The answer to the question – ‘which platforms should I be using in social media?’ – is pretty simple really. Most digital practitioners would agree (in broad terms) that it’s merely a case of identifying where conversations relevant to you are happening online, and then coming up with a way to join those conversations without intruding and causing a backlash.
Social media, at its core, is no different to other comms channels. As our CEO Johnny Pitt pointed out in his recent all-channel PR post, the key to creating a successful all-channel campaign or presence is to select the right channel to reach your target audience. This is equally true whether you are integrating social media into existing marcomms activity, or putting together a standalone digital campaign.
Additionally, having an idea of what the endgame is going to be – what success looks like – is key to using these digital channels effectively. Consider your use of social media and digital channels in marketing in a similar way to the process of writing a good story. You should know what the ending of the tale is going to be before you start.
It might be that you want to generate product sales through digital advertising, or protect your reputation through the effective monitoring of conversations online. Whatever you do, be rigorous with your measurement and evaluation, and be realistic about what you can achieve. Success doesn’t happen overnight, even if in some cases it seems that way.
That’s exactly what we believe in at Launch. Identifying the key channels-to-market and communicating a message to a specific audience. This means working with our clients collaboratively to put campaigns in place, not pushing them down a particular route to fulfil our own agendas. Setting ambitious – but realistic – targets that are going to make a tangible difference to our client’s bottom line. And above all, doing great work that is backed by brilliant thinking.
Rushing into setting up a Facebook page or building a microsite may seem like a good idea initially, but if you truly want to build a long term, successful presence in the digital world, putting time and effort into identifying the best channel and tying down your key message ise of paramount importance.
Get in touch if you’d like to discuss our all-channel approach in more detail
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