Just read an interesting blog by @briansolis regarding The End of Asocial Shopping and the Start of Social E-Commerce. It makes sense, and what was alluring about the thought was that it gave flesh – in industry speak – to what everyone knew already but didn’t have the right copy for: that social media is, essentially, word-of-mouth formalized.
Certified. Quantified. Empirical. It’s not a he-said, she-said no longer. The most effective form of marketing is now incarnate – and it can be traced, followed, liked.
This reminds me of a conversation I had a while ago with a colleague at work.
Colleague: So guess what I found after (opening an account) on Facebook last night?
Me (thinking): You just opened an account just now? Not good.
Some small talk ensues. He found my charming pic. I relax a bit, I remember my privacy settings.
Colleague: I also found bleep’s page with 1 million fans.
Me: Wow, that’s nice.
Some small talk about a small vertical market that was related to the fan page. The page doesn’t really have 1 MM fans, I just dressed it to fictionalize the interchange.
Colleague: …so here’s what I’m thinking. What if we send a message to all their fans, you know, make it really, really friendly with some incentive.
Me: What do you mean, we can’t just contact them with some commercial message.
Colleague: No we’ll make it, you know, really, really friendly. Or maybe I can contact this lady. She’s the goddess of this vertical market, if she endorses a product, they’ll listen. I’m just thinking there must be a way to get our brand impression on those 1 million people, even if it’s just the logo.
I sigh. Engagement, not impressions.
(I edit and paraphrase here and there but you get where the conversation was going.)
The conclusion actually turned for the better. I showed my colleague a couple of fan pages that we both agreed were brilliant, as well as a specific tactic that is the online real estate equivalent to a white picket fence or a well-manicured front lawn: promotion-filled tabs.
And then we navigated through Facebook’s (well, mine) “Updates” email. For those that haven’t checked yet, Facebook’s savvy junk mail toolbar – the folder under “Messages” – makes sure the brands, TV shows, movies, groups and porn studios you “like” don’t stalk you back. It’s the one consumer advocacy tool I like about Facebook, flaws and all.
He saw I never opened a single one. Not even from – gasp – H&M Italy. (H&M, seriously. Talk to me in English and fire your spammers, WTF.)
I’m hearing my former manager imaginarily just above my left shoulder: Just say your thoughts. Direct and unvarnished.
Me (thinking): Direct and unvarnished.
Me (in real time): This is social media, not email marketing. If you want to tell people something, you say it through status updates, not email. Social media is not a push tactic, colleague, think of pull tactics. Not push.
Although the same in concept, the difference between WOM and social media is that one is whispered and one is broadcasted.
Sneaky marketers, be careful. It’s humiliating not to be liked.
