So True...The past vs. the future

I must admit that I frequently view message boards to see people's comments on a wide range of topics. I had to laugh when I came across the comment below regarding an article about marketing to customers via social media:

"My girlfriend, a marketing major and clothing company owner was ridiculed by another clothing company owner.

"why would you ever put your business myspace address on your business card if you have a website?" he said.

"What's your favorite brand of clothing and how many times did you visit their official website?" she replied. (silence...)

"Now how many times did you check your myspace today?" she says, smiles, and walks away."

I think that the above conversation sums up the 2 varying view points when it comes to social media. There are those companies that embrace the technology & those that obviously don't understand how it can be used for business. I feel sorry for the latter...

Reaching customers through social marketing

While doing my usual daily surfing of the Internet, I came across an interesting article from USA Today about how more marketers are embracing social networking to reach their customers.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2009-08-27-social-networks-marketers_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

In the article, they talked about how Ford Motor Company is really hoping that the US launch of the Ford Fiesta goes well. They gave 100 bloggers a Fiesta to use for 6 months as long as they uploaded a video of them using the car once a month to YouTube and encouraged them to talk freely about the car on their social networking sites. I think that this is a HUGE gamble on Ford's part, especially given the current market for US car companies. However, if the bloggers have a positive reaction and a large enough following, it could definitely work to Ford's advantage. I also applaud Ford for reaching outside their comfort zone to accept new technologies to reach potential customers, hopefully it allows them to come out on top of other American automakers.

The article also talks about how large companies such as Ford, Levi Strauss, and Chevron are refining their marketing techniques to embrace digital media to create online communities, outreach programs, and to reach out directly to their customers/fans. I think that this is key for any company that is looking to be successful in this era, especially if your target demographic is between the ages of 18-35.

Ultimately, the companies have to realize that they can't rely solely on Social Media. It should be integrated in a thoughtful way with the traditional marketing methods that they already use. Once companies realize that it's not about the bottom line, but about making fast connections to their customers...which is priceless!

My "Card" and social media

As we discuss social media this week in class, I decided to relook at how my "card" of choice uses non-traditional media to get their name out in the public. I am talking about Discover Card, a leading credit card issuer and payments network, headquartered in Riverwoods, IL. I have heard that they were on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc., but I didn't really know how it worked and of what benefit it would be to the company. Here's the non-traditional media that they participate in and how they are using it to benefit the company:

Twitter:http://twitter.com/discover
They currently have 678 followers. They use the site primarily to update followers and cardmembers of current CashBack Bonus and ShopDiscover offers. They also use the site to let people know about new features and benefits for Discover Card cardmembers.Mobile:In January of 2009, Discover Card launched their Discover.com mobile site. The simplified website can be accessed directly from cardmembers mobile phones to: make a payment on their account, view recent transactions, view recent and pending payments, view rewards activity, and enroll in the 5% Cashback Bonus Program.

You Tube:http://www.youtube.com/discoverfinancial
Discover joined YouTube in March of 2006. They currently have 42 subscribers to their channel. The channel has had 5,975 views and 743 video views. The channel features current and past Discover Card commercials and Financial advice videos.

Flickr:http://www.flickr.com/photos/discovercard
At the Flickr website, you can view all 150+ card design choices and also view photos of volunteer and charity events that involve Discover card employees.

Facebook:
Discover Card has created a fan site on Facebook to address "friends" comments, questions, etc. They used to employ a team of 2 individuals to respond to "friends" and direct them to where they can find their answers and information related to the company and their products, but now the responsibility falls to one individual. On the fan page, they include links to the coporate website, all of their products, discussion board, etc. The fan site currently has 5000+ fans. Recently, however it looks like they are letting the fans take over the "fan" page with negative comments instead of addressing the issues like they could.

Blog:http://discovercardblog.wordpress.com/
Discover Card started blogging in February of 2009. They currently use the blog to promote new features or products available to Discover Card cardmembers. As of recently, it looks like they are updating the blog more frequently, but in the past it was sporadic at best.

While I think that it's great that Discover is trying to stay with the trend and new marketing channels, I think that they need to figure out how to best use the channels to their advantage. Considering that their cardmember portfolio is 40-50MM cardmembers, their reach in the non-traditional media is not really attracting too many people. People also will lose interest in the sites if they are not updated on a regular basis.