[wpvideo VdUJbrJI]The San Francisco Luxury Marketing Council hosted a presentation on social media with a panel made up of Adam Helwah of Secret Sushi Creative, a marketing and design company; Brandon Pierce, Regional Sales Director of Facebook (see video); along with a representative from Halogen Guides which targets busy, affluent consumers with online resources to help them make better decisions faster.

The panel led an in-depth discussion into how social media – Facebook, Twitter, etc. – has changed the marketing world from a “push” format to an open, uncontrolled conversation directly with consumers. The change is felt most acutely among the generation that didn’t grow up with a cell phone in their hand and the changes have created for them a sense of losing control. What I heard was actually very positive from the aspect of reaching your clients directly in a more informative way and being able to tailor your information to their needs and wants as well as creating more of a sense of community. I’m just really beginning to get involved in all the new media and its exciting and fun. The conversational aspect and sense of community are the two qualities I like the most. And from an international perspective, my foreign clients have found it most helpful in getting a better sense of the market here as well as of me, my community and my working style.

This topic is so timely and present on the fore front of business. The New York Times reports in its Friday, November 6th issue on the 99th annual conference of the Association of National Advertisers in Phoenix. Social media and its impact on marketing and advertising is a leading topic at this conference which just ended this past Sunday. The column’s author, Stuart Elliott quotes Michael Keller, chief brand officer at Dairy Queen, as saying, “Dairy Queen is going to be fighting it out to get more of our fair share of the market by continuing to focus on value, maintaining a presence in social media like Facebook and Twitter…”

Brandon Pierce of Facebook told our group we would see major efforts by large leading corporations on Facebook next year particularly the car manufacturers. This is once again a bottom up change that has far-reaching effects because it is increasing the information flow and breaking down barriers. I see this ultimately as a good thing. And, it means that the practice of interaction between each of us will be more direct, immediate and conversational at every level. I guess for an “old dog” like myself the most surprising insight from the evening’s discussion was that it is the leading edge of change not arrival at the place of change itself. Wow…the impact is just now causing ripples and where we land we won’t know for a while. That’s exciting.

So, let me know how social media is impacting your life and leave me a comment.

All the Best, Lance