August 6, 2005, Appleton Post Crescent
By Kathy Frederickson
imark Consulting - President
Social Media Sites Will Dictate New Marketing Tactics
Google doesn't recognize age, so why do generations view social media Web sites differently?
Social media Web sites are part of a broader Internet movement labeled Web 2.0,
where people participate in the creation of content or structure. The first generation
of Internet (aka Web 1.0) was defined by pushing content to the user and was
controlled by people who knew the technical skills to program Web sites. Now that
Web 2.0 has gained momentum and use, everyone regardless of technical aptitude
and age has a forum to socialize and express their views online.
Social media Web sites are diverse, allowing users to network through Web sites such
as myspace.com and linkedin.com. Socialization also includes sharing videos, pictures
and opinions through youtube.com, flickr.com and yelp.com, to name a few.
Many of the socially based Web sites represent the town squares of old, and as a result
these venues can be viewed as inappropriate for business. Seasoned marketers with
legitimate brand concerns are dismissing the importance of Web 2.0 faster than you
can say "You Tube."
Marketing vernacular does not include words like close-minded, yet looking at Web 2.0
with blinders is beginning to polarize an industry that takes pride in always being on
the forefront.
Generation X marketers have the opportunity to see the issue from a unique vantage
point. They live between young professionals and their Web 2.0 lives and boomers
legitimately concerned about online threats and unscrupulous conduct. Gen X
marketers are old enough to remember boomer mentors teaching them how to
market during a time when media relations was a dialogue with reporters, photos
were meticulously airbrushed by artists and the only commercials on television were
crafted by agencies. Gen X careers were also defined during the advent of the Internet,
so they are predisposed to consider experimentation and home-grown content to gain
a competitive brand advantage.
A Gen X perspective proved useful for Oracular, an Oshkosh-based information
technology strategy firm with locations in Denver, Detroit, Milwaukee and Minneapolis.
Sara Steffes Hanson, director of marketing for the 80-person firm, challenged the team
to create a campaign highlighting their enterprise and Web site upgrade services for a
national trade show.
Creating a video and posting it on You Tube, one of the most popular video-sharing
sites, was suggested as a low risk tactic to differentiate the firm. Before presenting
the idea to management, Hanson knew she needed to carefully consider how she
would respond to concerns.
Target markets were discussed and the leadership team was reminded that Oracular
was not just targeting chief information officers at the show, but middle-management
influencers who are online social media users. To deal with potential brand damage,
Oracular opted for the comment-review option available on You Tube, which allows
the company to screen user comments about the video before they are posted.
After presenting a case to produce a video titled "Upgrades and You," management
gave the nod to go ahead. The result is three minutes of presenting the Oracular
brand that reveals the personalities of the team. It was positively received at the show.
The video has been given a longer shelf life and is on their Web site (a smart decision
to increase link popularity). Internal marketing strides have been realized, with
employees saying brand affirming statements like, "I feel we are cool."
There is no doubt we are in the beginning stages of Web 2.0. We need the wisdom of
experienced marketers to consider implications but at the same time cannot
discourage younger employees with new ideas. The challenge we face is to find
practical ways interact and create online, otherwise marketers will be on the forefront
of widening instead of closing a generation gap
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