FACEBOOK MARKETING FOR THE CAT-ON-THE-WALL

FACEBOOK IS MORE ADDICTIVE THAN TV!
FACEBOOK MARKETING FOR THE CAT-ON-THE-WALL

Every senior executive is being badgered by the fresh faced youngsters to get into social media marketing. The grey haired brasses know something big is happening out there, but are not able to decipher anything tangible amongst the barrage of techno-garble. So they just give a blank stare and postpone the inevitable decision.
This is an attempt to break the cacophony into digestible sound-bits for the senior decision makers. We will take up each major component of Social Media; but before that some generalized observations

WHY SOCIAL MEDIA IS DIFFERENT - SOME KEY STATEMENTS

1) NOW, "THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE"
This famous dictum of Marshall McLuhan acquires a new dimension. The interactivity makes a brand friendly and vulnerable like any relationship does. So Social media is more in the realm of Relationship marketing, offering a plethora of touch points with one's customer.

2) NOW, THE SUM OF YOUR CUSTOMERS' VOICE IS YOUR BRAND
Social media vehicles are like a dip-stick test of your brand experience.
I started promoting Sampoorna Global, a small veg restaurant in Velachery and just mentioned some patrons' reviews in http://chennai.burrp.com on my FB, orkut and print media.
The walk-ins escalated and these new acquisitions also went on to review their eating experience on the social media web site. There was an extrapolation of awareness that challenged Sampoorna Global's delivery logistics.
Today this new small joint Sampoorna Global has more patrons' reviews than any other joint in Velachery and stands overall in the 3rd place in whole of Chennai. That’s what social media can do for a small business.
In case you are curious, I can give more personal case histories in person.

3) NOW, THE CUSTOMER RESPONSE IS EASILY MEASURABLE
No need for complicated metrics. Simple statistics reveal the trends in almost real time

4) NOW, RESPONSE TO RECTIFICATION IS LIKE 0 TO 80 IN 5 SECS
If something is wrong in your product or service, you know it like a ball bouncing back from the wall. It demands nimbleness and agility to contain a negative response or exploit a positive response. The crux is you know early what’s brewing.

5) NOW, NARROW-CASTING IS NOT A MERE JARGON   
In the Neanderthal age of 80s we in advertising spoke in awe of DM the fashionable acronym for Direct Marketing. Well to put it in proper perspective, in that age we waited 5 years for a landline connection and 3 years for a Bajaj scooter! Got the cue?!
Today Social media offers a gamut of channels where we can drill down into demographic profiles and keep a finger on their pulse.

6) NOW, YOU DON'T HAVE TO SPEND CRORES WITH A "SPRAY & PRAY' TECHNIQUE
Social media allows to start small, gain traction, apply course-corrections and then decide on big ticket expenses.
That the tip of the iceberg to use a much abused cliché. More will follow on the specifics of FACEBOOK MARKETING.SreeRam is a Chennai based marcom professional.
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