Social Media versus Marketing: Practical Guide
Honestly, it seems like a lot of us are having a hard time drawing the line between social media and traditional marketing. We are so used to promoting our products that it has become difficult NOT to talk about products. We know we should connect with our audience in a meaningful way, but how do you do that?
In this article, I will talk about how user behavior has changed with the rise of the internet, and how we can get out of the trap of self-promotion.
#Social Search
The Internet has made us a connected society. We search for information on the web. We look for reviews and recommendations of others, preferable friends and peers. We all do this to a certain extent. It does not matter if we fall into the millennial age category or not. It doesn’t matter if we buy a B2B or B2C product. The behavior pattern is the same.
We look at the overall picture of a company. The experience with that brand makes us buy a product or not. In the past, companies “created” that picture for us as customers. It often took a long time until news about bad products or services would spread.
#Tell your company story
Today, companies have to deliver more than products and features. They have to tell their story. Customers and users are creating their own picture now.
So what is your company’s story? What do you want to be known for outside an official press release? Features or benefits, products or values?
Some would say they have always focused on their customers, long before social media and the Internet existed. That might hold true but something has changed. People starting now, long before they talk to us, to form a picture of whom we are as a company. Users are still looking for websites and press releases but most of the time they search for non product- related information that they consider valuable.
#Provide value to your audience
What do people consider valuable information? The answer is not far out. If you ask yourself what do YOU consider valuable information when you look for a solution or product? Do you just look at a website or are you trying to find additional, preferable un-biased information? Customers today are looking for what social media marketers call authentic helpfulness.
This means companies need to be helpful in finding answers to their customers’ common problems, and educate about topics the audience deeply cares about. Here is where the difference to traditional marketing comes into place. Traditional marketing consists of product and press releases, brochures, trade shows, and marketing kits where we exclusively represent our products.
In terms of daily life, what are good examples for social media and traditional marketing?
- job stories only emphasizing on products –marketing
- job stories emphasizing on customers’ success stories or solving a problem for them –social media
- blog posts with focus on products- marketing
- blog posts with focus on solutions –social media
- press releases -marketing
- showcasing events –social media
- Tutorials and educational papers -social media
- discussions and polls –social media
- answering questions and engaging with users –social media
- technical support forum –social media
- stories about your heritage and company culture –social media
- behind the scene stories –social media
.Some of the above examples might fall into both categories depending on the main focus of your blog post. That is a “grey area” of social media that is acceptable, as long as there is no fall back into self-promotion.
So what is the right path to take in your social media journey?
Be helpful, educate, solve a problem for your audience, and connect with them. Act like a real person and do not hide behind a company’s name and logo. Then the success of your social media strategy will come.
How far are you in with your social media efforts? What are your main challenges and what is your best advice?