Evolving from Broadcast Marketing to Engaging Conversations

The reason that those who’ve been late to adopt social media are sometimes finding that it doesn't work for them is because they are using old broadcast marketing methods in a new engagement platform environment. Shouting a message no one requested in a social networking community fueled by energized conversations will not be well-received.

If I walked into your living room unannounced and threw a sales pitch at you while you were talking to your best friend about your child's birthday party, how would you react? This is the maddening experience people are having when meaningful online conversations are interrupted with sales pitches and spam broadcasts from businesses.

Now that the web experience has become socialized, Internet usage shifted from just seeking information into a combination of seeking, creating, and sharing content. Conversations may include sharing product recommendations mixed with providing status updates, delivering opinions on current events and politics, offering professional advice - and anything else that people find worthy to talk about.

Brand representatives are often both welcomed and encouraged to participate in these conversations, but whoever is behind the brand doing the communicating better be responsive and real – not just a corporate logo broadcasting static information. The ecosystem online is one of peers sharing rather than authorities bestowing filtered information – and participating in reciprocal conversations are the rule, not the exception.

For decades the only option for companies seeking to share product information was to make interruptive announcements through broadcast media – such as television and radio commercials or print media, like billboards and publication advertising. These methods of presenting information still have their place in communications and marketing, but with today’s technologies, it is more effective to also participate in two-way communication with audiences.

Though reciprocal communication may not sound revolutionary, it is. First of all, most companies have only had a couple of years experience interacting with consumers in this more personalized manner, if at all. Second, consumers are searching out their favorite brands in social media spaces, hoping to connect with a brand representative with whom they may communicate and share their experiences. This provides a huge opportunity to build greater brand loyalty, develop lifelong customers and turn patrons into passionate brand evangelists.

Essentially, instead of telling people why a product is great, new advertising approaches incorporate showing over telling. As community managers, customer service representatives, marketers and executives become more accessible through the social web, the people who connect with them as customers are suddenly able to experience the company in a more personal way. Where they were only able to have a simple product experience in the past, they are now able to engage with the people behind the company logo. Engaging online conversations are offering more meaningful and more effective ways to market products and services that leave both companies and consumers feeling excited about their relationship.