I Did My Homework - Social Media It Is…
I’m not about to rewrite Mike’s article addressing the social media marketing debate. If you haven’t already read it, click here. What I will say is this…
I position myself as an online marketing and social media consultant. I’ve earned and continue to earn my stripes. Like Melissa, I too have successfully worked for a global conglomerate (and made a success of it - ask both the local and global director of communications at Siemens) and effectively managed a large budget with full accountability. But I have also worked through numerous agency roles with some of South Africa’s leading corporates. I’ve seen digital ideas come to light and I’ve seen numerous business benefits as a result. Sure, I’ve made mistakes. But I have learnt many a lesson. And for the most, I know what works and doesn’t work. I also know when to set limits.
My experience put me in the position just over a year-and-a-half ago - how did I want to define myself? What would my focus be? Where did I see the most potential? What did I believe in? And guess what I decided?
Yes, I decided to focus on applying my ROI-focused online marketing background to social media. Not because it was and still is a hyped up word. Not because it was “revolutionary” - it really isn’t. But because I believed in the concept of creating relationships, building trust, and helping businesses open up to the idea of new or complimentary business strategies.
I say this and only this…as an online marketing and social media consultant, my work is about working with companies and clients who have come to value and trust my advice. Sometimes it is about calling out the BS (and yes, there is a lot of it flying around). But mostly, it’s about focusing on business. It’s about making money. It’s about leveraging opportunities. It’s about thinking out the box. It’s about being different. Why? Because while everyone else is focused on the old way of doing things, those that take carefully calculated risks reap the most rewards.
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Gina, There seem to be a lot of us out there that have worked for multinational companies, managed huge budgets and campaigns and have now turned to either independent consulting and have redefined our own value proposition. I’m new to this “online”/Web 2.0 space and am loving the capabilities that this platform has to offer but am under no illusion that despite the platform being a phenomenal tool it all boils down to the same thing at the end of the day - and that is creativity (in my opinion). We need to ensure that the level of creativity is such that it draws people to us or pushes them in a certain direction.That is and will always be a fundamental element to any form of marketing/campaigning - how our target audience identify with what we are telling them….What I am picking up is that social marketing is become like an old fashioned networking event, you know, the one designed for customer interaction but instead you end up having an entire sales force from all different segments trying to sell their wares and no customers. From an initial overview, that’s what I am seeing here…. all of us with the same interests, similar passions in terms of marketing and very few customers…..?
Am I wrong? Anyway I feel that there will fast become a need for massive differentiation in this space - I just don’t know what it is right now…..
Great site by the way!