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The face-to-face manifesto: Back to the future

June 15, 2012 | Hotel Marketing

Online social networking is no substitute for the power and impact of face-to-face communications. Real world conversations - most of which take place face-to-face - are still the dominant mode of communication, and they are the most trusted and persuasive.

Key to the argument that social media is word of mouth on steroids is a belief that online conver- sations will spread to hundreds or thousands of people (and maybe more) with the click of a mouse. But, as it turns out, while that is theoretically possible it is not the way online sharing usually works. Most links that are shared reach only between 5 and 10 people. And the huge legions of Facebook fans, it turns out, are not so actively engaged with the brands they once “liked.” Fewer than 1% of brand fans on Facebook have any type of active involvement, bringing those huge numbers back down to earth.

So if not via Facebook and other social networking sites, what can brands do to get conversations started? There are lots of ways, and brands that truly wish to be social should think about them all as they plan their social marketing strategies. It is important to fight the urge to start with a particular tool or approach, but rather begin by asking “what’s my story?” What are the messages about your brand and category that make you talkworthy? Emotions are what propel people to talk and share, and you need to determine what the emotional connection is between the con- sumer and your brand or your product.

Today’s consumer marketplace is highly social, but not because of particular platforms or technologies. The businesses that will be most successful in the future are the ones that embrace a model that puts people first - rather than technology - at the center of products, campaigns and market strategies. Those who achieve the greatest success will recognize that there are many ways to tap the power of today’s social consumer. Those marketers who are mining only one vein - namely, social networking tools and technologies - are not seeing the full scope of an enormous opportunity and will not fully capitalize as a result.

Download the manifesto at ChangeThis (PDF 745 KB)

Read also "Using social media and understanding the hotel guest experience" at Tnooz

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