subject: The Bottom Line [print this page] The Bottom Line The Bottom Line
In my previous article about digital marketing vs. social media marketing I outlined the steps and differences between the two.Social Media is not for the faint of heart. It takes a lot of work. As does Digital media marketing. A lot of people seem to think that if you just set up a facebook fan page or a twitter account and start tossing out content you'll get the desired results. The reality of the situation is that they are wrong. Dead wrong.
I read a magazine the other day that had astatisticin it that I only remembered because of how audacious it seemed to me at the time. It was something like 79% of all businesses don't measure ROI for social media programs. Isn't that crazy? What if 79% of businesses didn't measure ROI for digital marketing programs...? No way they would do that, right? So why would they not apply the same discipline they exercise for other forms of marketing investments on social media marketing investments? Well, for one it's a rather young field. Both in how long it's been open and who is driving it. It's hip. Most VPs of marketing, people who are around 40 years of age, tend to just toss out a few links and icons, a few tweets here and there, and figure that's enough effort to connect with the customer online. What they should be doing is figuring out how exactly to leverage all these social media tools that are just asking to be used as low cost channels for engaging and influencing your market base.
A lot of companies may have all the connections and all the sites and all the pages and whatnot. It doesn't mean they know how to use them or what exactly the impact of throwing themselves out there like that is. Noise does not equal communication. Companies need to get social. But not just chatty. Socially competitive as well. Start the conversation with your customers, but also make sure that no one else can get their attention but you.
The key here is to not just do one or the other, but to use digital and social media in tandem. To deny social media it's rightful place in your investment budget means denying yourself your rightful place at the top of your vertical.
