Take a look at this diagram:

North American marketers see major improvements when integrating email marketing and social media efforts. This is another proof that the power of digital marketing lies in channel integration, and not in short term campaigns. As social web marketing requires an ongoing nurturing of branded online assets (brand's Facebook page, Twitter account, on so on), the biggest advantages are for those who combine different channels to utilize these assets.
This information also sheds light on the expected announcement of Facebook Mail today. My friend Yaniv Golan have some interesting thoughts about this move.

In a world were marketing ROI becomes critical for brands success, the combination of strong branding tools with direct marketing tools provide major advantages to the ones who use them well.

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• Why Email Marketing Still Trumps Social (webpronews.com)

In my previous post we've discussed the challenges that brands are facing when required to interact with their consumers directly. The main point of the post is that consumers are not satisfied anymore with presenters or low level employees, and are looking for authoritative figure to represent the company.

This post generated some very interesting comments, especially in face to face meetings I recently had with CEOs of brand and service companies.
The main point raised was that relying a company value on one person is extremely dangerous, especially for the shareholders. Many mentioned the fluctuations in Apple's share price in response to Jobs' health as a showcase of these dangers.

Yes, star CEOs pose a challenge to  shareholders. Larry Ellisson, Richard Branson, Steve Jobs and others are the real life incarnation of their companies. Without them, they will never be the same. But the fact is that the general direction of the relationship between consumers and brands is leading to an era that is  fundamentally different than what we were used to. Companies are already having hard time hiding behind PR pros and shiny logos. Customers want to talk, be heard, and in a sense have a meaningful relationship with companies they finance.  It is getting harder and harder to differentiate in products and technology. It is the feeling that matters. And if in the past the slogans and logos did all the work - now, the  social web is changing the expectation of consumers.

Brands are already part of the game - with their Twitter accounts, Facebook pages, and such.

There is no escape from the demise of faceless brands. You might as well wake up and smell the coffee.

140 Character Conference, Jeff Pulver's latest event is taking place in Mid June. The speaker list is very impressive, and encompasses some of the biggest names in Twitterverse and most forward thinking marketers around us.

If you are in NYC or tristate area - I recommend checking out this event.

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Why ... do I take the time to use social media like Twitter and Facebook? .... Because there is no better way to engage the various audiences that are important in my professional and personal life.

...Your involvement in social media will grow your brand, strengthen the connection between you and your company's key audiences, and keep you aware of what's really happening with your business. It's well worth the time investment....

No, these are not the quotes of a social media consultant. Refreshingly, these are the words of a CMO of a well known company.

When I came across the interview of Jeffery Hayzlett, Kodak's CMO I was excited to see a top executive who is actually using social web for his work on a daily basis, without the usual huha around it. When asked about the root of his involvement in social media he said:

I first started using social media to keep in touch with family. I soon realized the benefits of updating my fellow employees, our customers, even the media and anyone else who wants to keep updated on what's happening with Kodak marketing.

When asked about authenticity of his online persona:

it's important that people hear from the real me. I've had people ask me if I do my own posts (I do -- you can't fake it with social media). I'm just a guy from South Dakota with a really cool job, so I can't help getting excited at some of the great things we do.

Many of my customers are asking about ROI. His answer:

We have seen very tangible returns from our participation in social media, including traditional media coverage, sales leads, increased customer consideration and direct product purchase.

And when talking about integration of social tools in their marketing operation:

Of course, social media is a part of Kodak's integrated-marketing approach and much of it is managed by employees like me with other full-time jobs

Not everyone were happy as I am when they read it. One commenter wrote:

Mr. Hayzlett might be better off spending less time twittering and blogging and working on comprehensive marketing plans aimed at addressing the critical failures of the past few years. Twitter is a tool, Jeff.

Though I agree with Jeffery in almost everything he wrote, his closing argument is a bit tricky:

Your involvement in social media will grow your brand, strengthen the connection between you and your company's key audiences, and keep you aware of what's really happening with your business. It's well worth the time investment.

I completely agree - but it works only if done right, as an integral part of overall marketing and company activities, by enthusiastic employees who love the social web and use it in their private life as well.

You can read the full article here.

Follow Jeffery Hayzlett and me on Twitter

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