Vancouver-based design firm smashLAB just posted a great white paper explaining the importance of social media. Print this out and send it to clients who are having trouble getting it.

Traditional marketers are accustomed to carefully honing messages. This allows for control, but the results are difficult and costly to measure. Social media turns this whole scenario around. With it, control is shared with the crowd, and real feedback becomes immediate.

Organizations now have the opportunity to collect detailed information on users and their habits, elicit real feedback and suggestions, and refine their offering and messaging to better suit user demands. Although there are trade-offs with this new way of communicating, the opportunities for companies to understand and work with their customers have never been as great.

Posted by Megan