Comments on: Roadmap for Social Media Marketing Strategy

By: Brand4profit

Brand4profit — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 06:11:16 +0000

The old method of advertising is interactive marketing. The term is misleading. Most people think it means that there is some type of interaction on the part of the person advertised to, and there is. But, it is not conversational. Instead, the advertiser wants you to interact with their campaign in a specific set of steps. Following the call to action and visiting a website for instance. It’s the push to make you do something. Live this image. Buy this now.

Social Media Marketing is just the opposite. It’s the pull of the tribe. The tribe already has your trust so the actions they take are ones you align with. On a larger scale, it’s the allure of belonging in the group as you take action together. “I am doing this so why don’t you do it with me?” On an individual level, the attraction is to behave the same way to get the same results that benefits your fellow tribeswoman or tribesman. “She looks hot! I want to look hot too. I want to go to her hairstylist” and you do. Social Media Marketing uses the power of attraction.

While advertising tries to use the same tactic, with a billboard for instance, of a gorgeous woman telling you the benefits of the salon, it doesn’t have the same impact because it’s pushing you to go. It is not pulling you in as a trusted friend. Your friends have your best interests at heart and advertisers do not. Social Media Marketing is based on building trust and that foundation will make Social Media a dominant player in Marketing.

By: Social Media Power Users And Influencers: Part 4

Social Media Power Users And Influencers: Part 4 — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 17:24:39 +0000

[...] Fundamentals of Social Media Marketing Strategy (TopRank Blog) [...]

By: Michael Knipp

Michael Knipp — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:58:01 +0000

Lee - great points here. We've recently written on a similar topic on our blog. The post is called "The Theory of Social Media Marketing Evolution." You can check it out here In any case, it's great to hear what others in the industry are saying. Keep up the good work!

By: Carol Gerges

Carol Gerges — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 17:22:01 +0000

Hi,
Lee i am currently a university student studying Marketing, i just wanted to say that before reading your post i didn’t particularly understand the importance of social media marketing and online marketing, However after having read through your post i now realise that online marketing really is the core to market research and to getting efficient feedback from the consumers. This way not only does the company benefit, but the consumers are feeling more involved and they feel that their input counts. Its a two- way connection. I was really happy to see that you have placed a lot of emphasism on the audience and listening to their feedback… because without listening to them you wouldnt know what they require and what improvments to make.

I just wantd to let you know you contributed to my learning so thanks

By: Social Media Primer

Social Media Primer — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:47:12 +0000

[...] another good post about the Fundamentals of Social Media Marketing Strategy, see Lee Odden’s article of the same name on Top Rank [...]

By: Bernie Borges

Bernie Borges — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 20:35:25 +0000

Lee,
Great post. Agree on all points. I would add podcasting to your list of tactics. Writing podcast show notes in a blog post is an effective tactic within the context of a sound social media strategy.

By: Eamon

Eamon — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 16:35:06 +0000

Useful and interesting article. Like Guillaume, would, also like to second the point about ‘time.’ The basic social media platforms: blogging, Twitter, social network sites, and so on, costs relatively little to be involved with. It is the time: listening, working out strategy, communicating, reading and becoming an expert, that is much more of the issue over finance ..

By: Lee Odden

Lee Odden — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:22:40 +0000

Thank you for all the feedback on the post. It’s been great to be able to share the practical side of this info for our Social Media Smarts seminar.

By: Jiyan

Jiyan — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 14:09:29 +0000

Thanks for sharing Lee. A good, underlying perspective on social media.

By: Guillaume Foutry

Guillaume Foutry — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 12:33:19 +0000

Great article! Was wondering if it could also be useful to mention the importance of time on two dimensions: Social Media Marketing is a time consuming task; you need to give an answer ASAP or to deal with a problem ASAP.

By: Andy Beal

Andy Beal — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:26:39 +0000

Great post Lee!

I’d add that it’s important to look at how any of your competitors have fared with their social media efforts. If I were Advil, I’d definitely pay attention to what went wrong with Motrin Moms.

By: Arthur Germain (@ahg3)

Arthur Germain (@ahg3) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:34:59 +0000

Lee,
Great ideas — I think I would add one to your six — “Assessment”, especially for companies that are not Web 2.0.

Many companies from a broad range of industries have marketing activities, tactics and content that should be assessed to decide whether it can be leveraged in a Web 2.0 world.

Take tech companies for example. Almost every one has some type of customer service forum. These are often database-driven knowledge centers as well as places to ask questions and receive hints, tips and service ideas. These may be easily (or not) converted into community sites where customers and companies can better connect and exchange.

Many companies need this assessment FIRST in order to develop a social media strategy moving forward.
Thanks for getting me thinking!
ahg3

By: Bobbie Carlton

Bobbie Carlton — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:28:59 +0000

Drat — where were you yesterday when I was writing essentially the same thing up for a potential new client!?! I could have just turned in your blog as a proposal.

But seriously, every marketing plan, social or otherwise, should be built on these fundamental items. They should be the foundation of EVERY marketing plan.

By: Travis Campbell

Travis Campbell — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:20:15 +0000

With all the ‘bad news’ out there for small business and entrepreneurs, it seems a lot of people are overwhelmed when they consider initiatives to reach out to prospective and current customers, and social marketing is one of these overwhelm points. That said, it seems to be a new frontier with the most promise.

Your post is an excellent example of distilling s social marketing strategy down to sizeable chunks.

Looking forward to the next one.

By: Lee Odden

Lee Odden — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:16:10 +0000

Thanks Andrei. It’s actually part of a presentation I’m giving today and tomorrow as part of the DMA Social Media Smarts workshop in NYC. Next on is March in Chicago. More info at http://socialmediasmarts.com

By: Glenn Gabe

Glenn Gabe — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:06:04 +0000

Fantastic post Lee. “Marketing on the social web is about giving to get”. I love that quote…and I hope more people embrace that idea. Tweeting this post now…

By: Andrei

Andrei — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 12:37:00 +0000

Great post. You should make this into a Slideshare presentation.

By: Stuart Foster

Stuart Foster — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 12:19:47 +0000

Lee, great fundamental business points. These should be continually circulating inside your head along with S.W.O.T., ROI and revenue. Although the CEO standing behind you is probably yelling the same things. Because Social Media is fairly new in business measuring its success is a difficult proposition (especially considering the conversational nature of the medium).