Buzz is what people are paying attention to -
and the buzz in online marketing is social media.
If we take the leaders, like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, you get a cross-section of the concern - is this social or is it media? Mixing the two is an exercise in discretion, inclusion and public relations. Who says business and pleasure don't mix? Well, social media are the playground where you can work out the mix.
Social Media are largely unbound by convention - and that's not such a bad thing. Advertising with long hair - well, not advertising exactly, but promotion. If you ever wondered what the 'voice' of your brand is, now is the time to work it out. Test it out. You will probably get lots of feedback (or worse, none, a message in itself).
MySpace tends to the younger demographic, and lean towards music and lifestyle. Our client Tritickets is an obvious match.
Facebook is the more middle-of-the-road community- half the size of MySpace's, but very lively and online-saavy. This is core audience for which an event tickets blog would be an ideal diversion.
Twitter, the micro-blogging tool - now that's a way of harnessing the power of PR and making it personable. 'Tweets' done well are informative and convey your voice. Done less well, they can occur as annoying chatter that will get people hitting that dreaded 'unfollow' button.
User-generated content - i.e. the feedback from your social marketing - can form a crucial part of your strategy. Bring your business case. Be prepared to be responsive and adaptive. And welcome to permission marketing.
