Strategy ? We don't need no stinkin strategy !
06/23/10 01:48 PM Filed in: Social
Media
How the hell can anyone implement any marketing program and not have a strategy in place for why you are doing it and more importantly how you are going to measure the intervention ? Recently I was taken back by some obvious insights at a social media health conference because frankly some of the insights are DUH 101 and the audience should have moved way past these insights. However what I am also learning is that the number of Linchpins out there is really really small. No wonder so many brands are in deep trouble.
It's actually very simple: the first step in any marketing program is to ask:
1. What is the objective ?
2. How are we going to define success ?
The strategy can then be developed with the spotlight on the objective and ensuring that it's measurable. To develop and launch a social media program without a strategy is like sailing the ocean without a compass, at night, in a storm. with a leaking boat. Big companies continue to be their own worst enemies and people who do things, like an assembly line, do themselves and their customers a big disservice.
Social media is not about the number of followers, it's not about a great looking Facebook page, it's about ensuring that the channel and the program match your company and brand objectives with sound strategic development. Do you, for example, think that people want to have a relationship with a company that makes apple juice or toilet paper ?
The impact of social networks on the purchase behavior of American consumers is growing steadily. Some 80% of consumers said they have an active Facebook account, versus 71% in October 2009, and 23% of those without an account yet reported they planned to join within a month time. Thanks to networking sites, 67% of respondents have reconnected with people they would have lost track with or not even looked for otherwise. This has an impact on purchasing influence, evidently, as it increases the span of connections the lead is likely to listen to. As for Twitter access, 39% of users said they responded to other people's tweets at least once a week.
Sure you need to be there but if you're there just to be there you're going to wind up hurting your brand and turning consumers off. Even if you have a strategy you strategy needs to be fluid enough to change and adapt as the marketing environment changes. To deploy a social media program without a strategy is bad news and shows that much of corporate America is still in the dark when it comes to new empowered consumers.
