Will They Stay or Will They Go Episode 3: The Social Network Promised Land

For many consumers and brands alike, Social Networks have become the new marketing and advertising Promised Land. One of the earliest social networks to gain fame, MySpace, attracted several well-known brands in the quest to connect with consumers in a completely new and unique way. However, early brand adopters of this new platform focused their usage via a mixture of investor relations, promotional messages and contests, which didn’t always lead to the promised community conversation. As Facebook and LinkedIn rose in prominence and MySpace growth declined, many brands made the shift by abandoning previous MySpace profiles and their “friends” in favor of shiny new Facebook Fan Pages and Groups. But what are the impacts of these moves? Are the relationships with consumers built in previous social networks being compromised and discarded or are they naturally evolving and growing through the medium? Guest Peter Fasano, Principal/Lead Catalyst from Mass+Logic @pfasano and I will discuss our observations on the evolution of brand-consumer relationships within prominent social networks and share some practical tips on how marketers can approach their adoption and trial of these evolving channels.