by Matthew Broder
VP, External Communications
Twitter: @ctwordsmith
VP, External Communications
Twitter: @ctwordsmith
Pitney Bowes issued a press release this morning with a provocative headline: Pitney Bowes Advises Marketers: Don’t Be Seduced by Social Media.The release goes on to reveal that the keys to genuine brand loyalty are giving customers control over key elements of the brand relationship, such as providing an easy and effective way to contact the company, or providing home delivery, or even giving consumers a say in product development.
However, some folks have been quick to jump on the headline and say that Pitney Bowes doesn’t believe in social media, or doesn’t get social media. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Pitney Bowes LOVES social media, and we are 100% believers in the power of social media to generate brand awareness and to engage with the social media community. We have an extensive presence in social media, through our website, our blogs, numerous Twitter feeds, our channel on YouTube, as well as Flickr, Facebook, LinkedIn, SlideShare, and our robust customer forum.
We have been recognized by others for this commitment to social media. We’re a Top 50 company in the 2010 Mashable list of social media influencers, and we’re a Top 100 company on the NetProspex list of the most social media oriented companies.
So, we’re believers in social media. In fact, that’s why I’m using this blog post to communicate our response quickly. We listen to social media, and we learned that some people were misinterpreting our perspective.
But even passionate social media advocates like Pitney Bowes recognize that there is a full gamut of customer communications channels. Social media, for sure, but also in-person communications, advertising, events, promotions, and of course mail. And that’s what customers experience – the full gamut.
So, marketers, don’t ignore social media, but don’t think that social media alone will close the deal.
Thanks for reading this, and let’s keep the conversation going.