The original Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens published in 1843 was written when social observances were in a time of decay.
As a reader of this post you already know that advertising and marketing has experienced rapid decay in its relevance to consumers in recent times and that social media is proving to be a vital catalyst for building trust and loyalty between a brand and its consumers.
Advertisers and marketers worldwide are currently going through a period of redemption based on their past activities of mass media ‘push’ but coming out the other end with campaigns that embody the true spirit of social media employing one to one communication and engagement marketing.
As we look forward to 2009 we should encourage and educate the ‘Ebenezer Scrooges’ of our world to get with the times and understand that social media is here to stay and there’s no running away from it.
So take heed Mr Scrooge! If you are a brand that has devoted your life to the accumulation of wealth at the expense of building trusted relationships and at the same time doing social injustice you should be worried. Those who still do not understand the importance of social media within the workplace, throughout their business practices and beyond will be haunted by their competitors who do – and if they do not change their ways, the business will end up dead and buried.
OK, let’s take a brief look at the three successive Social Media spirits this Christmas and please feel free to comment at the end of the post…
Social Media Past
John McCain will be reflecting on his electoral loss by overlooking the potential of social media and the value of tapping into the Groundswell. You can read more about the use of Obama’s use of social media.
McCain should be the poster child for all those businesses that have ignored social media within industries where others have adopted and seen growth. I hope they will now be looking to place importance on social media within their marketing mix, focusing their efforts on consumers, not the brand’s love for money.
Social Media Present
Again the Obama campaign has to be the most publicised example of social media success in 2008. We can also identify that the campaign had a measurable ROI as Barack’s seat in the white house speaks for itself!
Here in the UK, the Conservative Party has recently announced the appointment of a digital spokesperson in hope of replicating the same success in the forthcoming UK elections. This is good news as social media will filter through the establishment.
Throughout 2008 we have seen many great campaigns this year and the most successful were recognised through industry awards, for example the Interactive Media Awards in the UK and the Forrester Groundswell awards in the US.
With regard to formal research and a blatant plug for my own work. In October I personally issued a detailed report outlining how brands can engage with social network consumers. This was well received by the industry. Thank you to those who requested the free report and if you would like a copy drop me an e-mail: info [at] socialnetworkmarketinguk [dot] com.
Social Media Yet to Come
Even though we will experience tough times for the next 12-18 months based on the fragile state of the world economy. For social media there are some fantastic developments and countless opportunities to look forward to.
Below is a brief list of articles/posts featuring the opinions of industry experts on what brands and social media can look forward to in ‘09 and beyond.
- Cheerful news for UK digital agencies as UK firms are to spend more on social media in 2009 – Brand Republic
- 8 experts including Charlene Li and Chris Brogan predict how Web 2.0 will evolve In 2009 – Fast Company
- Predicting the future of social media from a social media marketing perspective – Jason Falls
Overall my personal hope is that the Ebenezer Scrooge’s we all know will have an awakening over this Christmas period. C-level executives from all business units need to listen, learn and understand the fundamental media shift that is already happening and, as a result become more willing to adopt a new social media persona and mindset.
Have a so so so, social media marketing Christmas everyone.
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