Why Don’t We Re-launch Social Media Marketing as Relationship Marketing

Social media marketing is still so misunderstood. Executives see a strong wave of people using social media and determine that they need to launch a social media program. But this approach is flawed for two main reasons. First, social is not a program. It needs to be a long-term commitment. Second, your target audience does not want to se selling on social channels. They consider social platforms to be a place where they engage and interact, and get information they value. Furthermore, if a brand does nothing but sell on their managed social channel, they are not likely to gain much traction and engagement.

Thus, I recommend that you re-launch your social effort to be a relationship marketing long-term commitment. Yeah, I know … I am wordsmithing here. But maybe calling your efforts relationship marketing is what you need to reinforce to your entire organization what needs to be done, hint what success looks like, and drive the correct execution.

In my article last week, I suggested that the objectives of social marketing are:

1) To get in front of your target audience and establish interest, value, trust, and interactivity.
2) Generate brand preference.
3) Provoke referrals and word of mouth marketing.

The reason why I stop short of aiming for additional company goals (such as sales) is driven by recognition of what users want from their brands in the social space. It is almost like brands need permission from an audience to “participate” in social channels. If brands do not play by their target audiences’ rules for engagement, they will be ignored on social platforms.

So lets talk a little about brand relationships for a bit. Relationships take time to mature and grow. As in one’s personal life, brands need to recognize this. Thus brands must be committed to a long-term social commitment. And why are strong relationships important for brands? Simply put, strong brand relationships define long-term sustainable success. Relationships that create brand loyalty and brand advocacy. And if you can get your audience to truly love your brand, they will do just about anything for you. They will be your greatest advocates. If your loving customers and advocates market your brand (word of mouth) you have the strongest and most authentic form of advertisement.

You would be amazed at how simply changing the labeling of social media marketing to relationship marketing adjusts and realigns your use of social channels to focus on what needs to be accomplished to drive successful results. And while I concur that all marketing efforts need to deliver value to a company’s top line revenue, I would argue that the way to get there with social media is not by aiming for direct sales. It is almost exclusively geared at relationship building. After all if you “Know What Successful Social Media Looks Like” you will be committed to strong relationship building. Now all you need is to make relationship marketing part of your strategy and tactics. Don’t fake it …

Make it Happen!
Social Steve