Current Issues in Marketing Strategy

It is unbelievable how many companies are jumping on the social media marketing bandwagon. Sure it is a buzz word at the moment and there is plenty of demand in the market, but it doesn't over ride the fact that most of them don't know what they are doing. Social Media in its purist form is about communicating openly with the marketplace and benefiting from influential people creating free PR for your company through online and offline social channels. Let me stress, setting up a Facebook and twitter page does not mean you are engaging in social media, because you are not engaging anyone, Social Media Marketing can not be templated. Like any marketing strategy, social media requires ongoing maintenance and a closed loop strategy to channel, convert and measure the results.

Julian Cole of AdSpace Pioneers once explained to me that if you search for "ROI" (referring to the company) on Google, not far down the search results you find a whole heap of complaints about the company. For most marketing boffins, the solution was to create more websites to sit on top of the negative press, however social media marketing takes the opposite view. New age enlightened marketers communicate with those leaving negative comments to discover the true route of the problem and craft an appropriate solution that generally improves the company on the whole. Of course there are always irrational complaints that you need to ignore, but remember that less than 10% of negative feedback gets back to the people that need it, so social media can be a god send.

First and foremost, do not sign with an advertising agency unless they have a proven track record in the area and guarantee they can track and report their actions and results.

Secondly, set up Google alerts to see when your brand is mentioned and run regular Google and Twitter searches to see if the feedback is good or bad. One former clients of mine in baby clothing found that there were hundreds of happy customers that had used her specialist clothing line and once she made contact with them, they were more than happy to spread the word for her.

Third, if you are going to set up Twitter and Facebook accounts, then make sure you have hours put aside to interact with those people that do follow you. They have gone out of their way for a reason, don't tarnish your brand by failing to communicate with them. Also, remember that once you set it up, this is another touchpoint for your organisation, so don't think you can turn it off without damaging customer relations.

There is no doubt that social media strategy is a power vehicle for driving business forward, but it is just that 'strategy' and needs to be done well, not by some company who are trying to steal a share of your profits without being experts in the field.