Social Media – The New Marketing?
It seems like everyone is talking about social media these days. To communicate with your customers, to keep in front of prospects, it’s all about using the new social media. But aren’t we getting a bit out of hand here? I think we’re in danger of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
I’m not saying that social media isn’t a wonderful tool. I’m saying you don’t have to abandon other, more traditional marketing methods in your rush to get to social media. Marketing is still about choosing the best tool to accomplish your goal. There’s a very old saying that if all you have is a hammer, you see the world as full of nails. Social media is one more tool in your toolbox, not the only one.
All of your marketing tools have pros and cons. Social media is no exception. It’s excellent for immediate communications. You can quickly monitor what people are saying about your company and respond to those comments. No doubt about it, monitoring and adding to social media postings can prevent a public relations nightmare. But social media is ephemeral. Tweets and postings are overwritten by new tweets and postings at incredible speed. People rarely go back to see what was being talked about before they signed on.
Not all marketing is of the “here today, gone tomorrow” variety. There is information you want to have available to your clients and prospects on a regular basis. You want to keep your name in front of people. You want to retain the customers you have while finding new ones. Social media may not be the best tool to accomplish those tasks. In the next few blog postings, I’d like to explore some of the more traditional marketing tools and how to use them in new ways. I’d be very interested in hearing how you’re using old tools in new ways. Let me know!
Tripp Braden is a marketing consultant who specializes in developing seven figure partnerships. Discover how to grow your company through extraordinary partnerships by visiting http://www.HighGrowthBusiness.com where you can find resources and products to increase your success.
I have seen some marketers who are more keen in developing social network profiles ignoring core business(the home page). This happens because most of them are lured by the massive social attention they believe they can gain by focusing on them! But such people should remember that social media marketing is not an exceptional to what Traditional marketing work on!
Allen Thanks for your comments. The web site is a key piece of the marketing puzzle. I liked your websitte. If people haven’t seen it they should check out http://spotlightportfolios.com/. I will sharing several additional ways of building your brand over the next several weeks. I’d love to have you share your thinking on websites with us then.