Social media just got a whole lot more important to marketers

May/12/2008 05:26 Filed in: Internet & DTC Marketing
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MySpace on May 7 said it would open up its profile data to third-party sites. Two days later Facebook said it would let users to connect their Facebook accounts to third-party applications and websites, and that it would also allow developers to incorporate Facebook friend data into other sites and applications. And today Google is announcing FriendConnect, a service that lets website owners add social applications to their sites. What does this all mean? Well it means that traditional marketing is on life support and the Web has it's hands on the plug.





It means more consumers talking to each other across the web, and it means discussions around brands are no longer siloed to a single platform or network but are spreading to a wider swath of sites. If a marketer didn't have a social-media "listening" plan, these kinds of developments could make tracking conversations consumers are having about a
brand more difficult, but also make it more important that marketers do so.


Imagine if you could easily take the conversation about brands that's occurring on Twitter and embed that into other sites. Imagine a product website bringing people together to talk about health issues and your product. Think it can't happen? Well as soon as legal people start to embrace the 21st century and new consumer power it will happen, the question is which DTC marketer will be the first to break new ground?


The Internet continues to evolve as a communication platform for electronic conversations. DTC marketers have ignored social media for way too long and it's time to embrace what the Web can do to help meet brand objectives. That does not mean pushing promotional messages it means that marketers are now aggregators and have an opportunity to bring people together to benefit both the brand and their informational needs.
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