How to Use Social Media Marketing to Take Back Power in the Groundswell

We post on social media every day. We post pictures of our morning latte with the tag of our local coffeeshop. We rave about our new sneakers. We ask our friends and family for recommendations for everything from hairdressers to contractors.

While you may not realize it, these posts are taking power away from corporations and giving it back to the people.

This is the groundswell. The groundswell is defined by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff as:

“A social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other, rather than traditional institutions like corporations.”

The creation of these new, interactive social media technologies has allowed people to find the basic connection they seek with each other.

As companies look to use the groundswell to their advantage, they need to evaluate these new technologies: Does it enable people to connect? Is it effortless to sign up? Does it shift power from institutions to people? Does it generate enough content to sustain itself? Is it an open platform that invites partnerships?

They also need “a systematic framework for assembling [their] plan” considering people, objectives, strategy and technology, according to Li and Bernoff. 

Using these tactics, companies can find new ways to take back some of that power by using social media marketing in new and unique ways.

Since only 14 percent of people trust advertisements, using social media is one way for you to ensure that your company’s marketing doesn’t show.

"Social media provides a powerful channel where brands and retailers can reinforce experience-driven commerce strategies and advance powerful, personal connections with shoppers," an Episerver study found.

In 2019, the percentage of people using social media for purchasing increased to 31 percent according to Digital Information World.

Advertisements placed on the various social media channels can work – especially if you choose the correct channel for your product. As Li and Bernoff noted, you need to consider people and your objectives when coming up with a social media marketing plan. 

It’s fairly obvious that businesses with photogenic products, like food and fashion, will do particularly well on Instagram, the photo-based social media platform. Business-to-business companies would find more success on LinkedIn.

As media theorist Marshall McLuhan said, "The medium is the message."

With so many different mediums available today, it is more important than ever for companies to select the correct channel on which to share their message. 

So which social media channel will you use for your business? In what ways can you take advantage of these new technologies? Share your ideas in the comment section below.