eBuzz - Social Media Bandwagon

Social Media Bandwagon

An article by Bob Cramer in this week's Chief Marketer cautions marketing companies to look before they leap onto the bandwagon of social media. "With the current interest in social media," he writes, "strategy is the watchword. Instead of deploying technology for technology's sake, marketers need to think about which social media tools fit their objectives and audiences."

Cramer goes on to advise marketers to know their audience, to align marketing objectives with social media tools, to establish operating procedures, and to identify internal touch points. His overall point — that strategy must precede involvement — is well taken; we've seen many well-established companies fail in places like Second Life because there was no strategy in place to deal with a paradigm so different from that to which marketers are accustomed.

But that strategy needs to be in place soon. At a recent Search Engine Strategies conference, participants were warned that, for an increasing number of consumers, sites like MySpace and FaceBook have become the new search engines: it's where they start their Internet experience and where they spend most of their time. So it's important to get your strategy in place now in order to stay competitive!

And that's our take on the news today!

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