The business model of marketing has changed

Are you still trying to reach the masses with a megaphone while they sit quietly and listen? Do you still think there's a pre-eminent media platform for you to place your brilliantly-designed ad with the catchy phrase? In 1965, it took three TV ads to reach 80% of adults. Thirty seven years later, in 2002, reaching 80% of adults required 117.

Consumers don't trust you like you think

Studies show that the majority of your customers hold you akin to that salesman in the polyester coat with the cheesy grin. Those same studies show that almost 2/3 of consumers make purchasing decisions based on what other consumers told them. Word of mouth.

Word of mouth isn't corporatespeak

And it might not even have a slogan. It's what people used to say over the water cooler before Aquafina and Dasani. It's talking and listening, arguing and learning. It's the language of social media. The Pew Research's Internet and American Life Project puts it this way: "Online communities often function as information clearinghouses that let people compare options, find experts, or share information among people who have recently encountered similar circumstances."

Social media means

Creating a marketing presence where you won't make all the content. You might not make any of the content. You won't be the sole means of delivering the content, either. It means you're creating a place where people can be informed, inform each other and it means you're allowing the most powerful consumer advocate – the consumer – guide the consumer.