Thomas Sanchez, Social Driver: “People think of marketing like Zeus throwing lightning bolts”

Thomas Sanchez, CEO of Social Driver, a social media strategy agency based in Washington, DC, thinks that marketing is still learning the lessons that technologists already understand. “The way that marketing worked for the last 50 or 100 years is actually the opposite of how people have lived their lives for thousands of years,” said Sanchez. “People…

Thomas Sanchez, CEO of Social Driver, a social media strategy agency based in Washington, DC, thinks that marketing is still learning the lessons that technologists already understand.

“The way that marketing worked for the last 50 or 100 years is actually the opposite of how people have lived their lives for thousands of years,” said Sanchez. “People think of marketing as very top down, like Zeus throwing lightning bolts.”

According to Sanchez, technologists already understand the power of networks and the benefits of thinking open source.

“Marketing is still learning that lesson,” said Sanchez.

Sanchez thinks that Instagram is a growth opportunity for social media marketing, due mainly to Facebook’s integration and advertising tools.

“It’s not just teenagers who are on it. It’s growing so fast,” said Sanchez.

Snapchat is another platform that has a lot of potential for marketers.

“We saw a Kansas City company, VML, really shine in this Snapchat world during the Superbowl,” said Sanchez. “They worked with their client Gatorade to create a filter where you could dump orange Gatorade onto, not the coach of the Broncos, but your friend or yourself.”

Sanchez thinks that business leaders really need to see social media as an opportunity, not an afterthought.

“The most common mistake is that they give it to the youngest person in the organization,” said Sanchez. “This is the biggest strategy opportunity companies have in front of them.”

For more from Sanchez on starting his career in Kansas City, the crisis at Twitter, and more advice on social media strategy, check out our full interview from AIM Infotec in the video above.

Special thanks to Gallup and Jim Collison from TheAverageGuy.tv.

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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