A 3-Month Plan for Adding Social to Your Marketing Mix

Author:

Bill Flitter

Source:

Social media is now the norm. Everywhere we turn, a high-ranking businessperson, blog, or magazine is pressuring us to replace traditional, "outdated" marketing methods with cutting-edge social media techniques. And without question, there is a lot to be said for social media's brief yet transformative history. But if you're like most marketers, you likely use some combination of search, display, and email marketing. These media have fueled your business with sales and leads for years. Is it not a bit hasty to suggest that we all ditch these proven mechanisms in favor of Facebook pages and Twitter feeds?
 
There's no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Your paid media and earned media can work together to boost ROI when you leverage the connection between the two. Following is a realistic, three-month action plan that outlines how "traditional" online media can be combined with social media.
 
Month 1: Mine your social networks to uncover your next ad campaign While many consumers are quick to criticize traditional online techniques, these criticisms tend to be misplaced. The problem of course is not that search, display, or email are bad ways to reach your audience. Instead, problems occur when the content of these messages is bland or untargeted.
 
Too many advertisements reflect what someone assumed customers wanted to see rather than what they really wanted to see. It is here that social media can breathe new life into the traditional online marketing mediums. If you already have an actively maintained Facebook page or Twitter feed, it's time to mine them for valuable nuggets of customer input. One way to think about social media is a live focus group that produces true feelings about your brand. Your own Twitter account is a treasure trove of valuable data that can be turned into a successful ad campaign.
 
This data includes ...
 
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