Social Media and Social Consciousness

Integrated Marketing today involves more than advertising and direct mail. It’s about messages that can reach people around the world in an instant. It means being socially conscious and politically aware and it also means being able to communicate on a global scale. It means understanding your target audience – who they are – what they like - no matter were in the world they happen to live.

When I talk about integrated marketing with our clients – I make sure to include the Interactive/Digital components of their marketing, social media including how they will incorporate social networks – MySpace, Facebook, Blogs, Twitter, etc. and I always make sure their messages and actions around social responsibility are included.

For all of us involved in marketing today, you would have to be living under a rock to not know that as a marketer you now have to combine marketing innovation with social and environmental concerns. Better known as Sustainability Development and Marketing.
Sustainable development and marketing are concerned with how today’s business contributes to some of the most significant challenges the world faces in this century – from climate change and the environment, to health and safety for workers globally.

Companies create a competitive advantage by understanding the global communities in which they do business. In recent years, hundreds of companies have developed ethical reports and policies on environmental performance. These initiatives seem to appear more where consumers make decisions to switch brands that they feel do not respect social responsibility issues.

Integrating sustainability values into a brand can contribute to market growth, after all a company’s corporate responsibility can become that company’s differentiator in a market place where price and performance are the same.

Although a company’s brand is about value and self image, consumers want to know more about the company behind the brand. To understand just how relevant sustainability marketing maybe to your company or business – ask yourself and your team these simple questions:

Are social and environmental issues on the radar of our customers?
Do social and environmental issues have any impact on our product offerings or our company’s reputation?
Is our company’s survival threatened by changes in the global economy and environment?

History has proven that consumers naturally follow brands that lead. So as a marketer you must encourage brands that create sustainable principles. (Visit Sojo's Greener World - http://www.sojoinc.com/green/)