In science, fundamental theories create a foundation that provide context for ongoing study of that field. For example, Einstein’s Theory of Relativity is the building block upon which astrophysics is conducted. As digital marketing scientists, Anova Group has developed our own fundamental theories that provide a foundation for our field of study. Through our blog, we will share our fundamental theories beginning with the Push Theorem of Social Media.
Push Theorem of Social Media
As we examine different digital marketing portfolios, we conceptually need to discriminate social media from other types of digital marketing. The most fundamental conceptual difference between Social Media and other channels can be illustrated by a push-pull continuum. In the diagram below, we divide the major digital marketing channels across this continuum.
The Pull
Beginning on the ‘pull’ side of the continuum, SEM and SEO are the main channels for a pull marketing strategy. Prospective customers search for the exact products/brands they desire (e.g. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince DVD) and the advertiser is able to respond back exactly with that product. In SEM and SEO, the prospective customer initiates and drives the conversation.
The Opt-In Push – The Middle
E-mail marketing as well as Social Media Sign-ups (e.g. Facebook Fan Page) are examples of a mix of push and pull in that the prospective customer has already executed a ‘pull’ via an opt-in, but then the marketer pushes future messages to the prospect. In these cases, the consumer has ‘opted-in’ to future conversations with the expectation that the business will initiate.
The Pure Push – Social Media
Within this push-pull framework, Social Media (Viral) then is the ultimate push marketing channel. Social Media is the digital channel in which messages are delivered to prospective customers without the prospective customer requesting those messages and sometimes without the prospective customer even realizing a message exists. At the same time, the messages sent to the prospective customers occur often without Marketing’s direction thus the etymology of ‘viral marketing.’
Implications of the Push-Pull Understanding
Starting with this Push Theorem, we can now start to understand the implications in marketing across this continuum.
Avoid the Fundamental Mistake
A fundamental mistake in digital marketing is not recognizing how different channels (e.g. Paid search, Social Media) vary under this push-pull framework. As a result, marketers make mistakes such as being overtly transactional in Facebook or overusing Paid Search for brand awareness. Other times, the marketer may mistakenly have the exact same content across the complete push-pull continuum.
Posted by Jeff Aliotta of Anova Group.
