I’ve been in communications for 25 years spanning all types of the functions associated with organizations “getting their message out”. Those functions included journalism, grassroots campaigns, legislative lobbying, technology marketing, and public relations.

Perceptions are a largely based on perspectives, so laying out this experience I thought would be helpful to appreciate the lens through which I see these transformations. I’ve also experienced working in large companies and venture capital start-ups and mid-size growth organizations. I share this because it plays into the context of the obstacles facing marketers over this second decade in the 21st century.

Marketing Transformation #1 – Naked conversations leads to naked behavior. Gaining insights to consumers as they willingly (or unwillingly) act transparently by giving up their privacy. This data with be cross referenced and used in proactive programming.

Marketing Transformation #2 – Marketing Rhetoric vs Reality Reconciliation made simple with social media. Careful with your company puffery, there plenty of people and chances to call Bull.

Marketing Transformation #3 - Companies as media properties. Contribute to the stream of conversation that surrounds your company without being the center of attention (don’t be that guy, very difficult for some companies to do). Those that do will gain respect and leadership.

Marketing Transformation #4 – Consumers as marketers, really? When the novelty of social communities wears off, and the reality of the time commitment necessary to be social sets in, be ready to answer the consumers’ question What’s in it for me?

Marketing Transformation #5 - Social Culture vs Social Tactics. Plenty of companies will not make the transition which is OK, social culture will be similar to systemic corporate change like Total Quality Management and Six Sigma. There will be a divide between social companies and social hacks.

Marketing Transformation #6 – Greater consumer participation necessary. As the dismemberment of old advertising continues, companies desperately want to know what motivates you, the more you interact, the better the relationship.

Marketing Transformation #7 – Yesterday’s direct mail lists are today’s personal brand networks. Regardless of FTC blogger regulations, established individuals are conduits of word of mouth as being social on the web has significant overlap between helping and being helped, it’s the ultimate form of interdependence.

Marketing Transformation #8 – 2010 is the year of social media skeptic, have a contingency plan. The more social media is absorbed by the mainstream, the more people will try to game the system causing all kinds of turmoil among the ranks of advocates, enthusiats, and critics.

Marketing Transformation #9 - Less about convincing and more about delivering. Taking a page from the World of Mouth adovcates, companies with enough confidence in their ability to build products and delivery services that consumers are comfortable recommending will spend less time having to “message” their way to growth, they will listen their way to profits.

Recommendations

I don’t see the current format of social media being the end game. It’s extremely time and labor intensive and unless companies are willing to commit to those elements of participation, they will merely pay lip service through this initial adoption phase of social media.

Some believe the data is circumspect, sure if Facebook was a country it would be the fourth largest, but what does that mean? What kind of country exactly? Will its inhabitants grow weary of sharing their data, lobbying each other for worthy causes, and doing the work of marketers who were laid off because friends don’t make friend buy bad things? Or will they unify in a community of users of like mind, feed off of their shared new experiences, and expand to improve their current condition?

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