Where Do Social Networking and Direct Marketing Overlap?

If you’ve ever wondered, “What on earth does social networking have to do with direct mail?”, you must read this Target Marketing Q&A between Paul Gillin, author or the recently released “Secrets of Social Media Marketing: How to Use Online Conversations and Customer Communities to Turbo-Charge Your Business!” and Ethan Boldt, editor-in-chief, Inside Direct Mail.

Throughout these seven questions and answers, Gillin presents numerous examples of how these marketing functions are starting to come together and support each other. To me, the most hard-hitting point in the dialogue was Gillin’s statement:

“We don’t control our brands anymore. Brands are controlled by our constituents. We have a role in shaping the brand, of course, but branding is now a process of constant back and forth with the people who will interact with these brands.”

Given this development, Gillin suggests that direct marketers use their social community to help refine their marketing message. Let your community tell you what messages work and don’t work—they’re a great testing ground.

But read the article to get other ideas of how social marketing can support your direct mail strategy.

Comments

[Paul Gillin]

Thanks for the endorsement. Customers really do form their own opinions of brands and share them easily through multiple online channels these days. A company that isn't tapped into that conversation can be blindsided by perception problems. On the other hand, customer conversations are also an excellent way to identify new opportunities to shape the brand or unlock hidden value. The key is to get involved in the conversation.

[Amy Romanoff]

Paul, I completely agree. These online conversations are an excellent way to gauge customer perception. Before online social networks, these conversations were happening behind closed doors and companies paid a lot of money to gather this sort of info. Now, we just have to listen in to hear what people think. Of course we have to be careful not to assume that a few consumers represent the entire market.