Recent numbers suggest the hoopla around marketing through social media might be a bit over hyped. Survey participants said their likelihood of using social media to find products was less than 5 percent. Oddly enough, the study didn’t include sites like Amazon.com where users avidly post reviews. But the info is worth taking note. People use Facebook and MySpace to connect with people first, brands second.
The full story at Rocket Watcher:
http://www.rocketwatcher.com/blog/2009/06/social-media-not-just-another-marketing-channel.html
April 5:02 am on June 16, 2009 Permalink
Hi Pat - thanks for the mention and the link.
I think that marketers often kid themselves that people are more brand-oriented than they really are. One of the more interesting things about social media is that it’s going to force marketers to really think hard about what it takes to get customers and prospects engaged and that means moving beyond traditional push advertising.
April
Pat McCarthy 8:10 am on June 16, 2009 Permalink
Very true April. I think we will start to see brands becoming much more engaged on various virtual platforms because of this. Brand identity is lasting much shorter and requires more constant attention than it used to. In researching a product, people aren’t looking at the last commercial produced. They are looking at what what posted on the internet in the last few days.
Thanks for the great article and comment!
Pat