What is Social Media? It is one of the most discussed topics everywhere around the world. In my opinion, I feel it is the "Voice of People". It is the people who call the shots.
A brand is no longer what a company says; it is the customers what they say about it. One can influence a brand by encouraging people associated with it. It’s all about understanding human psychology.
The trend in social media is changing from customer relationship management to customer managed relationships. So, the focus should be in developing relationships first, and then selling. Currency in social media is relationships and quality content. One should communicate the brand to consumers by making it consumer-centric instead of brand-centric.
There has been a tectonic shift in marketing from old traditional ways to the new technological ways. The fundamentals of marketing are still the same but what has changed is the pattern and way of communicating it to the consumers. Instead of relying heavily on TV commercials, print advertisements, now the way of marketing a brand has become more social. What I mean by this is, marketing and promoting it on platforms where people are present and engaging all the time. This is where social web platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Youtube come in play. The main idea behind all these platforms is to educate, engage and empower the people, where it is them who make a choice, create the brand positioning, and ensure the success or failure of the brand. They are the ones who are constantly making a difference.
Agreed. I refer to them as prosumers. Prosumers is an older term once used mainly to describe customers as producers, co-creators of a products value but I think that concept applies now more than ever and we can reuse that term. Today’s consumers are more actively engaged and more directly involved with creating value for a brand, very often in real time. They are definitely influencing and helping brands to make product decisions.
ReplyDeleteThis involvement often extends to the process, the design and/or the even customization of the end product. Social media and two way communications from individuals to brands, and the public voice, have fueled this development, creating deeper consumer/brand relationships, faster and more direct, almost immediate connections and response times for customer service and brand responses and activities.
Great point. I absolutely agree with the concept of prosumers and don't see any reason why we can't use it now. It pinpoints the role of a consumer in brand making from the beginning to its end process.
DeleteIt just shows that by empowering consumers, a new marketing concept has been laid out in the 21st century which has led to the evolution of social media.