July-2010
Article Index
- July-2010 current position
- Industry Update:
- Research:
- Did You Know?
- Tidbits:
- Question Corner:
MARKETING TRENDS:
Is Social Media Smart Marketing?
Media experts tend to agree that printed publications are here to stay for the foreseeable future. (See Magazines, The Power of Print and The Twenty Tweetable Truths about Magazines for some entertaining and informative perspectives on the “Death of Print.”) Yet, understandably, there has been a lot of buzz in recent months about introducing more electronic and social media into the marketing mix.
We’re all aware of the significance and impact of today’s new communication tools. Social media, text messaging, smart phone .mobi websites and apps have become so ubiquitous that many of us feel like we have missed the train and are racing down the platform waving and hoping the engineer will take pity and slow down to let us jump aboard.
Our advice? Don’t panic. While these technologies are exciting and provide some serious advantages, they should not be considered the end-all marketing strategy, but rather just another arrow in your quiver. And from all indications, they’re not going away, just changing so rapidly that it’s hard to keep up and still keep your eye on the rest of your business. So relax and start educating yourself.
Commitment Required
If you are thinking about making this shift, don’t ignore the expenses required to properly staff and maintain this strategy. This type of marketing requires an ongoing commitment of staffing and resources in order to stay current and meet your expectations. In many cases, depending on your goals, a full-time staff position will be required to maintain a consistent presence and voice in the competitive marketplace. This person should also be fluent in SEO-speak and the importance of your branding strategies so all of your electronic and print collateral are working in harmony.
Join the Revolution!
The bottom line is that a well-rounded marketing campaign still requires a good mix of print and electronic media. None of these tools will work as well alone as they do in the proper combination. And most importantly, take the time to learn how to use these tools correctly or you may risk wasting a lot of time and valuable resources.
As sexy as the notion of social and electronic media is, you have to be willing to commit fully to the ongoing process in order to see any tangible benefits. These tools are only as effective as you are and if you are not incorporating these powerful tools into your media mix, you are probably losing market share to your competitors.
Take a look at Social Media Revolution to gain a better understanding of the scope and influence of social media in today’s world. But rest assured, even most early adopters readily agree that they are never fully satisfied that they are using these platforms to their maximum potential. This is very much a work in progress and social media consultants are loving it.
Share your experience
We’d really like to hear from you. What have your experiences been with the various social media platforms? What did you promote? What were your goals? How did it perform? Any information you can provide will help us all gain some insight and develop better strategies.
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I recently used Twitter to let people know about a special deal we were offering at a last minute. Twenty-seven people showed up within 45 minutes. It was amazing!