I’ve often wondered why marketing the social media way just feels so natural. Maybe its rooted (sorry, no pun intended) in my growing up on a farm in New Brunswick. Maybe it’s the garden I used to grow each year as a kid for a vegetable competition in the county fair in the Fall. Or maybe it was the 10000 onions I grew, weeded, watered, harvested and sold as a 13 year old to make enough money to buy my C-64 (ah this is taking me back.) Whatever it was, as a marketer I see myself as a farmer.
(photo credit – Cindy’s World - via flickr)
If you’ve ever planted and tended to a garden or crops you know that it’s a heck of a lot more than just planting the seeds in the spring and harvesting in the fall. Yes, that’s the general idea but there is a lot more to it going on in between those two points.
Next week I’m presenting on a panel at eMetrics in Toronto. The topic is social media and measuring from awareness to action (seeds to harvest). This analogy popped into my head when considering the approaches to many traditional marketing campaigns. In general, increasing yield (actions) for traditional marketing can mean throwing more money at a campaign through more media buys (buying more land) and spreading the message wider (planting more seeds.) More often than not it does result in improved results (increased harvests) but at what cost? Is this really the most efficient way to grow business (crops)? Is this approach really going to fly especially in today’s economic climate?
When approaching marketing from a social media centric view I see marketers considering of other ways to increase yield. With a farmer, he/she would listen to a number of metrics and react accordingly before planting, during the growing season and at harvest time.
- Is the soil in need of nutrients?
- Which plot of land has the best soil mix for the seeds to flourish?
- Should I rotate the crops so as not to overtax a plot of land with the same crop year after year?
- Is the season predicted to be wet or dry and how will that effect what I plant?
- What crop can give me the best ROI with the land I have and the time I have to give it?
- Are there weeds growing that are smothering the plants enough that I need to remove them?
- Are the plants being attacked by pests and should I spray?
- Is there an early frost predicted and should I harvest now or risk the plants being killed if I don’t?
To me the best farmers know how to listen to the signs before, during and after the growing season. They are always in tune with Mother Nature (community) and make an effort care and feed for each and every plant (relationships).
Social media-grounded marketers do the same thing. They listen to their community to assess needs and match that to what they have regarding resources to offer. They plant seeds at the appropriate time and listen for signs as to how they are doing. They provide care and feeding where appropriate and reacte to forces outside their control. And they listen for the points of need when potential rewards are good for both the community and for their business, creating a win-win season.
And because they are “out in the field” in social media they have many metrics at hand to help them ascertain what to do next. I’ve included some of these metrics in the draft of the presentation found here on Slideshare. Using this analogy, what are some of the metrics you would recommend?
