The seminar on ‘social media for professionals’ at leading Bristol law firm Thrings was busy. There were 70-odd people in the room, all dying to know about social media 🙂
I set the context for how marketing has changed over the last five years by half-inching a technique I’d seen David Meerman Scott use. I asked people in the room to raise their hands if they agreed with these questions (% positive responses listed):
| Question | Agree? | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | In the last couple of months privately or professionally have you answered a DM ad? | 5% | |
| 2 | Over the same period have you used a printed yellow pages or telephone directory to research a product or service | 5% | |
| 3 | To achieve the same goal have you gone to mainstream media such as radio TV magazines newspapers? | 2% | |
| 4 | Over the same period have you turned to Google or another search engine to research such a product or service? | 95% | |
| 5 | In seeking advice or recommendations from your own personal networks did any answers you received contain a URL signposting you to further information? | 75% |
These questions have been asked by Meerman Scott all over the world, and, give or take a percentage point here and there, they are always answered the same way.
It’s a great way to set the scene and back up what we all really know:
- The sum of human knowledge is out there on the web, we prefer to do research on our own terms, and without the need for ‘traditional’ marketing.
- We trust recommendations from friends and colleagues way above standard, traditional marketing
LinkedIn insights from my seminar follow in future posts.