OK so before I go into this new study from Knowledge Networks that was reported by MediaPost today, I have to rant just a little bit. You cannot use the terms "Social Media" and "Social Network" interchangeably. Through a collaboration with some others in the 'Social' space, we are working on a whitepaper on this subject as we speak along with an article for MultiChannel Merchant...stay tuned. I just wanted to make clear that this report is dealing with Social Network but using the term Social Media...
Meanwhile....
Naturally a report like this is going to cause a lot of controversy. There is plenty of passion around the entire social scene. What I found most germane is the idea of Intent that is depicted in the data below:
From a marketing standpoint, if you are in a social network thinking you are going to get in front of someone who is specifically there to get information on "X" then you are probably going to be disappointed.
Again, this is why we get so excited about the idea of Business Blogging as a tool for SEO. A blogging best practice is to be human in the first place. That's what makes this a social media strategy vs. a social network strategy. Wikipedia defines ‘Social’ as: the attitudes, orientations or behaviors, which take the interests, intentions or needs of people into account.
Where do people best express their intentions, needs or interests? Search Engines. If you are in any of the categories outlined in this table above, (or any other industry) and focused on marketing then your best strategy is to learn how to tell the stories of your products and services in a context of how you help your customers every day and organize that content to best target the search terms and phrases that your prospects use when they express their interests, intentions or needs.
For every 10 people who might be using a social network to help plan a trip, there are another 10,000,000 who are specifically expressing this need and intent into a search engine.
Meanwhile....
Naturally a report like this is going to cause a lot of controversy. There is plenty of passion around the entire social scene. What I found most germane is the idea of Intent that is depicted in the data below:
From a marketing standpoint, if you are in a social network thinking you are going to get in front of someone who is specifically there to get information on "X" then you are probably going to be disappointed.
Again, this is why we get so excited about the idea of Business Blogging as a tool for SEO. A blogging best practice is to be human in the first place. That's what makes this a social media strategy vs. a social network strategy. Wikipedia defines ‘Social’ as: the attitudes, orientations or behaviors, which take the interests, intentions or needs of people into account.
Where do people best express their intentions, needs or interests? Search Engines. If you are in any of the categories outlined in this table above, (or any other industry) and focused on marketing then your best strategy is to learn how to tell the stories of your products and services in a context of how you help your customers every day and organize that content to best target the search terms and phrases that your prospects use when they express their interests, intentions or needs.
For every 10 people who might be using a social network to help plan a trip, there are another 10,000,000 who are specifically expressing this need and intent into a search engine.
Comments for Knowledge Networks: Social Media and Marketing...not much Intent
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