Articles

30.11.2010 Marketers need new skills for social age

Marketers must develop a new "skill set" to thrive in the social media era, with General Motors and Ford among the firms showing how this can be achieved. Ketchum, the agency, and FedEx, the courier company, surveyed 62 major corporations such as AT&T, Kraft, The Home Depot, Mars, Philips, Procter & Gamble and Sears. They found all contributors were active on at least one form of social media, with aims such as generating word of mouth, strengthening brand loyalty, providing after-sales service and educating stakeholders. Twitter held sway regarding customer care and media relations, while Facebook and YouTube were preferred for building loyalty and sharing information.

However, just 10% of companies had assumed "leadership", embedding social media in all communications, regularly integrating new tools and constructing specialist in-house teams containing a minimum of three staff. A further 75% "participate", using channels like Twitter in some commercial output, following early-adopters onto emerging platforms, and modifying job roles or hiring a dedicated employee or agency. The remaining 15% are "observers", occasionally leveraging social media and seeking to understand the landscape, often relying on agencies as an expert counsel. Most of the best-performing organisations were from consumer-facing industries, and typically began by listening and collaborating, before pursuing experimentation, assessment and tactical refinement.

B.L. 30.11.2010