Social Networking Enters Mainstream B2B / B2C Marketing

Implications

Companies seeking to take personalized, 1x1 marketing efforts to the next level are harnessing the power of "engagement marketing" to build a personalized rapport with their customers. With enhanced metrics and reporting on campaign results, more firms will include Social Media in their branding efforts. The result may be a redefinition of online marketing and advertising.

Analysis

Social networking is no longer the sole domain of Tweeters and Facebookers sharing their views on the hottest new club, what their children did in school today, or what they are having for dinner. Since 2007, a growing number of leading firms in multiple industries has experimented with the inclusion of Social Media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Blogs to create a more intimate and culturally attenuated branding voice with their customers.

This article highlights how tech-savvy marketers are now using Social Media platforms to project a broad footprint into the online world through combining content-rich sites like Facebook with short-burst microblogging communication on Twitter. The results indicate a growing receptivity of consumers to the language of online engagement marketing.

Companies to watch leading the way: Dell, Apple, Jetblue, Coca Cola (brand marketers) and Yahoo, Twitter, Facebook (Social Media Platforms).