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Social Media
Better known as Web 2.0, it is here to stay. The power of Social Media is only at the beginning stages and there is a long way to go before it becomes main stream in the business world. As it grows at a rapid rate among the general population through the use of such social media sites as Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Twitter and now Second Life, it is interesting to see how marketing departments are leveraging these new media channels to not only add to their media mix, but in some cases, to completely change their media mix and even their business focus entirely.
It may be a bit too early to 'Define' social media as it is still evolving. I am sure there are definitions out there, but it is early days to be pigeon holing this new method of communication. If I could take a stab at defining Social Media in the context of adding it to your marketing mix, I would state that Social Media is an 'interface to your customers'. It is a melting pot where the business is put into direct contact with its clients, it is a place where community 'the consumers' come together and collectively discuss and decide as a group, if a company's product/service is worthy of aquisition. This is potentially the largest move forward since 1995, when the internet really began to explode with 'Search'. Should you allocate marketing dollars? Before commiting valuable resources and adding Social Media to your marketing mix, I would first approach this by becoming actively involved in the community you are interested in to determine if your brand would compliment the social media network. The last thing you want to do, is jump right in and disturb the community and have it backfire on you. Remember, it is a community and most of the time, advertising is not what people in the community are there for.
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