Back to Basics Marketing
I just read a 242 page report entitled, The State of Social Media Marketing, compiled from surveying 5,140 marketing professionals. The survey was conducted to determine how these experts were using social media to launch campaigns and promotions, measure return on investment, and engage audiences.
The publisher promoting the report highlighted these three findings; 1.) Social media strategy is far more important than hurriedly enacting a bunch of social media tactics.
2.) There is no such thing as one-size-fits-all in social media tactics.
3.) It is critical to map social media plans to a strategy that is customized to your company and customers.
DUH!
What’s so darn different?! Marketing communications basics are obviously the same from media to media;
1.) Your strategy and message are key to your success.
2.) There is no message where ‘one-size-fits-all’.
3.) Your message has to be ‘customized’ to fit your customers and your company.
With all of the jargon and hype around new media, it’s pretty easy for you, and even easier for your clients, to become intimidated and feel overwhelmed.
Don’t!
Those of us who have honed and sold our skills as marketing communication experts rather than commoditizing spots as our ‘inventory’, have skills even more valuable to advertisers today than when there were fewer media and messages to deal with.
Your prospects can buy spots and space from more media choices now than ever before. The media sales people who will earn advertiser dollars in 2010 and beyond are those media sales people who have always understood the basic ‘findings’ of that 242 page report. The strategy and message must fit the customer and the company.
P.S. A pet peeve of mine is media people who sell spots, thinking they can run the same ‘one-size-fits-all’ message in every format. If you are selling a cluster with dramatically different target audiences, is it realistic to run the same message on every station? Shouldn’t your car dealer promote a different car to your golden oldies audience than she promotes to your hip hop audience?