{"id":14737,"date":"2013-08-12T08:00:44","date_gmt":"2013-08-12T08:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.adviceinteractivegroup.com\/?p=6368"},"modified":"2013-08-12T08:00:44","modified_gmt":"2013-08-12T08:00:44","slug":"social-media-marketing-the-evolution-of-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.advicelocal.com\/blog\/social-media-marketing-the-evolution-of-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Media Marketing: The Evolution of Marketing"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Beginning Years-Word of Mouth Marketing<\/h2>\n

Some of you may remember how word of mouth marketing worked in the years prior to the internet. You have a particular purchase in mind, and you call a couple of your friends on the phone to get their opinions on different brands, dealers, or providers, and you don\u2019t make your decision on the purchase until you have your Dad\u2019s approval. Back then, there weren\u2019t a lot of different varieties of each product to choose from, because, heck, how many friends could any one person have with opposing thoughts about what you should buy?<\/p>\n

Print Marketing<\/h2>\n

\"Sears<\/a>Can you imagine how few options we had before the proliferation of the telephone? The first Sear\u2019s Catalogue in 1888 was a one-page flyer selling watches and jewelry. Back then, your Dad\u2019s opinion was about the only one you could get before making a purchase\u2026much less the only one you would need. By the early 1900\u2019s, as telephone switchboards began to connect the masses, Sears, Roebuck and Co. shipped full-color and textured catalogs in both spring and fall, which included hundreds of products in dozens of varieties. It was almost too much to choose from, in that day.<\/p>\n

Internet & Social Media Marketing<\/h2>\n

Of course, now, you can research and buy just about anything you can dream about. And, with social media becoming ubiquitous across the far reaches of the internet, we have an unlimited supply of opinions about every iteration of every item available on the planet. Our choices are no longer limited to chocolate or vanilla. There are endless variations of every common (or uncommon) item imaginable, and selecting one from more than hundreds of choices would be nearly impossible without social media. I have an old friend I knew 30 years ago, with whom I haven\u2019t communicated since high school, but who friended me on Facebook. When I\u2019m in the market to purchase something specific, I find myself reading his posts for his opinions about those products he bought in the past, and I don\u2019t even really know this guy anymore.<\/p>\n

The Impact of Recommendations, Reviews, and Testimonials<\/h2>\n

Taking that a step further, Google now includes results based on comments, posts, etc\u2026 made by your Google+ contacts pertaining to your search topic. It\u2019s called \u201cSearch, plus Your World,\u201d and it pulls in Google+ posts, photos, comments and other information shared with you (privately or publicly) by your own contacts from Google+ Circles. So now, your friends can help you make that purchase decision without even knowing you\u2019re interested. You get your 3rd<\/sup> party endorsement from someone with whom you share at least some interests, else they wouldn\u2019t be in your circles.<\/p>\n

Look what Facebook is doing with their \u201cfriend endorsement\u201d ads stuck right in your news feed. As much as this one gets on my nerves, I still look at them, and I\u2019ve even followed one of the links. The other day, my cousins from the west coast must have \u201cliked\u201d a page about pasta, and I was notified that they like pasta. I like pasta myself, so I followed the link to see what all of the excitement was about. It was a pretty interesting site with recipes and tips about pasta, but I chose not to \u201clike\u201d them to keep my opinion to myself. The funny thing is that I have liked a myriad of FB pages in the past, and I can\u2019t imagine the kinds of suggestions my friends are getting from me on their news feeds.<\/p>\n

“78% of people trust the recommendations of other consumers \u2013 while only 14% of people trust advertisements.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The internet (and social media marketing) has certainly expanded the concept of Word of Mouth Marketing. A recent study, highlighted in this awesome infographic by Michelle Do<\/a>, cited that \u201c78% of people trust the recommendations of other consumers \u2013 while only 14% of people trust advertisements.\u201d This statistic probably hasn\u2019t changed much since 1894, when Richard Sears began including satisfied customers\u2019 testimonials in his catalogs. However, the numbers are even more important today, because of social media and the ability to get such a large number of opinions from such a diverse population, all right here at our fingertips.<\/p>\n

What’s It All Mean?<\/h2>\n

Marketing continues to evolve and adapt to new technologies and trends. Make sure your business is on the cutting edge of information by implementing diverse marketing strategies. Never underestimate the power of word of mouth marketing and good customer service. Advertising research and development options<\/a>\u00a0provide you with all the actionable research information you need to build a strategy to increase consumer engagement. If you haven’t already, ensure your business has done all of the following:<\/p>\n