The Virtual Revolution

It’s no secret that technology, the internet and social media are rapidly transforming society. My last blog post, “Ohio Against theWorld” is just one example of how these advances are binding people together and forming collective experiences/opinions. As consumers, we are constantly bombarded with a clutter of images, advertisements and marketing tools. So much so, we have become immune to the endless flow of information. Marketers are now forming new strategies to make sense of the clutter. In the book, “Measure What Matters” author Katie Paine explains how social media requires us to shift our thought process in three main areas:

Thought Shift #1: Redefine “Now”

In this technological and social media age, timeliness is everything. Responding to a client or customer in a day or two was considered acceptable in the past. Today, people want answers now. With instant communication at your fingertips, there is no excuse for a slow or late response. Being attentive and responding quickly is expected. In the business world, this builds transparency and a strong reputation.

Thought Shift #2: Redefine PR, Advertising, Marketing, and Corporate Communication

Social media has completely altered the role of marketing communication and consumer decision-making. For example, consumers will most likely research a product on the internet before making a purchase. This makes the company’s online presence more influential than ever. Consumer reviews are highly utilized and typically trusted over traditional TV advertisements. Is society slowly escaping traditional advertising? Probably not, but this new environment has marketers more focused on improving online reputation, branding and outreach.

Thought Shift #3: Change How We Quantify Success

For many years, marketers believed that reaching more people equated to more success. They focused on the sheer volume of eyeballs or impressions an advertisement received. However, social media has redefined this idea of success. It’s nearly impossible to calculate the volume of views a social media post receives. Fortunately, this volume doesn’t matter. Success is now measured by developing relationships with consumers and continually assessing these relationships. Assembling and maintaining loyal consumers is more important than the outreach of an advertisement in this image cluttered world.