Thursday 29 July 2010

Make social media part of the mix

In New Media Age, Charlotte McEleny writes that Ford's Facebook-only launch of its new Explorer model (left) is gutsy, although the approach doesn't make sense for every product:

But let’s face it, launching a life insurance product on Facebook is hardly likely to gather the wider attention that the likes of a car will get. In this case, social needs to step back from the limelight and become part of the mix instead.

I agree: social media should be part of the mix for almost every brand in almost every product category. FB may be appropriate for some brands, while blogging or Twitter might make sense for other brands. Will Procter & Gamble be able to generate a lot of sales of its Max Factor beauty products via FB? Domino's has certainly profited from including social media in the mix, as I wrote earlier this month.

MediaPost has it right: companies must determine their specific objectives before embarking on social media activities. Social media can help companies listen to their customers and make brands better known, for example. As far as actual sales are concerned, Domino's and Dell are major success stories, but not the only ones. Watch for more as companies gain more proficiency in social media marketing.