How Is Social Media Incorporated Into Your Marketing Plan?
May 11, 2011
I have a confession. Even as I sit here and write this blog post, I'm really tired of 90 some percent of what I see and hear on or about social media. There's a whole new marketing niche that has been created in the last couple of years, but for what? At times I find myself vascillating from wanting to bail from every element of "social" to wanting to invest in it all the more. Why is it that way?
Part of my frustration is caused by inexperienced marketers who are peddling "social" as the end-all solution for every business. I've participated in some meetings recently where no consideration was given to the target market before suggesting that "social" was the way to market the business.
Maybe I'm being too critical. After all, the adage of "If all you have in your toolbox is a hammer, everything looks like a nail" applies to practically every industry. So "social" salespeople aren't alone in their myopic approach.
However, the responsibility lies with the CEO and CMO who are writing the marketing plan to determine if/how "social" fits into the overall marketing strategy. The marketing plan process involves more research than a 30 minute discussion to learn just a little about the company and to immediately jump to "social" as the best or only solution.
What makes the planning process all the more challenging, is that you are often faced with too many people selling you tactics without the knowledge or experience to develop the complete marekting strategies. Rarely will you be working with someone who is looking at your business at that level. If you are faced with sorting out tactics on your own, it may be time to consult with a part time CMO, like those at our Indianapolis consulting firm, Milestone Advisors, to assist you with the planning and execution process.