Marketers reach gadget-obsessed

However, if they identify a cluster of shoppers undecided between two digital cameras — at least one a Kodak — Hoehn says they can direct those people to a post on Kodak's blog where they've aggregated third-party reviews of the product.  “It is all about knowing when we can actually add value to the conversations going on out there.”

To help identify these marketing opportunities, Kodak uses social media monitoring software; earlier this year, it hired Beth LaPierre as its first “chief listener,” who tracks, monitors and participates in online conversations related to Kodak.

Nokia is another company focusing its direct marketing activity on social media. “We want to interact with consumers where they consume content the most — online,” says Jason Dyer, head of online marketing for Nokia in North America.

This social media focus is reflected in a new campaign for the launch of its Nokia E73 Mode, which allows users to switch the interface between a “work” and “play” mode. In addition to communicating that benefit to consumers on its Facebook page and Twitter feed, “We've also engaged communities on sites where consumers are talking about work — how they don't have enough time in their day,” says Dyer. Nokia is also working on some “viral stunts” it will seed on the Internet.

Sony indicated that it also plans to increase integration of its direct marketing efforts into the social media realm in the coming year.

The Agency Inside was hired earlier this year as Sony's CRM AOR to help develop a strategy. Fitzpatrick says marketers can deploy tactics through social media to identify customers in the purchase funnel. For other clients it has created a personality quiz that, using an algorithm, matches certain types of people to certain products. They can then track users who take the quiz, and then click to the brand site.