Social media and meaning

What does social media mean for corporate communicators, consumers and influencers? 

A recent webinar focused on the industry’s new social media release and how to present its format to journalists and bloggers so they can effectively relay messages. 

After some debate between a panel of bloggers, entrepreneurs and communications professionals, the consensus was reached that the social media release isn’t a new kind of communication that needs to be presented, it’s an evolution of traditional marketing.
Social media, whether it’s a news release, a blog, or a YouTube video, gives communicators a new way to share information and facilitate conversation with their many audiences and their influencers. It's a complementary tactic that can make communication more complete.

Because the social media space is new and can be unfamiliar, many consumers don’t use it, don’t know how to use it, and don’t care to learn. But those same consumers continue to flip through magazines and be intrigued by a compelling, creative advertisement. We have an abundance of avenues to reach our targeted audiences/consumers. It's a great time to start conversations and keep them going.

Walk For A Change

We can't say we specialize in changing behavior without being able to do it ourselves. After the endless french fry lunches and most of us complaining about our thighs, our print production manager came up with the great idea to go walking at lunch! It was a New Year and many of us had some health-related resolutions like losing a dress size or two. Excitement grew as we stared down at a few empty plates of fries…walking suddenly turned into running a half-marathons which quickly turned back into walking 30 minutes at lunch. Everyone decided Monday, we’d bring in our sneakers.

Monday came and two people brought their sneakers and everyone else forgot. On Tuesday, all of us brought our kicks and we shut the phones off (unprecedented) and hit the streets in one big lounge (scientific term for a group of lizards). Our company president led the pack and the rest of us kept up with determination and intensity. (Cue theme song from Chariots of Fire)

That first day we battled some dicey conditions. It was HOT for San Diego in January…the thermometer was toying with 75 degrees. I think accounts payable almost passed out. No one brought water and we were seeing stars. Our lounge ended up looking more like a line, spread out along Scranton Road. Then we saw it...

Gasp! It was a hill. Most of us were relieved we changed into our “2002 Help the Homeless” walkathon t-shirt and/or old soccer shorts from college. The hill was no stroll. This was an obstacle, we would tackle head-on, together. The more in-shape of the group decided to pull a Jennifer Aniston and run up the hill backwards. Cheering the rest of us on. Some people bowed out before the hill and went back to the office offering to pick up a “healthy” lunch. The rest of us, climbed that hill, motivating one another and smiling just because we were outside, breaking up the day with some sunshine and exercise.

We go walking almost everyday now. The people who turned around and went back the first day now try to walk further and further each time, slowly building up the strength to go the entire 30 minutes. It’s great to see your co-workers as people in t-shirts and sneakers (bright red in Marcia’s case). Forgetting everything back at the office and taking a mental break and really REALLY talking to each other.

Productivity has improved. People are more motivated and we have changed because of that positive first experience. Everyone is getting a lot out of the walks. We are almost into February and we are sticking to our resolutions (although I did eat fries today).

Loose Change?

Change is so hot right now. Each presidential candidate uses the word as a platform to paint beautiful brush strokes of what it will mean to live in America if they are elected President. As election season gears up, there is a lot of talk about changing minds. You may have “Rallied for Change” or bought a “Change Rocks” t-shirt. Barack Obama leads the change charge with his campaign slogan “Change We Can Believe In.” Hillary seemed to take a change cue from Obama getting on the change train after her disappointing loss in Iowa. Change has served her well with voter turnout moving into Super Tuesday.

What does change exactly mean? It’s such a vacuous word that can be both positive and negative. In marketing, how do we make sure it means something grand for your brand and not just loose change?

Pretend your brand and or service will be running for President. Here are some tactics candidates are using to bring on change that we know can work for your brand/and or service too. Check it out:

Roadmap to Permanence
Creating a well-executed campaign with a solid strategy can help carry your brand “into the oval office.” A stable roadmap will help guide the campaign and creative process, ensuring a cohesive, strong final brand or service focused on the audience. The world can be forever changed by the presence of your brand or services. That means permanence. That means President. Gandhi wrote “we must be the change we wish to see.” Decide on your vision for the brand upfront and how you want it to change. Then, act the part for awhile as your brand goes through the necessary change for good. Do you think McCain wakes up every morning feeling like the President? George Bush probably still doesn’t, but he acts the part.

Issue definition and position propagation
Clearly define who you are and what you do. The right messaging should be compelling, clear, concise, and to the point. The hope is your audience then reinforces and enhances your messaging by repeating it. Think Obama with his “Change Rocks” t-shirts. They are all over the place.

Collaboration and communication
Establish one individual voice for your brand that effectively communicates what you do. That voice should open channels of communication to all interested parties (your potential audience). Eventually, your individual voice will become one strong collective voice as word gets out about you and your story is told. Think Bill Clinton, everyone knows his story about growing up in Hope, Arkansas.

Social networking
Definition: User-generated content on the Internet and guerilla “out of the box” marketing. Here is a way of connecting your audience propagating grassroots exposure, news, and sense of ownership to what you deliver. In the political world, you will have throngs of college students mobilizing, getting on buses to flyer and knock on doors in small towns. That same feeling of a “movement’ should and can happen with any brand or service you provide by connecting with the right people.

Donations (errr…purchasers/users)
An engaging experience with the brand or service will attract repeat customers and brand ambassadors. Key points are communicate clearly and tell em’ and tell em’ again. Users will feel a perceived connection to the brand/service and the other people who use it. No campaign can survive without fundraising.

Likeability for victory
By focusing on connecting with your audience and a positive experience with your brand or service, you will come across as savvy and competent. Likeability = usability and if your audience can use you and see you fitting into and potentially changing their life, you’ve won.

The next President of the United States of Marketing is ____________.

San Diego: A Tribute In Postcards

Lets celebrate our city through the voices of those who've experienced it.

We commence our postcard series...