Principle 4 – Identify People’s Communication Channel Preferences
People have preferences on how they want to acquire information. We each communicate differently. Preferences depend on many factors including demographics (the who), psychographics (the why), behaviors (the how) and technographic (the technology) influences. The demographics are their age, what generation they are part of, whether they are male or female, parent, single person, the education background or income level.
Technographics is a recently new perspective. It relates to the technology someone uses to communicate and express themselves. This can vary too. Particularly according to one’s age. Therefore, if your marketing to specific age groups, you would consider connecting to them through their technology preference. Mobile devices are becoming the first choice for communications.
According to Principle 2 – Construct Community Relationships by Design it becomes important to understand that communities of people communicate with each other in specific ways. At the same time we need to identify who the influencers are in each group as the infuencers most certainly lead conversation within the group. Thus having identified both the community we are targeting and the key leadership influencers we can successful deliver our message within the community.
What is beautiful about operating under operating principles is this – principles stay the same and are channel independent. They are the same for the past, present and future. That means if the popularity of one particular channel fades out of existence or get upgraded, if a new channel becomes popular it is easy to adapt to those change.
Which communication channel you choose to use will be based on what you established in Principle 1 – Have a Sound Purpose and Plan on an Thought Leadership Platform. The Opinion Leadership Platform is the social media channels you will role out your Opinion Leadership Plan on.
Three Categories of Communication
All the communication channels can be segmented into three categories; traditional marketing (MKT), face-to-face / word-of-mouth marketing (WOM) and online / internet / social marketing (WOW) which is word-of-web. (For further explanation on these three categories visit Principle 5 – Nurture Social Relationships With Real People)
Every business, regardless as to their size, whether having few, hundreds or thousands of employees, use some combination of all of these categories. How wide and deep each business goes in implementing across the categories really depends on budget. Even so all business that market will have a need for using aspects of each category (it is possible that an individual has zero investment dollars in MKT branding activities or WOW online activities who specifically and ONLY does business WOM by referrals).
As stated above every business that conducts marketing must implement various aspects of the three categories depending on their designated budget. The major corporations can invest millions of dollars in traditional marketing MKT the SMB (Small and Medium Business) may only have a professionally designed logo and some collateral literature. And both ends of the business size spectrum will have professionally designed websites. How much time and money these companies put into the WOW aspects with Social Media will be determine by their various factors and priorities.
WOM for the SMB – A Key Category for Thought Leaders
Of the three categories and their various implementation aspects, the SMBs will receive significant Return on Investment if they skillfully implement their word-of-mouth WOM campaigns. An individual or a business begins promoting themselves as experts in their industry, trade, skill or service by getting face-to-face with people, groups and communities. This can be done through things like professional networking organizations, speaker groups, seminars or workshops. Then this is couple by taking their face-to-face message to the web for WOW marketing on their Thought Leadership Platform.
Follow Up Social Marketing Research Articles and Blogs to Come
The Various Social Media Marketing Channels
- How many are there?
- How many should you be active in?
Blogs
- Their importance to Search Engine Marketing
- What does it mean “If a blog is written in the woods, and there is no one there to read and comment on it, is there any buzz?”
What is “Blog Buzz”
- Blogging lessons (see article)
- email Marketing
- How can we use email along with our Online Social Media Marketing efforts?
eMail Etiquette
- What are Opt-in and Opt-out and how do we use them to our advantage?
- Why asking permission is so important?
“So there is nothing new under the sun” Eccl 1:9
- With announcements nearly every day, of new social platforms we should consider why will things really not change with our plan? How does this tie into Principle 1 – Have a Sound Purpose and Plan around a Thought Leadership Platform”?
Contact Ed Woods for further information on this topic.
Links to the Seven Principles of Social Marketing 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7