As my readers know, I generally dislike making blanket statements about marketing. We’ve all read enough articles entitled “The End of...” to know that few things ever really end in marketing. Many media historians have pointed out that TV, broadly assumed to end radio as a channel, did not in fact do so. Radio stopped serving as the go-to medium for entertainment, but it held--and still holds--a valuable place as a medium for music, news and talk.
Recently, many of those “The End of...” articles focused on social marketing, or more formally social network marketing, since the discussion inevitably involves Facebook and its ilk. These articles tend to stress how social networks have upended the traditional media model, challenging it for its use by marketers. While these articles rightly point to changes in consumers’ information-gathering habits, they doth protest too much, methinks. The folks paying as much as $3.5 million for a 30-second spot in February’s Superbowl seem to find TV advertising very valid.
So how does social network marketing actually work? Here’s my take
Recently, many of those “The End of...” articles focused on social marketing, or more formally social network marketing, since the discussion inevitably involves Facebook and its ilk. These articles tend to stress how social networks have upended the traditional media model, challenging it for its use by marketers. While these articles rightly point to changes in consumers’ information-gathering habits, they doth protest too much, methinks. The folks paying as much as $3.5 million for a 30-second spot in February’s Superbowl seem to find TV advertising very valid.
So how does social network marketing actually work? Here’s my take
