Social media certainly changed the world of marketing. However, when you think about it, the industry still works pretty much in the same manner.
For the most part, companies still utilize tactics that were employed for decades to reach customers. Information is still mailed out in droves in an effort to capture attention. At the same time, telemarketers are pounding the phones to drum up leads. Advertising is still heavily relied up, especially television and radio.
The question is whether there is a better way?
Even with today's social media world, which many companies leverage for great success, there are limitations.
Hive could provide a solution.
We are watching Hive form into a well rounded ecosystem with tools that allow people to create whatever they need. Thus far, a lot is at the developer level yet we are close to seeing this expand. Here we will see, marketing by companies make a lot of sense.
In this article, we will use Tesla as an example. The reason for this is they are innovative by not utilizing marketing. Nevertheless, what is going to be laid out here is a terrific way for them to get into the game.
The key to all of this is to switch marketing from something a company pays for to something that is free. Hive offers this solution.
Tokenization
We all know about tokenization. From a company's perspective, this process opens up an entirely new avenue.
For the most part, when we discuss tokenization, we overlook the fact that tokens are marketing tools. This means that brand awareness can be spread through this vehicle.
A company like Tesla could establish a token to be utilized for a host of purposes. They could integrate it into their business as a reward system for vehicles providing data. At the same time, it could establish bounty programs for people who help to promote the Tesla brand through their social media activities. Finally, contests and other promotions could be run offer tokens as a reward.
Of course, the company would accept the token as payment at its service centers and on its website for products, including automobiles.
Community
Advertising is done, when you really think about it, to tap into the "community" that is interesting in what is being offered. For example, beer companies spends a fortune putting their names in front of the adult berverage community by advertising on sporting events. The idea is not to get an instant action, i.e. see the ad and go out to purchase beer. Instead, it is a constant reminder of why one wants the product.
The challenge with marketing is you still are promoting to people who do not care. Sporting events are watched by kids. They are also enjoyed by non-drinkers. Yet those are part of the demographics that a company has to pay for.
With the community concept on Hive, we something completely different. Instead of trying to find their customers, a community could have them in one place.
Since Hive has the Proof-of-Brain concept, the aforementioned tokenization is applicable. When a company creates a token, they can reward their customers for posting, commenting, and upvoting on content.
Going back to Tesla, customers can be encouraged to post about their experiences with the product, along with pictures of the vehicles. In addition to the owners, others can get rewarded for their activity. This feeds into the economic cycle mentioned above.
Also, by promoting the community, the company can direct traffic there. If it is an ardent community, which Tesla appears to have, we could see more people drawn to it.
Here again, the company can offer promotion in the community, bring out new information, and cater to those who spend time there.
Blogging
One of the core features of Hive is the blogging capability. While this is not everyone's forte, it certainly is for a company. They are always trying to get their message out there and what better way than a blog?
Naturally, this is known by most since they put it on their websites. Thus, companies recognize the value of using this vehicle to provide information and keep customers engaged.
The challenge is websites are usually a one-way street. The idea of commenting is not common. Blogs on websites for companies are usually just information sources.
On Hive, this is not the case since the comment section is open for anyone to engage. Couple with the idea of all posts dropping into the community and we see how some members of the community will answer questions and help to guide newer members.
We also cannot overlook the tokenization factor in this. Here again, we see community members incentivized to participate.
Social Media
Hive is forming a menu of social media tools. In addition to blogging there is video and soon microblogging. When these are combined, it is a powerful system for companies to use.
Many corporations employ full time social media personnel. They have to monitor YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook as well as LinkedIn and Medium. This can be quite a job.
One of the biggest challenges is each is its own silo. Tesla has to generate followers on each platform, hoping to keep all satisfied. An answer posted on one will not show up on another. This creates a lot more work and reduces the overall effectiveness of the marketing.
Hive solves this. No matter what the application, one's following is just that. There is one set of followers who can access all information. This is a windfall for a company since they do not have to repeat all their activities across many platforms.
Consider it one-stop marketing. They simply utilize this as their main hub for information distribution and question answering while incentivizing the community to take the promotion outside.
Tesla can post videos of new plants being constructed, test drives on cars, and updates on interiors. At the same time, if the company's personnel wants to engage in a short form manner, that is available too.
The benefit is all the activity is in one place, providing a library of information for people to reference. By using the customer base for engagement, the "marketing" department grows significantly. Instead of a handful of employs in the social media department, the community might have tens of thousands engaging daily.
Will this work for every company? Probably not, at least not in totality. Yet for an exciting and creative company like Tesla (or Apple), it could handle a large part of their marketing.
It also completely reverses the model. Instead of customers being on the other side of the table, they are enlisted to, essentially, be part of the company. There is now a reason for users of the product to engage in promotion on behalf of the company. Basically, they have an economic interest also.
Presently, in the online world, the website is the go to for a company. This is their main hub. However, by changing the equation, we can see how the focus can shift. Instead of trying to drive everyone to the website, the goal is the community. Trying to expand that is the key. Thus, the success there will likely translate into greater results since it is an incentivized community. Couple that with excitement and innovation, and we can see how things could really expand for a company.
It would revolutionize a large part of the marketing world. Why go out and try to hunt down users of your product when you have find them in one place? And, as Hive expands, more who are interested in that product will naturally gravitate to the community.
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