Still working on this idea, but I wanted to get some reaction to the thought. It seems that social media offers a unique blend of Trust, Network, and Time (TNT). Using micro-blogging as an example, one would have a
trusted group of followers. Those followers would have their own trusted group, etc. This is where the
network comes in. In theory, even with a small group of followers, you would have exponetial reach through your network. LinkedIn works the same way. Because of the asychronous nature of micro-blogging,
time to communicate and engage is greatly reduced, especially when compared to traditional media.
Social Media = TNT
As a stand alone strategy, social media will offer the benefits of trust, network, and time. Unfortunately, this will not necessarily translate into sales and revenue. Other channel sales and marketing tools are required to bring the benefits of social media to a revenue producing strategy. It is absolutely necessary to have fully-integrated channel marketing plan. Because of the benefits of trust, network, and time that social media offers, it can/should be a critical executional element of the plan.
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2 comments:
Jeff,
I think you are definitely on the right path. The one thing I see missing is content although with good content you build trust. My point is with out content you can't build trust and with out trust you can't build a network.
I see the challenge being how to deliver differentiated content that you aren't using in other places to start conversations to make the social media component unique from case studies, blogs, and press releases. This is where Dell and others are trying twitter only offers to help make it different.
I certainly agree that social media is just on part of the plan especially in the B2B space.
Thanks for the comment! I agree totally about the need for content. Check out an earlier post of mine at http://channelconnexions.blogspot.com/2008/04/content-consistency-and-calendar.html
Let me know what you think!
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