The article contains good general reminders, with the lesson of this particular "(un)success" story being: Before launching any social media marketing efforts, make sure you have the time, resources and content to do the job right.
The author of the piece also was right-on in emphasizing: While MySpace seems to be a popular first step to integrating social media marketing into the mix–it may not be the right step for you.
Thanks for this. I recently designed a "Blogger Buzz Campaign" for a skin care range, Cosméceutique. We personally identified and then approached female bloggers who wrote authoritative blogs with a positive tone. They reviewed the products in their own voice.
This was part of a larger social media campaign that includes blog ads and Facebook. The bloggers and their contacts are now fans on the Facebook page. The company only used these "alternative" methods of advertising, plus PR releases and independent reviews. Other parts of the marketing mix include distribution/ retail strategy.
What really worked was our personal relationships with bloggers and writers who stepped up to co-create this campaign. However this "campaign" was the outgrowth of a larger culture within the company that embraced relationships with the community of users. And the nature of the co-dependency ensures that this is a long-term engagement. Win-win-win.
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