactions that occur over a period of time. Any conversation then needs to be monitored, assessed and responded to where necessary.
Vitrue, who analyse the online conversations of a variety of social networking, blogging, micro-blogging, photo and video sharing sites, has released a list of brands in the Vitrue 100 - Top Social Brands of 2008. Their analysis tracks the movement of a single brand over time based on online conversations and can be used to compare a brand with its competitors, either at an individual point in time, or over a period of weeks or months.
Looking at the Vitrue 100, an audience profile can be built-up based on the brands mentioned. This profile would be: youthful; media immersed; technology savvy; a communication maven – Generation Y ring any bells? There is a clear directional bent for the type of audience participating in ‘the conversation’ – marketers can learn from this. So how social is your conversation going to be in 2009?
RELATED LINKS:
Cx3 blog entry: Social Networking World Forum
Cx3 blog entry: Generation Y communicate, unite and shout
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