For years, technology providers have sold marketers on the notion of “one-to-one” marketing. “Just imagine,” they say, “being able to deliver the right message, to the right customer, at the right time to guarantee your message will get through.” And, for the most part, we bought it. Both figuratively, and more often than not, literally. Except that it has never worked. Oh, sure, we’re much better at delivering the right message to the right customer at the right time than at any time in history. But, in practice, most of the technologies, tools and toys we’ve have to play with haven’t helped us deliver on that promise.
Why not? Well, partly it’s because those technologies, tools and toys weren’t always equal to the task at hand. And partly because we as marketers weren’t ready to send messages to each customer on a personalized level. But the former is no longer true.
What do I mean? Well, as you’ve probably heard, Google has integrated “social information” into its search results pages, including more information from your friends and your favorite social networks. In many ways, Google had no choice. While very few people think of Facebook or Twitter as “search engines,” little doubt exists that many consumers increasingly turn to their social networks to find the information that matters to them.
While you might use Google for local movie theaters and showtimes, would you ask it which movie to see? Or do you trust your friends on Facebook more? Would you query Google about a job candidate’s merits—or would you rather ask your LinkedIn network?
The data shows Google continues to dominate search share. But these numbers fail to account for the types of searches above that are going to neither Google, nor Bing, nor Yahoo. When measuring search share, where is Twitter? LinkedIn? Facebook?
Suddenly, the tech to talk to consumers on a truly one-to-one basis exists.
Which brings us to the second half of our “one-to-one” challenge above. As Steve Rubel has said, there isn’t just one Facebook. There are 500 million of them. And there are even more Googles than that.
It would be easy to worry that you’re going to have to deliver a single, targeted message to as many potential customers as exist on Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare, and on, and on, and on…
After all, who is prepared to deliver 500 million-plus distinct messages on Facebook? And perhaps a billion more on Google? Hell, even if you only wanted to talk to 1% of those folks, could you deliver millions of messages?
Actually, as scary as this may seem, it’s more a “glass half-full” situation than a problem. Because you don’t want to talk to each of “the different Facebooks” that exists. Or even a healthy chunk of them. The skills search engine marketers and direct marketers before them have learned—segmentation, channel management, copy testing—serve just as well in the social sphere as anywhere else online.
Sure, social is different because, as I’ve said many times before, social is people. And the differences among people is finding its way into search as well as social media. But, the best marketers have been talking to people all along. And if you’re not, isn’t it time you did?
