2010 IMCC, the un-marketing conference

South Africa is only just engaging itself in social media, online networking, microblogging. How many of you have a company blog, Facebook profile or Twitter account? Yes, I thought so, barely none. Just like at the IMCC. There are so many companies that have not started engaging their (potential) markets on a social level yet. And why? Because we first have to shift our minds, our perspective and our position. It's not about what we think consumers need, but all about whether they need us or not, whether they want to engage with us or not. So, listen and engage!

The new trendsetters

In comes branding - more important than ever before, it's all about personality, leadership qualities and trendsetters. And who are the new trendsetters in marketing? You guessed right. It's not the marketing professionals with years of experience and certificates on the wall, but the creative geniuses. The ones who think up cool stuff. The ones whose spark and motivation causes a ripple on a global level. Just think Old Spice hunk, or Nike phonebooth run.

But let's take it to the next level. It's not even about these trendsetters, they might be the think tank crazy creators, but they are nothing without the consumer and we all are consumers - marketers included. It's about how well we respond to their artwork, how much we feel like we're part of it. Yes, here it comes again... engagement is the key! Start a conversation.

Word has always spread like wild fire in the history of humanity, from when we beat the bush drums to gossiping about neighbours from behind our picket fences, to today's gossip platform, social media. Well, gossip might be a bit of a strong word. Let's call it word-of-mouth. Then again, it's more than that. It's not just about "have you heard", but more about "have you seen". We are getting more and more visual. Video, imagery, even holographic projections is what the modern mind seeks. Numerous case studies attested to this trend - I can't remember a single case study that wasn't in a video format or supported by strong visual images.

Part of a wheel

So how can you prepare yourself? Acknowledge that you're not at the pinnacle of your marketing pyramid. You're part of a wheel - together with consumers, merging channels, creative minds, decision-makers, staff, global trends. Practically, it means, start engaging on multiple channels. Get a social profile on Facebook or Twitter, even if you post once a week only at the start. But you need to start now. Soon search will go social; already Google is incorporating feeds and status updates into their search result pages. You want people to talk about you, to keep you top of mind and refer you. Or run you down - what a great opportunity to engage with them and find consensus. If you have a website, keep up with your paid advertising such as Google and Yahoo/ Bing pay-per-click campaigns. Optimise your website for search engines with SEO. But start using your benchmark keywords in your social feeds, in your blog titles, in your press releases.

Join the cool kids

However, I think websites, traditional search ranking and the PPC model will soon be something of the past. It often suffices to have a blog, or a social profile, or a great visual viral presence as in the future, I think it's all about who says what about whom. So a tip for those of you who want to be part of the new cool kids' gang: make friends with top bloggers, social influencers, well-connected individuals that have a strong presence on the web. (The good thing here: while it's regarded as utterly unethical to bribe a journalist, it's apparently absolutely fine to push clothing labels, island trips and champagne in a blogger's direction.)

So, to un-market ourselves just means to acknowledge these new trends and start shifting our minds and sharing control. Scary thought that, huh? But it's the citizen journalist out there now - even if you don't engage on a social level, your company will be spoken about - badly and well. Marketers still have a duty to measure, forecast and coordinate, but who knows what will happen in five years' time. Maybe today's marketing duties will be handled by finance and CEOs, and marketers will become engagers, socialites, creative artists? Maybe that is truly what we are.