Is 2011 the year of social media?

Two ways we know that social media is here to stay

When it comes to the media, it takes a lot to really wow me. Not that I’m a cynic. It’s just that I’ve been professionally involved with the media for over 21 years and I’ve seen its evolution. I have lived through the days when press releases were photocopied and mailed with a postage stamp, the days when the fax machine was king, and finally the age of electronic mail via an electronic database. And while I have marveled at these technological advancements that increased the speed and reach of a public relations professional, none of them really blew me away.

Until now.

I have never seen a media tool so wide in scope, so personal in scope, and as effective in use as Social Media. It is so powerful that I can honestly say that I have never seen anything like it before and I doubt that I see anything so influential in our lives.

Let me offer two examples to demonstrate this point and then we will see its impact on your own marketing and promotion.

Occupy Wall Street – It doesn’t really matter where you fall regarding the politics behind the OWS movement. My only reason for bringing it up is to demonstrate the enormous influence they have had over an incredibly short period of time due to their use of social media. When the demonstrations in New York began on September 17 with 1,000 protesters in Zuccotti Park in the Wall Street financial district, spurred by an email campaign by Canadian nonprofit advocacy group AdBusters, the move was ignored by major leaders. media. Not even The New York Times (considered the local newspaper on the island of Manhattan) did not bother to write about the movement. Later, a Facebook page and a Twitter account were established, leading to the creation of a website. Soon after, the group published a manifesto of sorts and, through its social media network, sent out a call to action for those around the world who shared their views to stand up and be counted through. of demonstrations. According to Columbia Journalism Review’s New Frontier Database, the team, while unofficial, runs websites like Occupytogether.org and live-streams a “constant stream of updates on Twitter and Tumblr,” as well as Skype sessions with other protesters. Its scope has become international, generating reactions from leaders and citizens of countries such as Canada, Brazil, China, Greece, India, North Korea, Poland, Russia, the United Kingdom, Vatican City, Venezuela and others. They have no spokesperson or leader on television shows, but instead use social media to spread their cause. If they had a head of marketing, I’d mortgage the house to hire him.

Bank of America debit card fees “I doubt that Molly Katchpole ever thought her complaint would go that far.” Recent 22-year-old Roger Williams University graduate is credited with getting Bank of America to back down from its plans to charge customers $ 5 per month for the privilege of using a debit card. As it did? Social networks my friends.

She posted a petition on Change.org demanding that Bank of America keep its hands out of her purse and out of its millions of customers. Change.org is a website that allows people to request signatures across the social media universe. Well, his petition gained so much traction that the site took over from there, requesting more signatures and reaching the mainstream media on his behalf. She told her story on TV shows, appearing as brave and smart and, well, like millions of Americans who live paycheck to paycheck and can’t really pay another $ 60 a year for something they’ve been using for free the entire time.

The end result of the campaign was that Bank of America played a Goliath defeated by the triumphant David de Molly and canceled their plans to collect the fees. When you think about it, Molly did them a favor. Based on the overwhelming response of more than 306,000 firms, Bank of America averted a massive disaster. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to predict what happens to a company’s stock price when they publicly lose 300,000 customers in a month or so.

“Clearly, the success of your campaign is a victory for social media and a demonstration of your power to engage the masses in a cause,” said Yvette Kantrow, managing editor of the Daily Deal.

I couldn’t agree more with her.

At what point in American history can you point to 1,000 people demonstrating in a public park in New York, and a few days later a message is generated from a world leader, such as Polish President Lech Walesa, in support of their efforts? What time can you recall when a 22-year-old posted a complaint on a website that caused a billion dollar global banking power, with 57 million customers, to wipe out a potential annual revenue stream of approximately $ 3.4 thousand millions?

It has never happened, but with the impact of social media, you can count on it happening over and over again.

Now, let’s bring all of this back to you. Many of you already have the same tools that these people had: a Twitter account, a Facebook page, a website, and an Internet connection. The problem is how social media can help you spread your message. Actually, the question is how not to do it? Social networks are the perfect marriage between personal and mass communication. His tactics and tone are personal, while his reach and reach are enormous.

If you’re already working on a social media campaign right now, don’t stop. But, if not, it’s about time you got going. For those who are still on the sidelines waiting for some kind of poster that decisively demonstrates why the time and effort on Social Media is worth it, my advice is to look back. That stake was actually in the ground 100 miles ago.