“By looking at social media as a way to listen to consumers, respond to their needs and create ongoing dialogue—instead of as another way to advertise to them—CPG companies can reinvigorate their marketing and create new bonds with consumers,” says Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer senior analyst.
That doesn't mean consumer retailers are abandoning traditional advertising by any means, she says. So far, social media advertising represents only a small fraction of the total dollars going to that channel, according to Nielsen AdRelevance.
And here's the difference: many mass market retailers consider social media to be "earned" media, historically the province of public relations, more than "paid" advertising. For that reason, more effort is going into blogger relations programs and promotional interactions that complement display advertising, for example.
Social media more frequently is seen as a way to “humanize their brand and create loyalty simply by being available when consumers have a problem, question or compliment,” says Williamson.
Telecommunications firms are leaders in the social media messaging space, as are Web media firms. About 20 percent of all social network site advertising over the last year (September 2008 to September 2009) has been spent by communications firms, while 19 percent was spent by Web media firms.
This is a significant shift. At some level, one might note that retailer spending is shifting from "advertising" to "public relations;" from "ads" to Web-based interactions on social sites. That means spending for Web operations overall is growing, most likely displacing spending that previously would have been devoted to tradtional display advertising.
The shfit from a "push" approach to a "pull" approach is tangible, if seminal.
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