It's Open - Social Media Strategy Consultancy

In the current edition of The Economist (29 Nov- Dec 5 08), the enormous pulling power of social media is underlined. Referring to a report on internet trends from Morgan Stanley The Economist highlights the fact that five per cent of online time is spent at YouTube and Facebook.

Exploring this trend further, The Economist points out that advertising
has so far proved ineffective on social networking sites because people go to them to socialise and not to shop.

What The Economist does not mention is the fact that there are plenty of tools available to marketing managers that do not fall under the
traditional label of advertising which can still help them promote their
brands successfully in this online context. Marketing managers can use
their own blogging platforms, for example, to help drive awareness,
consideration and loyalty through social bookmarking and links to
dedicated Facebook pages.

Social Media in economic challenging times clearly presents opportunities for innovation which will doubtless be taken up by clever marketing managers.

As Justin recently highlighted in Bloggerati many marketing executives still don’t know that Twitter exists, or how it can impact their brand (Facebook targets Twitter).

For an interesting case study of a company using Twitter effectively to promote its brand and support its customers, take a look at Whole Foods Market, a chain of natural and organic food supermarkets. Whole Foods Market uses its Twitter channel in a number of different ways: from answering customer enquiries, through announcing company news, to promoting products. It recently introduced a new Tweet of the Week competition – anyone mentioning @wholefoods in their tweets is in the running to win a $25 gift certificate.

It’s a cheap and simple way to recruit customers to be part of its marketing channel.