8 Ways For Brands To Use Social Media More Effectively
Marketing strategist Ingmar de Lange developed a model for brands to use social media more effectively. It’s used by many organizations. In this story, he presents the new, updated version.
First things first: the term social ‘media’ doesn’t make much sense. Social is about much more than communication.
There’s a whole social infrastructure, which can be used in many ways: of course to communicate, but also to collaborate, to sell, to crowdsource, etc.
Almost every business model can be improved by using this updated social 247 infrastructure.
I hope this SlideShare deck helps CMOs to orchestrate their future social marketing strategies.
The Evolution of Social Media
The evolution of social media can be compared to that of the Internet. First, brands used their sites to communicate, a website was just a digital version of their brochure.
Today, the Internet changed every business model in a fundamental way. It’s much too shallow to call the Internet a medium.
Still, most brands approach this social infrastructure from a communication perspective. There’s not necessarily anything wrong with that, communication is certainly an important part of social. But it’s a very limited view on reality.
The customer is not served as well enough as he should be. Also, it makes the brand vulnerable to competitors or new entrees that do use this infrastructure effectively.
Airbnb is a good example. It turns the hotel industry upside-down by using the full potential of new, social capabilities.
Social Media Marketing Model – The 2014 Version
A while ago, I developed a model that helps brands become part of the social infrastructure. During recent years, I used the model frequently and gained many insights.
This new, updated version is a result of this. It’s simpler and more consistent.
The SlideShare presentation below thoroughly explains the model, its background and its application. It shows how brands can use the social infrastructure and which departments should be involved.
Also, it helps organizations evaluate their social activities and makes it easier to create a roadmap.
Finally, it suggests which KPIs should be used in which situation.
Personally, I find the cases in the lower part of the model the most interesting. They best respond to user needs (user-centric) and are more focused on value creation.
Furthermore, it’s my experience that brands tend to start in the upper part of the model – “brand-centric” – and then shift their focus to the lower part – often because of customer response or advocacy (“what’s in it for me?”).
Also, their attention seems to shift from “social media” – the left part of the model – to “social business” – the right part.
When I first published the model, brands were mostly busy broadcasting, responding and collecting fans. Now, it’s becoming more common to introduce new social propositions or completely new social business models.
In short, value creation seems to become a more important factor in social strategies. And that’s good. Because you can only harvest, when you seed. So here’s the 2014 version:
What About You?
How do you rate the social marketing model 2014? I look forward to your feedback in the comments below.
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About the Author
Ingmar de Lange is a marketing strategist and founder of Mountview.
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