Thoughts, Ideas, Opinions ... » Webjam clients embrace key Marketing trends in 2010

As companies look cautiously at the outlook for the year while wondering how to make the most of social media, these are the questions marketing departments should be asking themselves :
•    Who is best positioned to talk about the product : the customer or the marketing director ?
•    Is the marketer’s role to broadcast a message or to foster discussions about the company’s products or services ?
•    How much of the marketing budget should be spent on retention and education to foster  word of mouth rather than straight customer acquisition
Answers to these questions are likely to accelerate the following trends :
•    From launching one-off campaigns to building lasting relationships
•    From editor or product manager to community manager
•    From SEM to engagement via social media, to also foster SEO
•    From Content Management Systems to Community Management Systems
Of course solutions will differ on a per company basis depending on their business and how ready they are in embracing these trends. A good example is what we are doing with leading book publisher Random House on http://vintagereadinggroup.co.uk/ where readers can join or even create their own book clubs on topics and authors they are passionate about.
What is going to be as exciting this year is that companies are discovering that a lot of their engagement strategies for customers could also work to re-engage with employees. But that will deserve another post...