By this time, all of us are convinced that social media is effective and is here to stay. The 
marketing today is all about building relationships. Technology has given us ways to be more efficient, but not more effective. An email or SMS can never contain the warmth of a handwritten letter or a face to face meeting. Hence, before we begin a social media or any other campaign, we must understand the intimacy level for that form of communication.
Low Intimacy Platforms
If you think that Twitter is the only and the best medium that will help you build relationships, then think again. The worst thing about Twitter is that it is overcrowded. You need to do a lot of get heard. And sometimes, you would not even know who you are shouting to and if anybody is listening. There are way too many groups and lists that people are into. Moreover, you can just post characters within 140 characters and it puts limits to self expression.
Blogs are also a medium of self expression and people write a lot when they blog. They think that they are building good relationships when they receive a lot of comments. It is true; more comments do amount to something. But there is only one person talking at a time and hence intimacy level is not that much. Also, blogs and blog comments are mostly only textual which is yet another factor that contributes to lower intimacy level.
Medium Intimacy Platforms
It was thought that new media will swipe email marketing away. The reason is simple. New media is more personal and more interactive. Email still has its benefits like one-to-one interaction between the sender and the receiver. There is no character limit and what you write to one person remains with that person. Of course Facebook is the medium driving all social campaigns these days. It has a higher intimacy due to its high visual appeal. With the latest timeline update, a glimpse to a Facebook page can show you what the person or brand is all about. It is easy and it is interesting.
High Intimacy Platforms
Social media might be ruling the charts but chat has not lost its charm. Chat is the only place where you can get an instant response. And when in trouble, a customer truly cherishes the 24 hour chat support that you offer. With online chats people often build relationships that last for life. Similarly, there is no replacement of a hand written note. Everyone knows that it takes time and effort to write by hand and you cannot send it to all. This uniqueness is what makes it so special.
People often wonder why tweet-ups are organized and why companies continue to have customer and partner meetings. Yes all of it can be done through Twitter or Skype using virtual events and conferencing, but it would not add the personal touch you need which you get by meeting personally. Businessmen often fly to other countries even though technology is available. What works for personal relationships also works for business relationships.
No matter what the product or service is that you intend to market, relationship building is a must everywhere. Keeping in mind the intimacy levels that the above platforms offer, you can choose the kind of event or marketing campaign you want to create.
A guest blog by Alyssa Clarke. Alyssa Clarke is a blogger who also happens to be a tech buff. She is always on a lookout for latest tech stuff and being an eco enthusiast, she is currently hunting for some cool green android apps. She is a car lover too and at present is a big fan of the tweet run Mercedes Benz car.
