A Paradigm Shift in Behaviour is Creating Opportunity

Social media is having a disruptive impact as consumer behaviour evolves. Organizations are finding that traditional marketing programs are no longer effective in generating sales or building customer loyalty. Traditional programs are at best, a guess accompanied by long “wait times” to determine results while successful organizations are creating change through proactive consumer engagement. Customers are increasingly using their phones to shop and have conversations through social media to voice their desires and concerns. Market response times have vaporized as all of this new activity is taking place in real-time.

Market leading organizations are seizing new opportunities by increasing their utilization of social media to communicate to their customer base (active and prospective). Their ability to respond or create an opportunity is increasing everyday as consumers embrace this new reality. The challenge for many organizations is the manpower required to manage an effective social media program has becoming overwhelming. Who has time on an ongoing basis to check Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest and then to respond? In a large organization, this is now and entire department. Further, this trend now requires successful organizations to harmonize social communications within their brand and marketing strategy. Who is in charge? Should the agency get involved?  Should it be re-organized?

Social media has passed the tipping point creating a paradigm shift.... a change from one way of thinking to another. It's a revolution, a transformation, a sort of metamorphosis driven by agents of change.  Successful organizations understand that the secret to social media success isn't in talking - it's in listening. Within this context, social media is quickly becoming the leading component of marketing communications and promotional messaging.

New platforms are emerging in the marketplace that enable automated social broadcasting. By automating task intensive functions (Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest), successful organizations are reducing cost and are better able to focus on content creation. Coupled with data analytics, successful organizations are able to measure and fine-tune the effectiveness of their messaging (content, frequency and timing). Automated social broadcasting is driving search by linking social media which in turn is reducing (and often eliminating) the requirement and cost associated with traditional SEO. That’s right … all that money you are spending on SEO needs to be redeployed to effective social media engagement. An effective social media plan will drive search. The game is changing for all of us. The only roadblocks we face are the inability to recognize that we are in the midst of a Paradigm Shift.

Properly executed and maintained, organizations can develop a comprehensive foundation for providing a ROI model for all marketing programs by linking them to social media initiatives. Consult, execute, measure and adjust on an ongoing basis is the platform for future success in an increasingly changing market. Building a relationship with your customers and prospects means they are busy communicating with you and not your competitor. Out of chaos comes opportunity. The secret to business success isn't in talking - it's in listening. That sounds like something from the 70's ... the more things change, the more they stay the same.  Just the tools have changed. The rules are the same.