slipher marketing | Chasing the media monster | strategic marketing | small business marketing

Chasing the media monster

There seems to be a furious chase that's going on right now to keep up with ever-evolving social media. However, at the risk of sounding level-headed, let us reiterate that media is nothing more than a means to an end. It is not the goal itself. The goal of any medium is to reach and help to win customers - their minds, hearts, their loyalty and yes, their pocketbooks.

This seems so simple and obvious at first pass, but then you witness all the hype around Facebook and Twitter and social media and you wonder how many companies really know what they're doing when they dive headlong into such media. Why all the fuss? Do they even know why they're doing it? This is not to harp on Facebook or Twitter or any other medium, for that matter. Rather, it is to suggest that maybe it's time for some companies to get off the bandwagon and get a better understanding of their customers first. After all, how many Facebook fan pages of companies or product or people can one person keep up with? If everyone's doing it, how can one present oneself as unique?

Just remember: the most important question to answer when evaluating any medium is, "Does this medium reach my target customer?" The second most important question should be, "Can I / we effectively leverage this medium to put more of my product or service into the hands of my customers?" If the answer to either of these questions is not a resounding "Yes," then you might want to revisit and re-evaluate your marketing objectives.

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