2017 and the New Reality of Digital Marketing
By Lee Leschper
This month , the United States swore in its first acknowledged Twitter President .
Whether you celebrate or commiserate , the election of Donald Trump continued to change the digital landscape and strategy , and communication in general . Barack Obama first ushered in digital to modern presidential politics , harnessing social media posts to attract and connect with millions of first-time voters . And it worked .
What President Obama first proved , and then institutionalized , was that new media makes it possible to reach and generate a call to action for vast numbers of Americans who may not rely on traditional media , but who do care and vote . In his 2012 victory over Mitt Romney , Obama had 20-fold the number of Twitter followers of the Republican challenger . In 2016 , Trump flipped that equation , building a vastly larger Twitter following than Hillary Clinton .
It ’ s a 140-character reality that new social media tools work with fragments of fact and imagery , not the long form text and depth and detail that we used to receive . To quote an old saying , we ’ re living in a media landscape that is a mile wide and an inch deep . It ’ s also revealing how little impact endorsements from most of the nation ’ s daily newspapers had on the election .
What does this mean for your business or organization for 2017 ? First , it reinforces that more than ever , you can rely on tools other than the traditional media to target and talk directly to your customers , audience or stakeholders . This applies whether you are building market share for a new product , wooing customers away from your strongest competitor or advocating for social change .
Second , you need to take stock of the message you are using to tell your story . If it cannot or is not being told in simple , direct , compelling and engaging terms , the message is likely getting lost . It is not that your potential customers don ’ t care ; it ’ s just that their attention is being grabbed away by others . Third , you need a laser focus on you core audience ( aka , customers ). You neither need nor want every person to engage and join ; rather , you just want and need the ones who will become customers . At least 80 percent of your business is coming from less than 20 percent of your customers , and those customers are a small fraction of the universe of the potential customers before you .
Fourth , you need to review if the platforms you choose are delivering to your targets most efficiently . Likely , you need a mix of social , digital display , email , retargeting and video . For most new digital / social practitioners , Facebook has been the entry point , because among other things , it is easy and habit-forming . For most of us , easy trumps ( pardon the pun ) great every time . If you have not checked your Facebook or Twitter feed at least once in the past hour , you are in the minority . But even the most casual Facebook user has noticed a very clear change : Facebook does not work like it used to . Why ? Facebook has rewritten the book on how to build an audience and it is no longer free .
Facebook did not set out to be the number one source for news for most Americans , and yet that is exactly what happened , which has rewritten the definition of what is “ news .” A recent survey found that the clear majority of those who get their news from their Facebook feed takes most or all posts as gospel , regardless of the source . Few newspaper readers would expect that any random thought , rant or cat photo would or should automatically appear on the front page of their local newspaper . And yet that is what Facebook users think they are getting on their Facebook feed – “ news .”
The reality is that what you see , and what others see , is driven by what you pay for the audience . Make no mistake , to be seen on Facebook you will have to pay and at a price that
22 January 2017