Social Marketing: Don’t be timid, says Ford’s Scott Monty

What are the most important skills for graduating college students if they want to have a future in social marketing?

Scott Monty

I’m asking three questions of some of leaders in the field of social media marketing and this is what I learned. This is the fourth in the series (see the links below for earlier posts in the series).

Today: Scott Monty, Global Digital & Multimedia Communications Manager for Ford Motor Company who writes the excellent The Social Media Marketing Blog and is found on Twitter as @ScottMonty:

"A successful social marketer is one who is not timid," says Scott Monty. 

They’re someone "who will try new things and be willing to fail, and who will constantly learn from his or her mistakes," he says. 

Asked what sets a successful social marketer apart from the rest, Monty says: "Piecing together trends and creating new and exciting opportunities rather than rehashing old ideas will make their efforts stand apart."

"It is important to know the overall practices of advertising, marketing and communications, and to understand the fundamentals of the business you’re using it for," he says.

But, aside from specific knowledge of industry or practices, it’s also "important to be curious and to understand what makes people tick."

And how important is social marketing as part of the marketing mix?

"It’s currently a small piece of the overall efforts in communications and marketing, both in terms of budget and impact," Monty says. "But it’s something that is on everyone’s mind."

"Understanding how to truly integrate it into the traditional mix is the challenge," he says, "Rather than treating it as an afterthought or add-on."

So, what do you think? How important will social marketing be in the future and what MUST students know?

Related posts:
Social Marketing: Communication is the Key, says Cheryl Burgess of Blue Focus
Social Marketing: Hubspot's Sam Mallikarjunan Tells All
Social Marketing: Mark Schaefer on What Students Must Know