In this chapter the issue of content development has been introduced, and in the next chapter – on management and staff – the ‘who does the work’ aspect is addressed. There is, however, another subject which is pervasive for both of these subjects. That is the tone or voice – or even tone of voice – that the product, brand or organization will use throughout its social media presence. For ease of discussion, I will refer to this as the voice – though I do appreciate that other terms are equally valid.
This subject is, once again, one which could be considered to be an operational issue (and so belongs in this chapter) or a strategic decision (which should have been covered in the previous chapters). I feel that it would be valid to include it in either, but have opted for operational in that the strategic decision would be ‘to use social media as an aspect of our strategic marketing with the following objectives’. How those objectives will be met effectively and effi ciently are operational issues – albeit ones that might need strategic approval.
That said, there is a theme which runs through this book which alludes to the premise that social media marketing is right for some products, brands and organizations and wrong – or at least not right – for others. I would propose that if managers have to sit down and discuss, debate and decide on the voice that the product, brand or organization will have on social media, then social media marketing is not right for that entity. To be effective in the social media environment there should be an almost automatic – natural, if you will – way to how the product, brand
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social media marketing isright for some products,
brands and organizations and wrong – or at least
not right – for others
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or organization acts in that environment. In other words, it already acts that way in the real-world environment. The social media voice is the same as its offl ine voice.
Starbucks would be an excellent example of this. The coffee retailer does not portray itself differently in social media than it does in any other medium. Indeed, is going into a Starbucks outlet not more of a social event than it is a product purchase? That attitude has a natural place in the digital social environ- ment. Compare that example with the failing attempts at social media market- ing made by organizations that have – or had – no relationship with their customers.
I would reiterate here that if the product, brand or organization is not suited to engaging with customers in the social media environment then it is not automatically bad at what it does. This is particularly true of sellers of one-off purchases, manufacturers or food processors. Exceptions to any rule will exist, but does anyone really want to be the ‘friend’ of the company who makes fi sh fi ngers? Or the fi rm that makes the boxes in which those fi sh fi ngers are pack- aged? Or the logistics company that stores them in a freezing warehouse before delivering them to the shop in which your might buy them? I could go on to mention ‘liking’ the company that makes parts for the trucks in which they are delivered but I will stop to give an illustration of an exception to the rule which is relevant to this example.
Long before the Internet was considered to be a utility in our lives, if you were to ask someone in any street in the UK to name a trucking fi rm, the chances are that if they could name only one it would be Eddie Stobart (though it is now actually the ‘Stobart Group’). Long before the Internet was developed the company had its own followers – spotting and collecting the girls’ names individual trucks were given. It even has its own show on mainstream TV. For a company like that, the Internet and social media simply brought new ways to develop relationships with people who would never be customers of the hauliers (if you are not aware of Eddie Stobart just put the name into a search engine).
Whether we call it the culture, the ethos or the philosophy of the product, brand or organization – it is its very nature that defi nes the way it trades and the relationship it has with its customers. This is a subject of a book in its own right – there are plenty out there – so I will not spend too much time explain- ing the nature of each organization’s personality, but suffi ce to say that it is impossible for a product, brand or organization to take its staid offl ine culture and change it for a social media presence – with the reverse being equally true, outgoing cultures naturally fi t with effective social media marketing.
So why is getting the voice right so important? Initially it harks back to the very nature of social media – that it was not developed as, and users do not like to perceive it as, a platform for marketing. For an entity to represent itself on social media as something it isn’t is soon spotted by users – and social media being what it is, the ‘phoney’ is not only ‘outed’ but ostracized from the very society it is trying to join. In other words, the product, brand or organization
would have been better not attempting to use social media marketing – instead sticking to other forms of digital marketing and any offl ine marketing it has found to be successful.
Writer, blogger, and social media ‘enthusiast’ Camille McClane (2014) – writing on MarketingProfs (marketingprofs.com) – suggests that there are six reasons why a brand needs a social voice:
• A social voice puts your customers in the right frame of mind.
• A social voice showcases your confi dence in front of your competition. • Storytelling has a greater impact when you have a social voice.
• Having the right social voice means your company may be forgiven when it makes mistakes.
• A social voice helps create meaningful connections. • A social voice conveys trustworthiness.
I would add that social media allows the brand, product or organization to present a human element to its marketing. Further considerations for the voice would include:
• Not all customers are the same – and so best practice might be to tailor the tone of voice to the customer, not to the brand. Whilst this is not necessary if the target segment or community is the only one visiting the social media presence, it is a serious consideration for some products, brands or organizations. This would be particularly true if social media is being used for customer service and support – a utility’s Facebook page, for example, can expect customers from all walks of life with different expectations of the service. That said, for the customer to use social media as a platform to contact a utility company would suggest that they already appreciate how social media works as a platform for communication.
• Different social media channels can be used for different purposes – objectives, even – that require different social voices. For example, a pub- licly listed company might use Twitter to disseminate ‘corporate’ news but use Facebook for social interaction with customers. Similarly, a blog could be written by an individual in their own voice – even though the blog is part of a product’s, brand’s – or organization’s social media marketing strategy. In this latter example the published content can actually be in the writer’s own voice – written as they would say the words. Naturally, this can be problematic in strategic terms as the blog-writer can become irreplaceable.
However, an aside to this last comment is that entities and individuals have always had a voice, even before social media! This might be part of the actual product (the voice an author uses in a book – this book, for example – is written very much in my voice), or it could be refl ected in anything from the type of advert a product uses, to the colours the product is available in, to
100 Operational social media marketing
where it is sold. Marketing students will (I hope) already be saying that decisions made with regard to ads, product attributes and distribution are made to appeal to the target audience for the product – and this is perfectly true but it would still be diffi cult for a personality-less manufacturer to develop and successfully market a ‘fun’ product. As I alluded to in the fi rst chapter of this book, social media marketing cannot stand alone in a digital marketing strategy and a digital strategy cannot be anything but an integral element in a marketing strategy. As I said earlier in this chapter, social media marketing is not for every product, brand or organization. The marketing mix is called a mix for a reason, not every ingredient works in every cake. The skill – or is it a trick – is in identifying which ingredients are right for each cake.
An obvious caveat to all of the issues surrounding the voice of the product, brand or organization is that every entry on any social media platform must not only be in keeping with the culture and ethos of the product, brand or organization (in a marketing context), but every entry represents the product, brand or organization in a legal sense. That is why the next chapter of this second part of the book focuses on management and staff responsible for developing and delivering social media campaigns and content.