At this point, social media is a no-brainer. Been there, done that.
What really matters is cutting through the noise and finding a sweet spot for your brand, said social media consultant Debbie Weil while speaking at the What’s Next: DC conference. Hitting the sweet spot means finding the marketing approach that best aligns your company’s goals with what consumers want. Without this point of common interest, it doesn’t matter how many social-media networks your brand has invested in. What you need is the right approach to spur your followers into action.
One example Weil cited was the Nike-Lance Armstrong Foundation partnership, which sold yellow bracelets for a 2004 fundraiser. It began as a small venture, but eventually athletes, celebrities and politicians were all sporting the Livestrong bracelet. Why?
Cancer is something that affects everyone in some way, so the bracelets were a win-win-win situation, Weil says. Consumers got an emotional connection; the Lance Armstrong Foundation raised money for its cause; and Nike made enough to cover its manufacturing costs while raising its brand awareness. It was the “perfect congruence of what Nike … wanted, and what we wanted — which is to connect with something that we believe in,” Weil said.
Weil says there are three major players when it comes to marketing:
- The Marketer: Serves as a public-relations vehicle to build the brand
- The Employer: Creates the product while looking to expand its own communication tools
- The Customers: Looks for products that fill their needs or desires
Finding the sweet spot means finding a way to meet the goals of all three groups. What you want as a marketer needs to coincide with what can benefit the customer. Fulfill the needs of your customer while meeting your own goals and the goals of your company, and you’ll hit the spot. Pretty sweet.
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