Course Reflections

As I reflect on what I've learned over this quarter I want to highlight a few things.

Building relationships is far more effective than selling advertisement
With all that we've learned about social media and how consumers are behaving, it is very clear that relationships are more effective in marketing a brand than advertisement is. People listen to their friends' opinions much more seriously than they do of brand representatives because there is a relationship there. Social media has really been a catalyst for the de-emphasis of advertisement and putting power into relationships. People now have instant access to their networks and it is very easy for people to connect with those they have built relationships with. While advertisements do still serve a place, perhaps in raising brand awareness, it is relationships that are the big influencers in purchasing decisions. Marketers need to build relationships with their consumers so that they can wield that similar kind of influence.


Mobile Technology cannot be ignored
With new technologies such as the iPhone, iPad, smart phones and tablets becoming increasingly popular it has become increasingly obvious that the mobile space is becoming, if not already, the dominant mode of connection. More people are connecting together through their mobile devices than they have before and are making mobile their primary go to device. The implications this has for the marketer are enormous, it won't be good enough to just put stuff on the internet, they have to be designed with mobile in mind. This also presents a lot of cool opportunities for the marketer. With people have that "always on them" device there is always a way to connect with them. People use their mobile devices for all sorts of things and it is vital to understand how they are using their devices and how the marketer can tailor experiences to fit with that behavior.

The Rise of Digital Natives
It has become very clear to me that I am a digital native. I have such a fluency with technology that my parents and grandparents can never hope to have. And because of that I am changing the landscape of how technology is going to develop in the future. However, as new social paradigms are developed I hope that the next generation can learn from the older ones. Some of the things such as the difference in perspective about information security and privacy between my generation and older ones is a flag of concern. I think if we learn from history and set out on correct paths that we can avoid some very nasty situations