Can you create an effective marketing campaign using only social media? Yes. But should you?
- Be ready to change your media strategy. Facebook and YouTube are gaining in popularity among UK consumers, according to Nielsen/Ukom. Facebook's rise to the top (it's #3 among Web sites accessed in the UK) has been particularly meteoric; YouTube is #8 (while Twitter is a surprisingly low #38). Twitter's 5th birthday is next month and it will undoubtedly move up the list in the coming months. The same Nielsen/Ukom study noted the rapid rise of sites from mainstream media, such as BBC. The lesson is: know your audience, know what media they use and be ready to change your media strategy as needed.
- Consider mixing social media and mainstream media. Why? A new Hewlett-Packard study disproves the perception that “the most prolific tweeters or those with most followers would be most responsible for creating” the posts that drive trending topics to the top of Twitter. Instead, the study found that mainstream media such as BBC and CNN are actually amplifying topics, contributing to the trending that drives these topics to the top. In other words, mixing mainstream and social media may help get your message across to more people in a shorter period.
- Don't forget mobile marketing. The mix of social media being used by consumers in different parts of the world offers ample opportunity for communication, says SearchEngineWatch.com. In Japan, Mobage-Town, a mobile-based social media platform, is increasingly popular (and profitable) because of the ability to connect and play games on the go. Now that Mobage-Town is expanding into other countries, will Facebook react? And how will that affect your marketing? BBC already has special pages that look good on mobiles, as do other media and marketing firms. Depending on who you want to reach and what you have to say, mobile may be an effective addition to your media strategy.
