Quick Summary: Read about how marketers should use different social media tools to serve different objectives depending on the level they are at in the Marketing Chain of Being.
Social media is such an elusive idea that most social media/ marketing/ public relations bloggers are still struggling to answer several basic questions about social media –
- What exactly is social media?
- How is social media related to marketing, advertising, customer service and PR?
- When should marketers use social media?
- How should marketers measure the effectiveness of social media?
In an earlier post on whether customer service is the new marketing, I had identified the role of social media in marketing by saying that social media is only a tool to create engagement, the middle level in the Marketing Chain of Being.
However, when I thought a little more about it, I realized that social media has a (different) role to play at almost every level in the Marketing Chain of Being.
- Commodity Hell — If your primary focus is on price and channel promotions, you should not use social media at all. It takes a lot of time and effort and you are so busy selling that you can afford neither.
- Differentiation — If your primary focus is on product features and benefits, you should use social media tools, like blogs and podcasts, that allow you some control over the communication. Use social media tools to build authority, not to pitch.
- Engagement — If your primary focus is on service experience, you must use a variety of social media tools, especially those that encourage community, like forums and social networks. Use social media to build relationships with your customers and help them build relationships with each other.
- Cultural Currency — If your primary focus is on becoming a signal of identity, or a social object, you should use the more viral forms of social media, like viral videos, customized skins and Facebook applications. Use social media to help your customers show off your brand and spread the word.
- Meaning — If your primary focus is on helping your customers find meaning through self realization and restoration, you do not need to use social media tools anymore. Just go easy on the fan communities created by your almost fanatically loyal evangelists.
So, if you are a marketer wondering how to use social media, first figure out what is your primary focus (and, therefore, your level in the Marketing Chain of Being) and then use the social media tools that best serve your objectives.
Chris Brogan started the discussion and I followed the trail and stumbled across interesting posts on the topic by Susan Payton, Mack Collier, Kami Huyse, Robert Passikoff, Jennifer Laycock, Josh Bernoff and Lewis Green.
