Changing Behavior

As Matt Anthony observed, social media and mobile media are not discrete tools, but rather complementary instruments in a marketing process that has become increasingly tailored to the individual.

Nor are these media the exclusive province of the young. Bill White noted that the most prolific users of Facebook are women aged 28–40. The first question White raised addressed the way consumer behavior is evolving as a result of social media.

“The real benefit,” said Digital Evolution’s Ramsey Mohsen in regard to social media in general, “is that without physical or time/space constraints, you can interact with others, with customers, with other businesses.”

“Clients are starting to understand,” said Gard Gibson of VML, “that they don’t control or drive their brand.” As he explained, once consumers recognized the power they now have—that is the power to be heard and heeded—they began to “own the brand.”

The job of the marketer, Gibson continued, is to try to get consumers to view the brand the way the marketers believe it is supposed to be viewed. “And that,” added Gibson, “has to be through engagement.”

As Scott Zalaznik of Sprint explained, the marketing process is evolving beyond ratings and reviews, which have been a great lever in terms of commerce, to what he calls “peer-to-peer support.” Although “content” remains the key, the challenge now is to harness that content for the micro-segments of various social clusters.

“The thing that we find so challenging,” said Shelly Kramer of V3 Integrated Marketing, “is that brands tend to be so egocentric.” That may have worked in another age, but, Kramer added, “The days of it being all about me, are over.” When it comes to content creation, a company will not succeed merely by talking about itself. “It is about being resourceful,” said Kramer, “a source of information. And sometimes it’s about being entertaining—and transparent.”

Nicole Tremblay of Fleishman-Hillard agreed that transparency was critical. She argued the message had to be relevant. Targeted.

Finding Value

One challenge that Matt Anthony cited was finding value in the social media environment, particularly on Facebook. As he noted, it was one thing to “like” a product. It was another thing to buy it. “Activating those fans is difficult,” he added.

Hallmark Cards has embraced the “activation angle,” said Hallmark’s Camille Lauer. The company does so by listening to what consumers have always said, “ ‘I have the perfect idea for a Hallmark card.’ ” A few years ago, in fact, Hallmark launched “a mighty team” of four people to serve as a card contest team.

“It was a real lesson about leaning into our strengths as a brand,” added Lauer, “because what we bring to the table is 100 years of expertise around emotion and art, and the way the two in a creative package work together.” Since launching the contest, Hallmark has moved the contest’s home from its own site to Facebook. “That was a big, big step for Hallmark,” said Lauer.

Anthony noted that it had become socially acceptable to send condolences not just by greeting card, but through Facebook. “I think every brand has that same challenge,” he noted. “What was a conventional way to communicate has been replaced by speed and openness.”

“People don’t send as many cards,” affirmed Kramer. “So it has been interesting to see some of the products come out and how the brand has been smart enough to reach out.”

Sprint tries to transform “likes” into a more meaningful conversation that attracts other potential customers. “We try to identify conversations that we can contribute to and drive engagement,” said Scott Zalaznik