In today’s millennial-inspired economy, social media
marketing is dead. I didn’t say social media is dead — just the idea that
social media marketing is the most effective approach to
win over millennials.
Yes, millennials are heavy social media users and are 2.5
times more likely to adopt new digital, social and mobile tools. What drives
social media activation for millennials, however, is content excellence.
Marketers are often pegged with questions related to the
future of social media such as: Is Facebook still relevant? What’s the next
social platform? Which is most powerful — a like, a share, a re-tweet, or a
favorite?
While these are all fair questions, attempting to grade the
social landscape in this manner is counterproductive and missing the greater
point.
Your approach to content is what will make or break your
marketing communication efforts in the future. Social media is simply one way to
activate your content strategy.
Re-imagine creative excellence
within a content excellence framework
For more than 40 years, the great brands of yesterday were
focused on creative excellence. They crafted the perfect message and then
pushed those messages out via various shotgun methodologies, hoping to build
brand awareness and regard for their cherished products.
Brand awareness and credibility alone will not correlate in
any way to extraordinary and sustainable financial performance.
Think of content as an opportunity for your brand voice to
live everywhere you are not. We used to think of advertising as a means of
communicating a message to a certain audience. But traditional advertising
messages are limited to their medium. People experience brands in fluid ways
and we can no longer simply rely on creative advertising to make an impact.
Content is about the message and the context.
Your content strategy should be about activating and
engaging your digital community in ways that traditional advertising never
could.
Focus on creating content that is
“share-worthy”
Millennials share content that interests them, not content
that companies want them to share.
The idea of content being “share-worthy” is nothing new.
Marketers used to encourage sharing by word-of-mouth. Today we talk about
sharing by word-of-mouse. The “share” is no anomaly — we’ve just shifted from a
mindset of advertising ideas to creating ideas that are worth advertising.
Treating content in that manner ensures your message is meaningful to your
audience.
Remember the Seinfeld “Break Up” episode? George says, “It’s
not you — it’s me.” Sharing is rooted in peer affirmation and how millennials
feel about themselves when they share content with friends, family and random
strangers. The great brands of tomorrow will not simply push out social media
messages — they will inspire sharing. Millennials share content that adds to
their story, and bypass content that doesn’t.
Unique content will drive sustained
brand success
In the future, the most successful brands will get consumers
who are active participants to create more content on behalf of the brand than
the brand creates for its own benefit. The key to this content is maintaining a
certain level of uniqueness and meaningfulness.
The most unique and meaningful brands will have the highest
probability of sustained economic performance. Uniqueness will be a proxy for
brand-pricing authority and meaningfulness will be a proxy for sales volume
potential.
5 implications for brand strategy
professionals:
- Build a content excellence strategy first.
- Think about content and social media as different players. Integration will drive performance. Social media marketing isn’t a strategy.
- Inspiration is your brand responsibility.
- Useful is the new cool. Your content should be functional and inspiring.
- Participation increases brand value. Find ways for your most avid brand fans to join the movement.
For read original Article source: http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/how-to/marketing/2014/07/social-media-marketing-is-dead.html
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