Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Social Media Overload

Not long ago I spoke with a business owner who was a little discouraged.  This individual had a desire to entirely redo the marketing plan after a contract period with a marketing agency which yielded little gains.

What I found quite surprising was that the marketing agency had recommended, essentially, was a 100% pure social media diet, and that that diet was high on misfits.  A business that was ideal for older women was having to fiddle around with a social media property that was weak on older consumers, and was nowhere near the one that was closest to the target.  And so on.

It is times like these when I wonder if businesses need to "detox" from social media!

Social media is fun.  It can be valuable for business---in fact, nothing is better at achieving deep engagement with customers.  It can in some cases be a vital component of marketing.  But it cannot be the only tool.  It cannot be used like Aladdin's Magic Lamp.

Traditional techniques have their place, too.  Advertising where it works.  Face to face engagement.  Expos.  "Door to door" and its equivalents.  A marketing plan must include the widest spectrum of meaningful choices; that is, channels appropriate to the target audience.

Someday social media may be the one and only answer.  The world of "Star Trek" or "The Jetsons", one supposes.  But I doubt it.  We've used a surprisingly narrow band of tools for several centuries now and there is a reason.

Bottom Line: Don't "toxify" with social media.  Get your message in the right place and spread it around wherever it is most likely to be noticed.  Let Social Media be a fun complement, not the whole package.

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