Mediaboss Marketing

Your customers are growing tired of all the marketing being thrown their way on social media, says analyst Kim Celestre

Less than half of the audience here at ThinkLA's Social Media breakfast raised their hands when they were asked if they find marketing useful in their personal lives.

That's not exactly a ringing endorsement from the hundreds of marketers, advertisers and other media professionals who filled this seaside banquet hall.

What many here know and fewer will readily admit is that most marketing is junk. That truth persists with little regard for differences in medium, format, audience or data.

As the old and oft-repeated saying goes: half of all the effort and money spent on advertising is wasted, they just don't know which half.

Social media doesn't change that scenario so much as it amplifies what out-of-control junk marketing looks like. Any marketing that fails to provide value to a consumer is junk and there's a lot of it making the rounds on social media.

"The reality is most of us don't listen because the message doesn't pertain to us," says Kim Celestre, senior analyst at Forrester. "The fact is, your audience is getting impatient with the marketing you're putting out there."

Affluent, always-connected consumers may be some of the most valuable targets for marketers, but they're also especially good at ignoring advertising, she adds.

Celestre encourages brands to embrace "utility marketing" marketing that their customers can use. "You need to demonstrate your brand promise and not just talk about it," she says.

[Related: 5 Ways to Improve Your Social Media Campaigns ]

Excerpt from:
How to Make Sure Your Social Marketing Isn't 'Junk'