Pepsi goes US Prez. Obama way; Uses social media to connect with consumers

Regular “twittering” has its advantages and most of you in the social media space must have found out. For those of you who are new to this domain, Twitter is a free social messaging utility for staying connected in real-time.

While twittering the other day, I came across an interesting piece of information---Pepsi initiating a social media blitzkriegs by setting up a room on Friendfeed called the Pepsi Cooler, asking consumers to “Join us as together we shape Pepsi’s social media future. We’re changing the way we do things and want to have you along for the ride,” stated a company official in Pepsi’s friendfeed room. However it will be interesting to know why Pepsi used friendfeed and not facebook or myspace?

Pepsi’s move endorses my view that social media is going to become the most preferred marketing and communications channel for big brands in the near future. So what has Pepsi done? It has launched its re-branding campaign on Friendfeed. Pepsi’s room has attracted more than 260 members in a very short timeframe. However, comments are currently restricted to merits of targeting social media networks.

The fact that such a global brand is using social media network as against traditional marketing channel is a case in point for social media. Going forward, I am sure Pepsi will see value in social media, especially when the economy the world over is bitten by the recession bug. After all, if the new US President Barack Obama can use social media not only to raise funds but also to win the election and connect with fellow American through facebook and other network sites, why can’t corporations follow suit!!