Social Marketing Not For Everyone
In a conversation last week, we were talking about the industries that are best suited for social media marketing. As part of that conversation, someone asked what industries are not suited for social media optimization.
Now in working on our list we had to put some parameters in place about what are the attributes of a successfully social marketing program. Two criteria of a successful social media marketing program is:
- Engages in a two way conversation with their audience
- Allows and encourages user generated content
Two commonly used tactics that are NOT social media marketing are:
- Blogs with no comments
- Press releases regurgitated as social media because they use RSS feeds.
So what industries are not suited to social marketing? A lot of the regulated industries have a difficult time with social marketing. The pharma industry for example is not suited to social marketing because of the FDA restrictions around reporting any negative customer comments about their drug or medication. Pharma cannot engagein a two-way conversation and thus is not well suited for social marketing.
Alcohol and tobacco are two other regulated industries that have trouble effectively marketing on social networks. I have not seen any attempt by big tobacco to market via the social networks while most of the alcohol industry has also stayed away. There are some exceptions like Smiroff and Stoli , but for the most part the age restrictions have resulted in these two industries avoiding social marketing.
The age restriction has not impacted two thirds of the black-hat PPC trifecta (Pills, Porn and Casino). Both the adult and gambling industries are alive and thriving online. Well the casino market is not thriving in the U.S. at the moment because of the recent law passed by Congress, this market is still thriving worldwide. The adult industry is all about user generated content and continues to innovate and thrive online.
One other industry that does not appear to be involved in social marketing is the gun industry. Firearms is another heavily regulated industry that appears to not be participating in social network marketing.
A market that is not regulated that appears to have limited social marketing potential is the consumer market for household goods like toothpaste, detergent, soap, batteries, etc. P&G admitted as much recently when Denis McGrath, international marketing manager at Procter & Gamble, asked “How do you create a marketing message around low-involvement brands? For instance, do you really want to receive a weekly marketing message on toilet paper? How about batteries?”
I do believe that household goods can be successfully marketed via social networks if the product or brand is associated with a cause or lifestyle that the consumer is interested in. From experience I know that companies like PowerBar, Annies Homegrown and Stoneyfield are all successful in marketing staples via social marketing because these products are associated with causes and lifestyles in addition to their brand.
Are there any other industries that are not suited to social marketing?
Filed under Brand Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Optimization : Comments (14) : Dec 10th, 2006
December 11th, 2006 at 12:22 am
Beer Ape on YouTube doesn’t count as social media?
December 11th, 2006 at 12:32 am
[…] It’s Sunday evening and I’m a social kind-of-girl, so this evening when I came across a post regarding industries that social marketing does not work for it caught my attention. David Wilson, author of the Social Media Optimziation blog explains that there are some industries where social marketing just doesn’t make sense. Take for example the pharmaceutical, tobaccoand alcohol industries. His post is informative and interesting, so if social marketing grabs your attention you may want to hop on over and read why Social Marketing is Not For Everyone. Filed under: Uncategorized by — llake @ 11:32 pm […]
December 11th, 2006 at 2:36 am
I think Paul’s right, even though the beer company asks for feedback, I think the company is only using the feedback gimmick as a tactic to gain more publicity for the product. It strikes me a technique that uses the one way sales model rather than the two way marketing model.
December 11th, 2006 at 9:04 am
Paul I was aware of the Beer Ape campaign, but the point I was trying to make is that the beer industry as a whole does not seem well suited or interested in social marketing.
December 12th, 2006 at 11:09 pm
Have you seen the Blender video on You Tube? from K-Tek? That sucker went the rounds, and became highly viewed with over 5 MILION views in a few weeks. You never know when a piece of social media is going to be popular. I am also thinking on what industries are and are not suited for Social Media. I think all of them are suited at one point in their online life. Toilet Paper can and has been used in plenty of videos, although it should not be a weekly staple in your thousand newsletters you are signed up for. I think as a PR tool, you can get some mileage out of Social Media for just about anything, including batteries as well
December 13th, 2006 at 10:12 am
[…] Neil at Pronet has a good post about Aquafina’s MySpace marketing campaign. One of my points in my Social Marketing Not For Everyone post was that I do believe that household goods can be successfully marketed via social networks if the product or brand is associated with a cause or lifestyle that the consumer is interested in. […]
December 21st, 2006 at 11:18 am
[…] Social Marketing Not For Everyone […]
February 20th, 2007 at 9:10 pm
[…] Social Media Optimization Not For Everyone […]
December 12th, 2007 at 1:33 am
Thank you for sharing. I would say you never know when a piece of social media is going to be popular.I am also thinking on what industries are and are not suited for Social Media.
January 6th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
I’m thinking on what industries are and are not suited for Social Media. I think all of them are suited at one point in their online life.
March 6th, 2008 at 8:54 am
[…] social-media-optimization.com Social Media Optimization Not For Everyone Are You Welcome in the Neighborhood? Looking at the Social Media Numbers […]
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:40 am
I think the point I was trying to make is that the beer industry as a whole does not seem well suited or interested in social marketing.
April 6th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
You never know when a piece of social media is going to be popular. I am also thinking on what industries are and are not suited for Social Media.
April 9th, 2008 at 4:58 am
You know I am also thinking on what industries are and are not suited for Social Media. I think all of them are suited at one point in their online life.