It's Way Too Soon

The debate is on. It seems almost everybody has an opinion about how companies offering goods or services should use social media marketing. The problem is – given this is a relatively new phenomenon - the discussion is extremely premature.

Some say the best use is customer service, and I’m inclined to agree.

Others claim it’s about creating an open and honest dialog with customers (existing and potential), and they’re right.

There’s a camp that insists learning how people perceive a brand is the height of social media achievement. That camp is definitely onto something.

Finally – and perhaps most controversially – there are proponents of good old-fashioned promotional activities, and no surprise, I also believe they’re correct.

Although it may seem like my only point is that I’m a very agreeable guy, it’s actually this: there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to social media marketing and it’s way too soon for any definitive pronouncements of what works best. Where I become a lot less agreeable is with an insistence that any one goal is flat out wrong.

There are – of course – mistakes to be made, but as computer giant Dell has so thoroughly proved, there’s plenty of room for do-overs if you don’t nail it the first time.

When clients seek our advice as to their best social media strategy, we start the discussion with absolutely everything on the table. Anything less might lead to opportunities lost.

Twitter bandwagon image by Matt Hamm.