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!