The role of social media with traditional marketing (part one)

8th Friday, 2010  |   All we got, comment, MOO: Cowbell Blog, My Views & Thoughts, opinion, Social networks  |  7 comments

Let’s face it, for most of all this modern marketing stuff is at best confusing and often dismissed as a fad or over rated .

But after reflection most realise that all this ‘twittering’, ‘face-booking’ & ‘googling’ is here to stay … And for good! But where does it all fit in with our previously cosy and comfortable marketing techniques.

The answer to tigerthat is simple; It’s part of 2010′s marketing mix. Marketeers can no longer ignore this as temporary or something that’s going to go away. The facts prove this is here to stay (see video from last post). If people want results then they have to ‘engage’ and ‘collaborate’ in a marketing arena with some new animals to master.

Just because you’ve mastered the art of killing the lion you’ve had around for ages doesn’t mean that you can simply ignore the tiger that’s been in the vicinity for a while; sooner or later it’ll come and bite you. That is unless you’ve decided that it’s got so much power that it cannot be ignored, and you’re going to build up a skill set which helps you to tame the tiger.

A simplistic analogy perhaps but you get my point. Yes it means spending some time getting used to these new tools and understanding their power, but don’t be fooled into thinking that you can just open a Twitter account and then go and demonstrate how you’ve single-handedly increased profits or brand awareness for your company or clients – It’s not going to happen! You either need time to understand the new world and how best to act; or help and support to do this.

As a rough outline the following should be adhered to:

  • knowledge: understand what, how, why, where, which social media tools are best for you. Work out how to play in each arena before jumping in and what you want to achieve
  • listen: don’t get too ahead of yourself and start throwing your weight around. See what people are talking about. Get a feel for what they’re saying in your sector. Gauge reaction to your company/brand (all accessible through the social media world)
  • Look at your current activity and see which areas can be used. Multi-purpose content. A press release posted on a web site can be sent out to the right twitter community in seconds & may encourage traffic and lead generation
  • Understand: It’s a communication tool, one that marketing has been craving for some time. How many other tools in your armoury allow you to engage one-to-one with your audience? Which other marketing mechanism lets you collaborate & engage with such ease? But remember conversations are 2-way. Let others speak and make sure you listen to what they say; Good & Bad

To give yourself the best chance of success the following must be implemented:

  • Objectives/Goals
  • Strategy
  • Tactics
  • & Analytics

If you don’t plan then the journey is over before it began. We’ve created two methods to ensure there’s the best chance of reaching those objectives. The first is the ‘Tigerfish Inverted Pyramid Decision Process’© which forces you to answer key questions in order to make sure the right parts of the marketing mix are used. This may mean that different strands form part of a strategy; as long as we answer the questions then we will be able to determine which are the correct routes to take.

Tigerfish Inverted Pyramid Decision Process.final

click image for full size ©Tigerfish ™

The second is the ‘Tigerfish Cascade Principle for Marketing’ which shows the relationships between the different marketing methods. We have created the Cascade Principle© to explain the importance of 4 key components of online marketing in a diagrammatic form. This demonstrates the importance of the initial building blocks and how activity in these key areas can automatically cause a cascade effect to produce an “economy of scale” in the online marketing arena.
The diagram also prioritises the level of effort for content creation from low to high. High effort, towards the base of the cascade is harder to generate and usually requires a formal sign off which dramatically slows the process.

click image for full size ©Tigerfish™


More detail to follow on both and by all means get in touch by posting comments below , or if want to discuss any of the article on twitter or other links on my contact us page above please do.

  • http://www.dickiearmour.me.uk Dickie Armour

    Chris, great post and I look forward to Part 2!

    I totally agree that those new to Social Media need to listen to the conversations going on before diving in. They should make full use of the “search” feature on Twitter so they can easily find those conversations that will interest them and that are relevant to their industry.
    Then they should start following; people will then follow back and they can start to take part in the conversations.

    As you say, it’s a 2-way conversation and people need to remember not to just use social media as a platform for blasting messages. They have to take part.

    The thing I love about Twitter is how nice people are. I know there are the odd agressive types but in general I’ve been really delighted with how nice and helpful people are. Twitter is a great place to ask a question without fear of being laughed at for not knowing – and getting back the answer from more than 1 person and very qucikly too.

    I really like your Tigerfish cascade. Be good to discuss it with you in more detail.

    I think the other thing newcomers don’t always grasp is that social media takes time and so they shouldn’t expect a swift R.O.I. Yes, their activity can and should be measured but they should be in it for the long haul because like you say; it’s here to stay.

    Cheers
    Dickie

  • http://www.searchclinic.org/ Simon Dye

    Chris,

    Excellent article.

    Your analysis is pretty Spot On. Plan to Succeed. Learn the market before wading in. Don’t expect instant results.

    Your inverted pyramid is logical and shows the reasons why planning is so neccesary.

    Your cascading flow emphasises the technical ability- if well planned, to rebroadcast news stories to wider, larger audiences through different elements of the marketing mix.

    Well Done.

    Simon

  • http://treypennington.com Trey Pennington

    Thanks for taking the time to create and share. The graphics are immensely helpful.

    Your work highlights an often (it seems) overlooked component of social media—pre-planning! While it’s nice that ABC Corp now has a Facebook Fan Page, we’re left wondering where it all fits in. So if we (the marketplace, for instance) don’t see the connection, I wonder what “internal” customers are thinking?

    Taking the time and discipline to follow through your Cascade would help clarify goal and roles considerably. You’ve heard the clamor regarding ROI. Much of that noise churns, not because people are obsessed with analytical calculations (they really are not, or else they would raise a ruckus about country club memberships, planes, leased Town Cars, and a whole host of stuff the spend money on because they WANT to), but because they’re simply not sure where social media fits into the overall marketing program, where it will take them, and why they would even want to go there or by that route.

    In other words, it’s not a question of a 15% return on social media (for most) vs. a 12.75% return on direct mail. Instead, it’s “where does social media fit and how does that help me?”

    Your Cascade is pregnant with profit potential for people who will ponder it.

  • http://www.volume.co.uk Katie Colbourne

    Hi Chris,

    Excellent blog post!

    Tigerfish / you have obviously devoted a lot of time into researching this new area of marketing to come up with these two diagrams, which I think visually represent the process of social media strategy very well.

    I absolutely agree with you on listening and trialling different networks first – I think some people are still just diving in without really thinking about a strategy – and we both know that social media needs a strategy just as any other marketing activity does.

    Looking forward to reading the next part …

    Katie

    @VolumeGroup

  • http://rich-baker.com Rich Baker Digital Engagement

    A thought provoking post Chris, thanks for sharing.

  • http://www.jacoutofthebox.ca Jackie Ng

    Excellent post Chris.

    And I totally agree. I also believe in seeing social media integrated into marketing and not viewed as a separate channel.

    Just as in 5 years, there will be some new concept, maybe augmented reality marketing or else – and this too will have to be developed in a holistic manner.

    By the way, I really like the process you developed. Very well thought-out. I look forward for Part II.

    Thanks for sharing.

  • http://www.e2train.com Kate McNabb

    Great post Chris.

    I think for me, as someone who’s on the ground trying to encourage the business to embrace these new marketing methods, talk of ROI can be frustrating as these things don’t just happen over night. Slowly, slowly, catchee moneky :)

    The other thing is, people talk about Twitter etc being free – technically yes they don’t cost companies £’s and $’s in the accounts but to do it right, you need time, expertise, the ability to engage and debate – all of which do come at a cost to the business and generally can’t be farmed out to a lower paid minion to deliver. Which is ultimately why ROI and measurement has to come into it somewhere!

    Look forward to the next…

    Kate