The Action Consumer: We’re All “Tradigital” Now
Monday, August 24, 2009 at 08:47AM Jay Porter, United States
While we in agencyland (or at least here at Edelman) have smilingly adapted to the brave new world of social media, many companies are still struggling mightily. It’s a fight to keep this in mind. For every VP of comms or marketing presiding happily over a thriving Facebook page, there must be 10 who were dragged in kicking and screaming without much of a plan, and many more who are simply digging in and refusing to go “where the wild things are.” Their pain is obvious: these new forms of media run riot with internal structures, complicate budgets, inflame internal politics and, frankly, derange important executives in legal and compliance. This last group deserves our special sympathy – while previously asked to sign off on static press releases and ads, they are now asked to weigh the risks and benefits of campaigns that bring consumers messily into the center of marketing efforts.
Especially for our clients operating in heavily (and increasingly) regulated spaces like financial services and health, we have to pause, take stock and realize that these objections cannot be glibly dismissed. We may be right in saying that a robust social media engagement with consumers is now expected, but we must be true partners in devising a strategy that avoids creating more problems than it solves. And if we are smart we will find ways to support and embolden those clients willing to drive the organizational change required to make true integration across earned, paid and social media a reality. (More on this in future posts!)
In the midst of these discussions, you can almost hear the Facebooking, Twittering rabble beyond the corporate conference room door. This is the “action consumer” we keep talking about, busily sorting through hundreds of marketing messages a day… ignoring most, turning some into their own rallying cries and (oh dear) angrily hurling an unlucky few back over the ramparts at our clients. Whatever our clients decide to do about social media as symptom and cause of these “action consumer behaviors,” we must remind clients that the media environment has transformed.
We can, at their request, focus on traditional media results – which are still often valued much more highly at the C-level than digital and social media– and do outstanding there. But before the CEO opens his morning copy of the Journal to the great hit that took weeks of work to achieve, a miraculous and unstoppable transubstantiation has already occurred. Given the habits and proclivities of the action consumer, no “traditional media hit” can stay that way for long. All ink goes the way of the pixel: discussed on blogs, sent shooting round the Twitterverse and thumbed up or down on Facebook. We call them “action consumers” because they can turn words into action so efficiently. These sorts of issues are hard to manage even if you are already engaging the action consumer online; you’ll endure much more pain and if you have to try to fix today’s problems with yesterday’s tools.
That’s why I’ve taken to reminding colleagues and clients that everything’s “tradigital” now – lines have blurred irrevocably, and the more we try to “pin down” traditional PR the more it well resemble a butterfly in a museum. There are legitimate business reasons for some clients to steer clear of the Twitter fray, at least for now, but nonetheless all of our stories must be fit to live in the wilderness with the action consumer. In the best case, we’re there with them as the conversation swirls and develops, able to chime in from time to time. But at a minimum, we must be prepared for messages to morph and reverberate with seeming randomness.
And that’s why this blogger needs to sign off and grab another cup of coffee.
Reader Comments (1)
Tradigital....this is my new FAVORITE word! Thanks Jay.