Social Media is a Cocktail Party: Sneak Peek #5

Lisa Braziel | November 18, 2008 | View Comments

Anyone else excited for the book launch on the 20th?! (If you aren’t please pretend.)

Until we get there, I’m moving to Sneak Peek #5 – a little peek into a chapter that discusses how social media can be used within the product development cycle (and how this in turn influences marketing).

Overall, this chapter discusses the value that can be gleaned from a company using social media to talk to consumers within all stages of the product development cycle. It dives into the cost effectiveness and efficiency of using social media tools like social networks and blogs to receive feedback and direction, and how this can also help a company avoid larger, costly mistakes. After hearing about the Motrin communication crisis over the past weekend, I also think many parts of this chapter can also be applied to the testing and development of marketing messages as well. Below are the 5 benefits of using social media for research and development that are listed within this chapter of the book:

1. Increases Reach: Companies can gain customer input from a wide-ranging, global audience in addition to small niche audiences.
2. Increases Frequency and Results: Companies can gain customer input throughout the entire product development process and receive these results immediately.
3. Increases Customer Buy-In and Loyalty: Customers contributing to the development of a product are more likely to purchase the product and even become brand advocates.
4. Increases Intelligence: Social media enables companies to reach and utilize more minds and ultimately receive ideas for improvement.
5. Improves Marketing: Marketing becomes easier as many companies create products that better resonate with the target audience.

You can now buy Social Media is a Cocktail Party on Amazon.com.