The Two Sides of Social Media: An Opportunity or an End?

With all of the media hype adjoining social media marketing and the features of Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, is digital networking a means to an end – or is it the end itself?

Think about it for a second. A great number of millions of marketing money typically reserved for radio and TV have been redirected to the Internet, where the new giants of media dwell. Facebook, for instance, has 500 million users these days and according to some estimates, it accounts for 40% of all daily Internet traffic worldwide.

Sounds like a pretty good spot to direct a couple of advertising dollars then, right?

It is a perfect choice indeed. And any well-shaped internet marketing strategy for any self-respecting company in today’s digital world will include the use of social media networking. But once such a company understands the possibilities available in places like Facebook and Twitter, does it need to start off shaping a “social media strategy?”

Surprisingly, the answer is no.

Your business doesn’t need a social media strategy – it needs a marketing strategy which uses social media as part of the program.

Put yet another way, longstanding companies like General Electric, Ford Motor Company and Exxon Mobile all got their start before computers or television were ever invented. When TV’s and PC’s emerged, you can be assured that successful companies all over the place were enthusiastic about using the new technology to further improve their advertising endeavors.

But did they drop everything else they were dedicated to in marketing and advertising?

Not by a longshot. In reality, they simply found approaches to integrate new media methods into a currently powerful overall marketing strategy. And that’s the way it ought to be for today’s equivalent – social media networking.

Most likely Mr. Chris Kirubi said it best:

“You don’t need to have a social media strategy. You have to have a brand strategy that leverages social media.”

Karubi is the Chairman of Coca Cola Nairobi. We figure he may know a few things about successful incorporation of social media into a currently productive marketing and branding program.

The key downside in all of this is fairly obvious. Social media marketing is really a means to a finish, rather than the end itself.

Does your organization contain social media networking together with its overall marketing strategy? Or is the tail wagging the dog instead?

For more information on Social Media Marketing and its advantages and disadvantages, go visit http://xtiburon.com/category/marketing/.

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