I'm not talking about your waistline. I am talking about your waste line, as in your marketing, messaging and PR budget. If you're obsessed with online "impressions" at the expense of online messaging that also features a high referral capability and can be tracked (and, therefore, dare I us that direty little m word… measured), you should re-examine your approach.

It is all explained very well in this insightful opinion piece by consultant Dave Evans published in ClickZ. You'll want to at least scan the piece for the complete picture presented by Mr. Evans, but this short excerpt sumarizes his position:

Connected consumers who frequent social networks and make good use of personal ad avoidance technology are changing the stock answers. Well in excess of two thirds of viewers now actively avoid TV advertising. The majority of 18-49 year olds use multiple information sources, with the average person now spending about a quarter of her personal time online. As social networks rise in both use and utility, what better place to talk about purchases — past or future — than with friends online? Social media's potential contribution to your campaigns is growing.

Evans and others rcognize that message 'spread,' as in 'spread the word,' is a key component of effective online campaigns. In our experience here at AgencyNext, online community sites like blogs, if done well, really help spread the word. Since the social media/blogging movement is about ten years old, some might say it has reached middle age in technology time. While most things and people middle aged hope to avoid getting thick around the middle, online messaging is just the opposite. You want lots of big, fat, gooey messages people like to eat, swallow, rave about and repeat. Or in Evans' words:

…the new big lever for your campaign is what the Word of Mouth Marketing Association calls "spread." How many people will get your message because someone else sends it to them? The larger the spread, the more leverage for your campaign and the more likely the recipient will actually act on the offer…

Share This