On the Web everybody has the opportunity to be a spokesperson. It’s how you use this fact that determines a marketing program’s efficacy.
What’s the Idea? readers know that unlike Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff, who in their excellent book Groundswell suggest 6 different social computing profiles (creators, critics, collectors, etc.), I focus on only two: Posters and Pasters. Posters are spokespeople. Pasters amplify them. Posters write about products, services and trends. Pasters share those links. Posters have followings, influencing people they don’t know. Pasters have link buddies, most of whom they do know.
Taking advice from someone you know or with credentials you trust is and has long been the key to successful commerce. If that advise is well-crafted and convincing, so much the better. That is why targeting Posters with your social media effort is a business-winning strategy.
Social Media Briefs
Good social media programs target Posters, but are considerate of Pasters. Writing a brief for a social program, my targeting takes account of both. For the Poster the idea has to be salient selling. For the Paster it just has to make them a trusted, fun and/or thoughtful poker (to steal a word from Facebook.) If the brief can not accomplish both, then don’t force the Paster side of the equation, let it be.
On TV, you can pick your spokespeople. On the web you can’t. Simplify your brand claim, make the proof points powerful and memorable, and manage it. Don’t poop out an off-strategy message in the hope that consumers will turn into creative directors. Peace!
Possibly Related Posts:
- NFL and Marketing Futures.
- Reach and Free-quency
- Life Imitating the Internet.
- Poor Sprint.
- A Tale of Apple and Yahoo.
Tags: Charlen Li, Facebook Marketing, groundswell, Josh Bernoff, pasters, Posters, social computing, Social media strategy, tv, web marketing, whats the idea, whatstheieda
Recent Articles
-
Marshalls and Recent Grads.
My daughter, freshly graduated from college and about a month into her first full-time job, loves Marshalls. Marshalls is a department store chain with a very nice selection and great prices. Apparently, she and her friend would shop there every day if they could. They have a little jing in their pocketbooks and for the [...]
-
NFL and Marketing Futures.
The NFL is improving the in-stadium game experience by creating WIFI enabled smartphone applications that provide game watchers with information, audio and video heretofore only available to the TV watching audience. Got smartphone? The second wave of these apps will provide an even greater level of entertainment and analysis than is available through the TV [...]
-
Reach and Free-quency
I’d be interested to know of some ad campaigns that use TV for reach and the Web for frequency. Not paid advertising on the web, more like free YouTube video. GoDaddy has used this approach with its Super Bowl ads. The good thing about this media tactic, beyond the saved media dollars, is that the [...]
-
Social Media For Good.
When the Flip video camera, now owned by Cisco, first came out I posted it will change the world. If you thought the video taping of the Rodney King beating changed the world, image how putting video cameras in every pair of pants and pocketbook might alter history. Hello Iran? Social networking, still in its infancy, is [...]
-
Life Imitating the Internet.
Good marketers and brand planners like to view the world beyond the marketing dashboard. That is, out past the windshield, beyond the dials and digital displays. They’re good at predicting the future – seeing what’s ahead. In order to do this, marketers and planners have always used research, concept testing and test marketing. What’s so [...]
-
Poor Sprint.
I feel for Sprint, I really do. They were the first and only top-tier national fiber optic voice and data network yet they never made it past #3. They started when analog telephone calls and digital data packets were coin of the realm. Today, when speed is needed more than ever, when iPhone users are [...]
-
A Tale of Apple and Yahoo.
Earnings reports hit yesterday for Apple and Yahoo and followers were, respectively, happy and disappointed. Apple is really kicking it selling phones, computers and tablets (What else is there, food?) Yahoo is sliding along, selling ads and content. Its revenue was up, but net revenue – revenue after it shares da monies with partners – [...]
Recent Comments