Recently I read an article about how the more people interact with social marketing channels, the more they will distrust social marketing and view it as spam. And that of course leads to predictions of its death, much like those that roll in about email year after year. As a big believer in the social media revolution, I think it's important to talk about why continued growth in social marketing is not about creating a new spam problem, but rather about optimizing the best parts of it in order to continue to help marketers grow their businesses in a legitimate and responsible way.
While I don't have a crystal ball or claim to know what is going to happen in five (or even two) years, I do know that right now social marketing is mainly focused on what is good and right in marketing. Social marketing is simply taking what people have been doing for years (heck, centuries even) and using today's technology to do it.
The way I see it, too many people are looking at this social marketing revolution in a bubble. Sure, it might be true that as more people (and companies) post information on sites such as Facebook and Twitter, people will be overloaded and start to wean off some of these sites or simply connect with less people so it becomes more manageable. But when you take a step back and look at the offline world, is it really any different? Aren't all of these social networking sites simply making it easier for people to do what they have always done offline, and with more possible inputs?
I remember hearing over a year ago that in the age of Web 2.0, marketing is less about what the brand or company wants to say about its product, but rather about what the end users say about it. This is exactly what social marketing is all about -- optimizing your biggest advocates to promote your product and tell their friends how great and useful it is.
Let's start by looking at how social networking works offline. For anyone who has kids, you will probably remember the first time you went into Babies"R"Us or any other major baby store. If you were anything like me, you were completely overwhelmed. There are so many things that you think you "need," you don't know where to begin. So what do you do? You go and talk to your friends about what products you should focus on and which ones are worthless. You see, marketing isn't always in the hands of the brand -- it is also in the voice of the consumer.
One reason some pundits are saying that social marketing is generating too much spam or that it will eventually cease being valuable is because of recent reports about Twitter follower attrition. In my opinion, this is a good thing. While following a large number of celebrities or companies that you thought you were interested in sounded like a good idea at first, it can get to be a bit much.
I believe that some reduction in the number of people that users are following means a number of things:
- The industry is maturing, and people are starting to understand social media's pros and cons. This allows them to focus on what they find important.
- The less clutter people are forced to deal with, the more likely they will see the campaigns that really mean something to them.
- Users will once again be able to focus on listening to their friends and people they trust.
- Companies that are not showing value with their posts will no longer take up premier real estate within a potential customer's social networking site.
Another issue -- one that I don't think enough people talk about -- is that most successful social marketing campaigns are part of an overall marketing campaign. These campaigns usually include an email component, and it is this fact alone that lets me believe that not only will social marketing not die, but it will actually grow in the next several years, eventually becoming more and more integrated with a company's email marketing efforts.
As with any marketing effort, you need to offer something that is valuable to your customers and find new ways to reach them. By integrating multiple channels to promote your campaigns, you will continue to reach those true brand advocates and influencers that help build your presence within the social networking space.
So remember, if you are looking at the increase of marketing campaigns and the attrition of followers on Twitter, you are not looking at the whole picture. You are looking at a maturing platform that is finding its way, and one thing still holds true no matter what type of marketing you are doing: Relevancy is key.
Good luck and good sending.
Spencer Kollas is director of delivery services for StrongMail Systems.
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