In my ethics in advertising and public relations class we recently talked about a phenomenon called “going native.” It refers to someone who changes their identity and allegiance from their original, and typically cosmopolitan, culture to a new local one, generally after a move or a change.
Our discussion in class led me to think, are we changing our allegiance too quickly from traditional marketing to go “digital” native?
Traditional marketing clearly works, but I’ll be the first to say that I think social media marketing works better. And that instead of worrying whether our allegiances are in the right it is time to INTEGRATE everything. I want to see blog posts instead of press releases and Tweets instead of support calls, and as a consumer I want to see my favorite brands reacting to what I say online. More importantly though, as a marketing intern I want to give a voice to our customers and arm them with the weapons they need to fight the social media battle. I want everyone to know that behind Facebook profiles and Twitter accounts that a real human is listening to them and addressing their needs.
And to those digital immigrants, who are afraid of going digital I urge you to think and discuss social media with as many natives as you can. The more you know and understand the power of social networking the more you will find yourself turning into the one thing you were afraid of, a passionate user of social media.
