Balancing the ease of social media while building relationships with a human touch

Since the dawn of the information age, the two concepts of marketing and technology have gone hand in hand. It all started with the printing press which was used with the sole purpose of printing large amounts of material in order to reach the masses. Now, with today’s new digital marketing platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr, companies are able convey their messages to an even larger body of stakeholders ad prospective customers.

On July 1, 1941, the United States experienced its first ever successful mass marketing event via a television commercial. Bulova, a premiere watchmaker at the time purchased an advertising slot for $9.00, and then aired a television commercial during a baseball game.

The use of media in this fashion was considered to be a brave and new concept during the twentieth century. But, today it’s difficult to imagine the ongoing success of any company without the use of some type of digital marketing strategy. Technology is an integral factor in forging the lines and building relationships between consumers and companies.

Today, social networking is the quickest way for anyone to get their messages publicized. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have taken the place of phone books and billboards. Even Yellow Book, an organization that was once considered the world’s leader in publish directory vehicles had to go digital and revamped and renamed as Hibu in an effort to keep up with the changing landscape.

What could be shocking to some is that social networking is not a new and innovative marketing technique after all. In a recent Forbes Magazine article, Jane Perry, a successful online store owner and public speaker stated that, “social networking and marketing is pretty much a digital version of word of mouth marketing.” Perry believes that, “{Social Media] is replicating old school, old fashion ways of communicating with people.” The strategies associated with social media are founded upon the ability to disseminate information quickly in order to build brand recognition with the hopes building relationships and influencing and engaging the audience.

If this is the case, where does the human touch come into play? People want fast and furious information about the products that they buy. This is where social marketing can help. However, the flipped side of this is that consumers also want to feel as if they are working with an actual human being when accessing this information. Everyone wants to feel as if they are the only one in a long line of anxious consumers.

In this heavily saturated global economy, companies have to take this into account when launching social networking campaigns. An effective social networking platform can be a simple and instant way to get your marketing tactics achieved while adding a human touch. This campaign also has the ability to build valuable relationships with prospective consumers while providing information in real-time.