The Marketing Paradigm Has Shifted!
People are creatures of habit and change is the only constant that everyone fights. I remember when computers were new; I feared them! I would tell people that computers were a fad and that it was for people who were afraid of hard work.
Then I realized that I was going to be left behind and better get on the band wagon. Well, the same has happened with marketing and public relations. The days of the newspaper circular, TV commercial, mail order postcard, PowerPoint presentations, brochure design, logo design, flyers, digital graphics, newsletters are numbered; at least in the way they will be utilized and delivered.
You think it is not so? Consider these facts, according to Erik Qualman, in his book Socialnomics – How social media transforms the way we live and do business (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2009):
1. By 2010, generation “Y” will outnumber Generation “X”!
2. 96% of them are on social media!
3. All age groups are participating, with the fastest growing being female ages 55 and up!
4. On a daily basis, more text messages are sent than the population of the world!
5. 78% of online participants trust peer recommendations (from Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc.) over advertising! They care more about how their social network ranks a product or service over how Google ranks it!
6. Only 14% trust advertising!
7. The majority of the population will go online and Google for a service or product before searching the Yellow Pages, newspaper, or other directory!
8. E-mail is being phased out and being replaced by Twitter, Facebook, MiGente, MySpace and others! In 2009, Boston College stopped distributing new e-mail addresses to incoming freshman.
9. 80% of Twitter use is on mobile devices! Imagine what that means for bad press.
10. YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine with over 100 million videos and over 1 billion views per day!
11. 34% of Bloggers post product and service reviews! What are they saying about your brand?
12. 70% of 18 to 34-year-olds have watched TV on the web; only 33% ever viewed a show on a DVR or TIVO!
13. 35% of book sales on Amazon.Com are for the Kindle (an electronic book reader); 24 of the largest 25 newspapers are experiencing record circulation decline!
The statistics are staggering in the implications of how we communicate and do business! People are now more educated and do not want to be sold; they want to be considered part of the conversation. When you complement this with the boom online in social media, the need for PowerPoint presentations, brochure design, logo design, flyers, digital graphics, newsletters or sales training for your team will still exist; it’s how we deliver them that has changed. The downtown gathering place has shifted to places like MySpace, Facebook, MiGente, Orkut, Twitter and others. If you wish to meet these people and exchange ideas, build relationships and have a chance to introduce them to your business, you have to be part of the change.
PowerPoint presentations will now be shared with SlideShare, a social-media presentation sharing program; flyers will be e-mailed or posted for download; logos will be on fan pages and websites; press releases will be on Digg and Reddit, and newsletters will be the blogs. Even commercials will be shared via YouTube and other video sharing portals. Does it take effort? Yes! Is it worth it? Absolutely! It may take more time, but it will cost less to distribute than the regular outdated means. And, since you will be building community with trusted peers, your message will be even more POWERFUL!
Imagine building consortiums of friends and be able to speak to them directly. Imagine being able to know what one thinks about your company and be able to address positive and negative press in real time. Gone are the days when you had 24 hours to reply to an issue; with the Internet and social media, you are lucky if you have 24 minutes! With Google, Bing and Yahoo indexing Twitter feeds, Facebook, MySpace and other social media content, you will be able to have your finger on the pulse of your public relations and ensure that you are in control at all times!
So, you will still need PowerPoint presentations, brochure design, logo design, flyers, digital graphics, newsletters or sales training for your team, but the impact that you will receive from these tools will now be amplified by viral delivery and interested readers. Sure puts a different light on the importance of search engine optimization (SEO) and social media optimization (SMO), doesn’t it?
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2 Comments
Great Blog… I was just talking with my partner the other day about this same issue. As we watch our grandkids embrace technology with natural ease… we are searching for ways to keep up with the times and evolve marketing strategies for our clients.
Thanks for all the statistics… it certainly does put a different light on today’s business. Companies need to include social media as a top item in their marketing budgets.
Thank you, Devi! I’m glad it was helpful.
Eddie