The Death of Traditional Brand Messaging

There is talk going around about how blogging, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites can help control your marketing message. I was first confused on why many marketers have to use the term “control” in everything that involves branding or marketing. I completely agree with the thought that social media can help sway a community from side to side (see Obama Campaign). However, the marketing world has a tendency to misunderstand where the CONTROL takes place… and if control is even the right terminology to describe community content development contributing to revenue.

Or what my esteemed colleague calls… social commerce.

Social commerce is being defined as we speak by the great minds of the interactive world. Wikipedia describes social commerce as a subset of electronic commerce that involves using social media, online media that supports social interaction and user contributions, to assist in the online buying and selling of products and services.

The key word in that definition is social interaction to assist in buying and selling of products. This does not have to be just the online environment but more of a defining factor in the changes of marketing communication.

The idea of social commerce makes it impossible to control HOW people interpret your message, but it is completely possible to use the consumer interpretation to sell others.

People will interpret your message in a way that is congruent with their beliefs and values.  You can’t change that.  When you start broadcasting your message through the social media sphere you will most certainly be misread, misinterpreted, misquoted, and you will be wrong. However, if you apply the values of direct response, one-to-one messaging, and social commerce to your brand messaging… you will “control” peer recommended content to further your message.

Enough with the corporate lingo. It is as simple as this:

As a brand… you now have to be a consumer of data, messaging, and conversation instead of a producer. When you consume and listen to your customer’s thoughts, opinions, and beliefs (and apply that to your marketing)… the idea of true brand messaging… emotional buying… and consumer loyalty is realized.