Is social media changing marketing?

Call it Web 2.0, call it social media, just don't call it late for dinner...sorry about that. Late in a busy day, and I'm a little punchy.

Whatever you call the explosion of interactive tools/sites/communities on the Internet these days (and here is a list of the top 100), it is making things more interesting than ever.

It has blurred the line between personal and professional lives, which in my book is a good thing--brings out individuality and personality instead of the bland sameness the business world has been choking on for years.

It is creating a chorus of opinion, information, insight, and sometimes on-purpose silliness that can be just so much noise if listened to in one direction, but can be horizon-expanding if ears are shifted to a different location.

And I assert that it is changing marketing by requiring...no, DEMANDING...authenticity.

Social whatever-you-want-to-call-it has very little space for spin doctors and hype artists who hide themselves (and/or their companies) behind carefully crafted facades. The participants on all these networks are consumers and influencers with networks of their own, and it doesn't take long to unmask and then ignore people and entities that want to play things the old way.

The winners across the business board, no matter what industry (though some will see this happen earlier than others), will be those who don't hide behind false fronts, who can engage in real conversations rather than "correct-speak," and who are truly interested in their markets (beyond their potential dollar value).

It will take some time to clearly see this change, but it will happen all the same. Whether or not you participate on any social media sites, the best thing you can do as a marketer is run, don't walk, to shed the masks and facades, and start geting down to real, honest communication. You will put yourself way ahead of the competition...promise.

Comments

[Scott, A Dad First]

"It has blurred the line between personal and professional lives, which in my book is a good thing..."
Wholeheartedly agree. I've seen this in RL over the past couple of years through a couple different jobs, where customers followed me, not because of pricing, not because of service (though both are a part), but because of ME. It was almost a revelation, and part of the reason I began my own business.