Marketing Strategies (4Cs)

Despite the proposition that social media is a paradox, it is the revolutionary representation in the way consumers obtain and create information. At the same time, it is just another marketing channel. The reason marketers are so confused about social media is because of this paradox. Social media marketing is only a tool and the technology is only the enabler, the main factor is the marketing strategy.

(Diagram – Marketing channels by www.outsidesource.com – click here)

Social media is about customer relationships and not really about the technology at all, and the 4Cs sums what everyone need to have a successful marketing campaign through social media.

Generally the 4Cs are Communication, Cooperation, Collaboration and Connection; but I think that it should go beyond the limitations of the above terminologies.

(4Cs diagram by – www.marketingmix.co.uk)

My self and many other bloggers believe the new 4Cs would be Customers, Content, Context and Channel, where customers come first!

1. Customers: something that is missing from many social media plans is the focus on customers. Marketing is all about getting people to know you, like you and trust you enough to buy from you. And once you have a customer, you need to keep them. Social media starts with the very first introduction to your brand and extends to the lifetime of your customer relationship. You need to find them, identify their biggest needs and pains and understand who and what influences them.
2. Content: it doesn’t matter if a customer liked your page, what matters is how to keep them interested in you and your product, contents and information you provide will keep them around if it meets their needs. In social media content is not necessarily about creating white papers or videos. It can include 140 character tweets, photos, or any other media. But what really matters is the value in the content you share/ create.
3. Context: this is important because some traditional marketing assets like white papers or product demos do not perform very well in social media. The reason is context. People do not “like” brands on Facebook because they want to be marketed to. They “like” you as part of an expression of who they are. I closely follow people on Twitter who are active in sharing information relevant to my job. The rule of “Context” is that you must create the kind of content that people expect in social media.
4. Channel: not every marketer belongs on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin, and there is no one appropriate channel for all needs. A chart in a previous post shows the amount of subscribers to most social media networks as of April 2016 (click here). One platform might work perfectly fine for a business, while similar business in a different geographical location may benefit more from another platform/ channel.

Depending on your audience, your primary focus should look back to the first “C” – Customer, to understand where they spend their time, what Content would be helpful and in what Context do they expect to receive it. Then pick the Channels most relevant to them.