The following comes from a white paper supplied by ExactTarget.com:

x

Findings suggest that social media is not a prerequisite for consumers to consider your brand an effective communicator. Consumers’ expectations in this environment are fundamentally different from other direct marketing channels, and  provides two unique opportunities that traditional media does not:

1. Take time to listen to your consumers. Social media allows marketers to receive raw input—good and bad—from consumers, when they choose to initiate it. In this way, it is similar to a call center, where a company is responding to consumers instead of initiating conversation.

2. Engage in real-world dialogues and problem solving. This allows your brand to demonstrate its relational prowess in a public forum, which in turn can create raving fans. Your fans will be impressed by your ability to handle their issues—which social media allows brands to do in an unprecedented manner. When you show these public displays of affection, you create a platform for consumers to become advocates and advertisers for you.

Social media adds an entirely new dimension to the marketer-consumer relationship. Our advice? Explore new opportunities within this emerging channel while avoiding the temptation to employ traditional direct marketing tactics!

x

© ExactTarget All rights reserved; Channel Preference Study from ExactTarget.com; research@exacttarget.com ; reprinted with permission