Social Media Is Not Marketing

[It’s 612 x 612]

Dan Kim

Red Mango

@dankimredmango

I’m Not a Social Media Expert

• Do they really exist? I don’t think so.

• We are all experts; key is knowing who we

are, and what role we play

• Consumers drive future of social media, not

brands, money or apps

My Two Goals Today

• Social Media is Not Marketing

• Photos are Mission Critical to Social Media

The Common Problem

• Social Media is about influencing.

• Marketing is about influencing.

• Therefore, Social Media is Marketing

• Logical? No, but…

Social Media in Marketing

• Many put Social Media in the “Marketing

Department”.

• See it as another tech-driven “media” channel

(evolution of interactive).

• Apply old-school, autocratic advertising

methods.

• In my opinion, this is a mistake.

Social Media as Another Channel?

Marketing

Television

Print

OutdoorDigital

Social Media

Marketing Is Influencing. However…

• To market is to influence consumers to buy

your brand.

• But traditionally, advertising has been

executed through unidirectional and

opportunistic media.

• Social networks, however, enable people to

communicate in dynamic real-time ways driven

by peer-to-peer & emotional engagement.

• So, shouldn’t brands understand this new,

more powerful paradigm of social influence

before they try to market through it?

The New Consumer Paradigm

So What Is Social Media?

• Because social media is driven by consumers,

it by definition is not marketing.

• Although based on technology, social media is

not an evolution of digital & interactive

marketing channels.

• Rather, it is a new & real social paradigm we

use to more intimately communicate with

each other, the effect of which is to create

powerful mass collaboration & engagement

• Brands who want to participate need to

understand their role within this new

paradigm

Social Media Activity

• Brands who “get it” become a party to the social

conversations of their consumers

• They contribute to social networks in a

meaningful or informative way

• They are not the walking billboards / sales

people

• They use social media to create authentically

interesting activity...

• And in marketing, activity is a good thing.

Social Media Activity Marketing

• But activity alone does not create business

results.

• Activity generates awareness, but we need

results more meaningful than that.

• Social media should be relied upon to

generate activity that helps drive a

marketing or branding campaign.

• Let social media be the spark that drives

consumers to connect with your

marketing initiatives. They’re smart. After

all, we are all consumers.

So in Summary:

Marketing

Television

Print

OutdoorDigital

Social Media

Marketing

Television

Print

OutdoorDigital

Social Media

Our Secret to Social Success

A Picture is Worth a $Billion Words

• There are many ways to contribute useful

content into social networks to create activity

• Advice, news, offers…

• But the best, most universal and impactful

way? Photographs.

• I believe pictures are still under-utilized and

under-promoted in social networks.

Photos = Best Way to Create Activity

• With just one glance, a photo can generate

significant, meaningful “activity”

• Pornography…

• … i.e., #foodporn

• “Activity” not only when people see photos,

but also when they take them to share.

• Exponentially scalable content!

• The world is your photographer. The

world is your studio.

Words vs. Photography

“Eat Red Mango Frozen

Yogurt! It’s delicious!”

“Mmm…”

The Power of the “Like”

• We seem to be obsessed with “Likes”…

• …and that’s okay. But why?

• Because when someone “likes” something, it

symbolizes and registers the consumer

engaging in the “activity” that we want.

• So being “likeable” means to be a good citizen

in the new social paradigm we call “social

media” by creating content people like.

• So be “Likeable”. It’s that easy.

Quiz… for Red Mango Gift Cards

• Why is “a picture worth a billion dollars?”

• What is 612 x 612?

• What is 851 x 315?

• Approximately how many Instagram photos

are currently tagged “#redmango”?

• What is Freeze Frame?