I took some time recently to listen to a great social media marketing podcast by David Meerman Scott, Paul Gillin and Mike Lewis. The idea that I found really intriguing, particularly from a small business marketing perspective, was "brand journalism".
Brand Journalism and The Dynamics of New Marketing.
Before the web, companies had to either buy advertising or convince journalists to write about their products or services (many organizations still use this approach). One component of New Marketing focuses on brand journalism - the idea that creating great content will help your small business publish it's way to brand awareness.
The dynamics of New Marketing are based on web search and social networks. The argument for creating great content is based on the fact that the first place most people turn to solve a problem is the search engine community i.e. Google, Yahoo!, etc. Paul Gillin discusses an informal poll taken during one of his speaking events - the results highlight the importance of search in solving consumers' problems:
The approximate number of people that use the following forms of marketing to help research or solve a problem they have:
* Direct Mail (find a solution by reading a flyer or postcard) - 10%.
* Mainstream Media (find a solution via a TV, Radio, Print ad) - 20%.
* Tradeshows (going to a tradeshow to solve a specific problem) - 5%.
* Google (use Google to research a solution to a problem) - 100%.
Companies Turning into Publishers.
Scott and Gillin talk about the fact that your target market doesn't analyze the source of content - as long as your organization has the right content to solve your audience's problem, they won't distinguish the difference between you and any other major media outlet. The ability for an individual or any sized organization to develop and distribute great content online has virtually eliminated the distinction between your small business and major information sources such as the Globe and Mail or The Wall Street Journal.
Social Networks.
The other key ingredient in the New Marketing are social networks - Meerman Scott states the fact that "people love to share cool FREE stuff". His latest free e-book has been downloaded over 300,000 times and he has repeatedly shared the amazing story of how Cindy Gordon, VP of New Media and Marketing Partnerships at Universal Orlando Resort, spread the news of the "Wizarding World of Harry Potter" theme park to over 350 million people (virtually for free) by telling 7 bloggers!
On a (MUCH) smaller scale, I can also attest to the power of how free content can spread over social networks. Using a group discussion thread on LinkedIn, I recently posted a request asking for feedback and reviews on my new e-book...over the next two days my website experienced a 400% increase in traffic!
The New Marketing works...take some some time to think about what kind of free content your small business could create to solve your target audience's problems (e-book, white paper, research metrics, etc.) and start spreading the word. It doesn't matter what industry you are in, if your content can help solve a problem, your customers and prospects will use it and talk about it. As Paul Gillin says..."There are very few industries where word of mouth doesn't work".
The New Marketing - To learn more about this author, visit Mark Smiciklas's Website.
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