Sure, they might not be aware of all the tertiary benefits of the soc media highway, they are however aware of the benefit to DM.

I think all of you guys and gals are barking up the wrong tree. That is, you are looking where you always look and it ain’t there!

Kudos again for hitting the nail on the head, especially when you say:
“Companies that rush into a social network with sales offers is a classic example of an inappropriate use of direct marketing tactics on the social web.”

I was reviewing my Twitter followers and drilling down on some of their chatter. One company looked like they apparently had asked any employee with a Twitter account to Twitter about a new engineering conversion chart that they were featuring hoping to reach any body, anywhere, anyhow.

Just as there are rules of engagement for the Internet and website development best practices, so also are there rules for engagement in social marketing and networking.

The above company (which shall remain nameless) jumped on the bandwagon without understanding who and what and why they were Twittering. And they are not alone. There are so many people hawking their wears via Twitter – even seasoned professionals and thought leaders – that it cheapens their message. And their Personal Brand.

Is it possible to over-Twitter? It’s important to seek a balance between announcing sales offers and services and sounding like a street vendor.

Time to take a step back and reconsider objectives, deliverables and just plain style.

Direct marketing’s focus in on pushing information drive conversion and purchases with incentives like coupons, discounts… Customer relationships like those that develop at the social media level are not the focus here. There really is no feedback loop. I think that’s the key difference.

But I also agree with Lee in that it’s a matter of definitions and semantics. If you redefine direct marketing to fit the context of social media it changes the debate entirely.

Many times, I will be Spammed by some company that has me on alist just because I’m on a merchant email list for something unrelated to receiving marketing messages form that merchant.

Social media sites like Twitter are fair game for direct messaging because the people who view your messages have to chose to follow you. If they choose to follow you, they know your intent, so they want to receive your marketing messages.

If they don’t want your messaging they will choose not to follow you.

For me it’s that simple.

But I do think social media should not be used to spam with offers, isntead used to open dialogue with like minded folks, share knowledge (even about products), etc. Some companies create a group on Flickr, and that particular company isn’t spamming the members with brand new product offers. Instead the name of the company is up and that in itself is enough to a certain degree as this company has now engaged a community to revolve around it’s own name.

Companies can provide useful content and experiences which can result in goodwill, branding and both direct and in-direct sales. Companies can market products and services via social channels, they just need to emphasize providing value and education first. Show customers how they can benefit from a product/service, show them all the interesting ways to use it and encourage feedback and even crowdsourcing for innovation.

There’s nothing wrong with promoting and marketing on social channels as long as the brand has listened and become a participant first, is transparent about their intentions, the community is actually interested in it and there’s an emphasis on providing value – not just selling.

And the DM industry does know about social media, it’s just that most of them think it’s not worth it. Let them keep thinking that.