Social media come free of charge. So now I can have advertising for free!?

Social media come free of charge

Social media come free of charge. So now I can have advertising for free!?

Social media offer free subscriptions. Moreover, they can be used as a marketing tool. That might be the reason why there is a hype about twitter, facebook and other social networks being part of the modern times media mix. If social media are free and those media can be used as an advertising medium, why have we been struggling with expensive 'classic' marketing and advertising? Social media maybe offer free subscriptions, but it is absolutely not true that the sole inscription can be classified as advertising. In other words: people who think that a free inscription is a form of advertising are making a mistake. Let's get back to earth and take a closer look.

Like any medium, social networks have to be part of a plan that explains with what arguments and via which channels an organization is being presented to a specified bunch of people and what is the expected result of that plan. The keywords in the above sentence are:

plan (marketing plan)

arguments (USPS)

channels (media mix)

people (target groups)

result (ROI)

Above is the simplest definition of a marketing plan. Without such a plan it's like getting in your car, starting it and drive. Depending on which car you own, that might be fun for a moment, but you will get bored soon. You must have a goal, a reason, a need to drive that car. Now that we have realized that, we can go back to the marketing plan.

What we see, is that even this simple version of a marketing plan starts with an explanation of what results are wanted and it ends with a reflection on the success. In between is a lot of something that can be qualified as money and effort.

"Without a plan, Social Media Marketing is like getting in your car and just drive: Depending on which car you own, you will get bored soon or very soon."

There is absolutely no reason to presume that new media, and specifically social media, can escape from such a plan. That means that putting on social media ask for investments just like any other aspect of an organizations' contact with the world outside. There must be a plan in which the use of social media and expectations have been made clear, one needs at least a small budget and, of course, working power and expertise must be available.

Conclusion

Social media offer new opportunities. Those new media must be integrated in the organizations' marketing, advertising and corporate identity. Without this integration the use of social media is useless. Integration requires effort. Effort is calculated in money. Hence, subscription is free, beneficial application is not.

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