Facebook, Face-to-Face, and Other Social Channels - Ed Keller

The run up to Facebook39s IPO was abuzz with optimism about just how large and successful it would be The first few days following the IPO have been awash with stories of doom and gloom a failed IPO and lawsuits It39s now time for some perspective amp8211 not from an investor39s point of view but from the point of view of social marketingThere is no question that there is a hugely important social wave rolling across the world of business and marketing today Every survey that is taken shows that more than any other source people trust the advice and recommendations they get from other people amp8211 family friends colleagues at work and sometimes even strangers they meet in stores amp8211 or reviews they read onlineBut here is where the thinking sometimes get murky I am often asked whether it is the internet that is the cause of today39s social wave and the answer is no In fact human beings are fundamentally social beings for whom social influence determines nearly every decision we make It39s an insight that was first observed and discussed decades ago but was largely ignored by marketers during the socalled golden age of television during which the glitz and glamour of that era39s revolutionary new medium blinded people to the importance of personal influence and the opportunities afforded by word of mouth advertisingThe opportunity was there though almost entirely missed until Mark Zuckerberg revealed the untapped desire for people to connect in new and interesting ways and thereby proved the power of social connections to the world Regardless of whether the stock price is 38 per share or 33 or whatever it ultimately proves to be worth Facebook has accumulated the largest audience for a single media platform in history It39s an awesome achievementBut the successes of Facebook and its social media kin are the result of a tremendous social opportunity and not its cause or its source People flock to Facebook because it meets a social need that was previously underserved online But people39s desire to be social manifests itself in many other places as well creating multiple opportunities for businesses that wish to engage with today39s increasingly social consumer As Brad Fay and I discuss in our new book The FacetoFace Book social media sites are but one way and a relatively small one at that through which consumers engage in social activityMost conversations continue to take place not online but in the real world primarily and most productively facetoface References to media and marketing of all types are quite frequently a spark to those conversations and the brand advocacy that comes with it In fact social media drives far fewer conversations about brands than television print media instore marketing or brand websites and other owned media That39s why we say quotall media are socialquot and the goal of all marketing should be to activate the true social nature of consumersHow do marketers take advantage of the quotsocial wavequot They should start by developing products and messages that give consumers reasons to recommend their brands they should target their current customers and consumer influencers of many kinds to encourage them to spread the word and only then should they decide which marketing and advertising channels will be most effective in socially activating the marketplaceThe excitement and anticipation that led up to the Facebook IPOand the frenzy of news and investigations that has followedis not the story that matters most to marketers The focus should be on using every tool available to activate highly social consumersEd Keller CEO of the Keller Fay Group has been called quotone of the most recognized names in word of mouthquot The publication of Keller39s book The Influentials has been called the quotseminal moment in the development of word of mouthquot His new book The FacetoFace Book is coming out in May 2012 You can follow Ed Keller on Twitter Facebook and Google or contact him directly at ekellerkellerfaycomRead all Edamp8217s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at WOM MattersCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

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Facebook, Face-to-Face, and Other Social Channels - Ed Keller

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