The Four New “P’s” of Social Media Marketing

Anyone who has been in marketing for more than thirty minutes knows about the four P’s of marketing:

•    Product – your company’s offer to your customers
•    Place – point of sale and distribution
•    Price – what your customer must give in exchange for your product or service
•    Promotion – everything you do to get people to know, like and trust you so they buy something

As I was waking up this morning I was thinking about how social media is changing that mix.  Mind you, I’m not saying that you should eliminate it. I’m saying there’s another way of looking at it.

I’m reading Dave Evans’ (@evansdave) book right now. He points out that social media marketing is “a commitment, not a campaign.”

So true. So true.

If you’ve gotten the bug and started engaging your community actively then you know this – once you get the hamster wheel spinning you have to keep a hamster on the wheel.

I think social media marketing (SMM) is as much about life as it is about business.  Yes. It’s about business and ROI. It’s also about the awesome collaborative nature of business that I talked about here.

So, let’s restructure the four P’s.

The New Four P’s of Social Media Marketing

1)    Passion – Remember the days when enthusiasm for what you did slipped through every pore?  That’s the honesty and openness you should take to your social networks. When you’re passionate, you’re genuine and you don’t have to worry about looking like a poser in your customers’ communities.

2)    Patience – Your customers are out there saying wonderful things about you. They’re also saying bad things.  But at least they’re being honest.  Have patience with yourself and them when you deal with that honesty. Show restraint in your conversations and live to serve – not to be right.

3)    Persistence – Keep at it.  Once you’ve made the commitment to be involved in your customers’ conversations about your product or service, you can’t abandon them.

4)    Promotion – Yes. This is the same word that’s in the original mix.  But here it has a different meaning. It means to foster and to nurture.  A friend of mine called it “tending your garden.”  If you’ve built a business to solve a problem for someone, then you’ve got fans. And those fans are talking. Give them a little sun and water to help them succeed.

I’m sure there are more “P’s” out there.  But this is a start.  What else am I missing?

Talmadge Boyd writes and works with social media in the center of the universe – Austin, Texas.