The Ocean Agency

Mousavi supporters (via the big picture @ boston.com)

The uproar in Iran is big news. At the Ocean Agency, we are inspired by Iranians’ fighting for their freedom.  We would like to think that we would do the same if we were placed in a similar situation. News outlets across the globe have been following the story, and social media has emerged as an impressive  conduit for unrestricted first hand information from the ground. Currently, with few foreign journalists in Iran groups from the US State Department to CNN are relying on social media to cover the story.

The centrality and necessity of social media in the coverage of this event reflects more than a changing journalistic landscape however. The Iranian election illuminates the ability of social media agents  to organize effectively and provide real time information quickly, fueling a world-wide conversation that has the potential to reach everyone with internet access.

Taken as a social media marketing case study, the Iranian election and its corresponding  coverage can teach online marketers how to better harness the power of social media:

1) Start an interesting conversation:

Any online marketer can target bloggers and social networks, and just simply drop in a link or push a product. The goal of social media is to create conversations and connections. People will talk about your product only if it is worth talking about, or at the very least packaged in an interesting way.

The Iranian election story took off because it appeals to a variety of our human instincts, touching on themes of religious freedom, persecution, violence, and revolution. Chances are your product won’t be this interesting, but as a marketer, you can package a product in a way that taps into what people already talk and care about. This should be a cornerstone of your social media strategy.

2) Harness the power of “real-time”

Some of the power of social media lies in its revolutionary ability to spread ideas in real time to a myriad of people. It can reach into niches and crowds and connect with individuals who belong to a variety of different marketing profiles. Moreover, it can do this in real time, providing a constant flow of information that cannot be found anywhere else.

Don’t think of social media as just another platform for spreading information. To garner the most success, you need to tailor content for social media, content that cannot be found or interacted with on any other media platform.
Would you buy a color printer if you only needed to print in black and white? Why use social media tools if you are not tapping into all of their capabilities?

3) Don’t forget about traditional media coverage:

While many people do live their lives online and on their smart phones constantly connected to the web, many do not. Traditional media plays a large role in driving casual web users to internet “events”. The Iranian elections  became a social media phenomenon only after traditional media coverage. A lofty goal for a great online marketing campaign should be to create such intense, engaging, and interesting conversation that traditional media deems it newsworthy.

Create an engaging conversation, create content that is designed specifically for social media platforms, and don’t forget the power of traditional media coverage. In the world of online marketing there is much to learn from the constantly evolving world around us, the Iranian election and subsequent uproar is no exception.