Setting Social Media Up for Failure – Don’t Advertise
Dear Marketers:
You can’t do it all with social media. There, I said it. I know marketing budgets have been slashed and management is clamoring to use those free, newfangled Web 2.0 tools. But you can’t turn to social media to save the day. It sucks, I know.
Social media is a slow build. Blog and Twitter page don’t just “go viral” before your eyes. It’s more like planting a seed, fertilizing it and tending to it carefully over time. The more you support it with complementary traditional advertising, the better the odds on it taking root and blossoming. Cross channel marketing of social media initiatives is extremely helpful, but easily overlooked, especially during tough economic times. Remember the Subservient Chicken campaign by Burger King? Yah, it was supported by a national television advertising campaign whose cost were certainly NOT chicken feed. They spent a few hundred grand on a cool Web site/social media initiative, but then invested several million dollars in advertising to support it. Very important point not to forget.
Or how about Barack Obama’s presidential campaign that set a new standard of excellence for grassroots, Internet marketing — seemingly deploying every social media channel available. According to BusinessInsider.com Obama’s spend on the internet was a surprisingly low $8 million. That’s just 3% compared to the $245 million he spent on television advertising. Clearly he wouldn’t have spent such a colossal some on television if it wasn’t necessary.
Change doesn’t have to be light-switch proposition. Start a social media initiative today, but be sure to make sure it’s “on brand” and supported by complementary advertising/public relations. Over time (months or years), transition money from the traditional media budget into the social media campaign itself, but only after it has sprouted and is displaying positive signs of growth. Abandoning a social media campaign to survive on its own does nothing more than waste your time/money and seal its fate as a failure.
Sincerely,
Gary
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Comments
Venny
Gary, nicely stated. I’m getting really tired of folks thinking a blog, FB page, or Tweet stream will “solve” their needs. It’s way more complicated that any one of those things and certainly takes more patience than most will afford it.
Even those of us “in the business” need to remind ourselves that nothing can substitute a solid marketing strategy and plan. Nothing.
Amen. Although I can’t say I’m shocked, when we launched our social media campaign for http://www.clevelandideas.com, we got decent traffic via Twitter, FB, etc., but when the article hit the front page of the Plain Dealer and when we started doing radio spots and outdoor, traffic over tripled. Despite those PR and advertising driven spikes, we’ve had over 50% of the traffic coming from social media sites. Even if I attributed all the direct traffic (no source) to PR and advertising, social media still holds its own with those two traditional marketing methods.
John on May 4, 2009 @ 11:20 am
Great points Gary! Balance is key. It helps to have a good blend of traditional, social media, and search engine marketing.