I figure I’m not the only marketer who experiences discontent from time to time as they struggle to persuade the boss that there are new tools and new channels for marketing and we need to consider them in line with our business objectives. Not to suggest we ditch the old ways – or use social media because it’s cool, but rather look at where our audience goes to get information, and make it available to them. Chances are, a large percentage of that audience is online.
I work in marketing and communications at ACC, and we’re at least considering social media and all its attendant tools and uses, for both internal and external communications. But being a government agency, we’re inherently risk averse and that can be frustrating for social media enthusiasts like myself and maybe you too, as we see opportunities everywhere, where we could be engaging our audience – finding out what they think of our services – giving them an opportunity to provide feedback/make suggestions -then giving them info they want, and enabling them to generate ‘content’ that in turn can help us do our jobs better – more sustainably and undoubtedly more economically.
When I refer to social media, I’m not just talking about social networking sites such as facebook etc, but creating and participating in a dialogue with the target audience, rather than forcing messages on them. And using these ‘conversations’ to gauge public awareness; for consultation; to build advocates and gain feedback. It’s the idea that by listening to customers, we’ll understand what the customer wants, needs and values.
A turning point for me was reading The New Rules of Marketing and PR by David Meerman-Scott, which I urge anyone who is interested in social media/new media/interactive marketing – to read. Apart from explaining what the various social media tools are and how to use them, he shows how marketing has gone from ‘push’ to ‘pull’ and is now about participation and connection – not force feeding. For those of us working in government depts tasked with effecting behaviour change via social marketing campaigns, social media is our greatest gift. And it’s through this blog I hope to offer some things I’ve learnt to date, and provide a forum where we can draw from each other’s experiences because there are no crash courses out there, or quick and easy answers, and the majority of the design and advertising agencies we work with are no further ahead in understanding these new channels than the rest of us are.
And before I sign off, if you work in a govt dept, and you’re unsure about what you can and can’t do social media-wise, check out Jason Ryan’s blog. Jason is the comms manager at SSC and his blog is a gold mine of resources and info.
Siobhan Bulfin
Great to see you online, Siobhan.
Many of our organisations seem to struggle with thinking of people as active stakeholders to be engaged with in an ongoing conversation rather than passive audiences to be marketed to.
I am interested in ideas about how to bridge that gap in understanding, so thanks for providing this forum. I’ve noticed that sometimes the learnings from implementing intranets can point the way to breaking down similar barriers externally. Good stakeholder analysis helps, including understanding the different options that people and groups may need, and making sure those are woven into your systems.
Hey Siobhan,
Congratulations on diving in, and starting a blog!
You are spot on that a large percentage of your audience is online; 78% to be precise …”New Zealand users are active in content creation on the Internet such as posting messages (27%) and images (34%). 13% maintain their own website and 10% keep a blog.”
Any organisation that ignores this is irresponsible. That is not to say that the must participate in social media, but they really should at least be listening.
Very interesting reading Siobhan ,
I would love to talk to you more about it and work out how it could help me with my small business development
This is such a new and unchartered area for nearly everyone so it will be advantageous to have someone sharing research, learning & capability to engage those interested and help them to move forward into the realm at a faster pace.