About a month ago, Beth Harte wrote a post called about market segmentation, how marketers have used it in the past, and how Social Media is changing the game. Essentially, Beth points out that Social Media allows us the opportunity to do what we’ve never been able to do before – understand how our customers are talking and acting in their “native environments.” Sometimes, what we hear and learn isn’t so good. Other times, it’s fantastic. The danger is that a lot of people and companies are depending on Social Media alone now instead of integrating what is learned into other channels and segments of the company.
Wednesday is Integrated Marketing and Communications day for me, and I join Beth Harte and many other great people for #IMCChat at 8 PM EST every week. So this week, I thought I would examine ways that companies are integrating Social Media into other marketing channels or facets of the company – via these posts.
Cheryl Burgess wrote a fantastic post about Crisis Management a couple of weeks ago. This neatly defines the issue that a lot of companies are facing right now in terms of their marketing and their branding. As Cheryl points out, Social Media crises must be integrated into the overall crisis management plan.
This marvelous post by my friend Barry Dalton, titled Things aren’t always as they appear, analyzes how Social Media can work together with many other departments and channels to round out a customer service experience. What you learn about your customers from Social Media can affect how you train, how you finance, and many other factors.
In March of this year, Scott Monty, head of marketing for Ford, blogged about how Social Media plus email is more power. Integrating email marketing with Social Media has been a hot topic this year. Next week I’ll focus just on that subject alone, in fact! In Scott Monty’s case, he simply notes that integrating email with Social Media allows companies to talk to customers in a “less disjointed” way.
Some companies are looking like they are behind the times because they are not using Social Media as they should. Leigh Durst talks about Amazon’s failing Social Media strategy and even offers them advice. Do you think Amazon responded to Leigh’s post? Another example of how Social Media could and should be integrated into branding, reputation management, and customer service.
Looking back on 2010, how has Social Media impacted other areas of your business? Share your thoughts here!
image Credit: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/rubenshito
Marjorie,
Thanks for mentioning the Amazon Article – it’s now behind ID & password on Mprofs — but I believe it’s free to access with a simple sign up for the newsletter — you can unsubscribe later if you like!
Sadly, I didn’t hear back from Amazon on this one – yet. I hope to discuss it with them someday. So much for going above and beyond — but hey – it may serve as a good lesson for other companies, should they choose to pay attention. š
Best,
Leigh
Oh, I am just linking people to your recap post so that they can go to MarketingProfs from there – I thought your synopsis was pretty darned good too!
I think a lot of companies would do well to listen to your advice. Who knows, maybe Amazon will grow ears eventually!
Hi Margie!
Thanks so much for including my blog post, “Is There a Crisis In Crisis Management” in your blog today!
The perils of social media and risk management are evidenced, in part, by examples similar to BPās experience with the devastating oil spill. But a crisis can also include anything from a server outage to negative publicity. Understanding and using social media is a necessary component for any crisis/risk management tool set.
My presentation two weeks ago on Social Media & Crisis/Risk Management at CPE – Morgan Stanley – NYC was well received. More and more companies recognize the importance of incorporating social media into their plans.
Thanks!
Cheryl
http://twitter.com/ckburgess
http://www.bluefocusmarketing.com/blog
http://www.bluefocusmarketing.com
Thanks, Cheryl.
I didn’t find a whole lot of blog posts about BP’s use of Social Media, surprisingly enough. Nor did there seem to be a lot about the Twitter spoof or the anti-BP Facebook pages that sprang up. Seems like a treasure trove of what to do and what not to do could be written on the subject.
I think your post was a great reminder to companies. I’m not surprised at all that your presentation went well! š