Social Media’s Role as the Great Energizer

Is social media marketing a replacement for traditional communications tactics?

It’s a question I often receive during a new business presentation. That’s because the return on investment for a social media initiative is typically more measurable and comprehensive than advertising, direct marketing, event promotion and public relations.

While many consultants focus on the community-building, awareness creation and brand positioning of social media, I view that as merely the natural outcome of participation in online communities and social networks. It’s almost an unintended consequence.

Rather, social media emerges as a true driver of the business when its success benchmarks are closely entwined with the objectives of the sales team – lead generation, cultivation of prospect relationships and deal capture.

For corporate executives measured on the top-line revenue growth and profitability of the organization (and that is most everyone), the lure of social media can be compelling.

Which brings me back to the question: has social media made other channels of communication obsolete?

Absolutely not. While there may be a business case to shift budget and spend to social, and more Web and digitally-oriented programs, I never suggest that a company jettison its commitment to traditional forms of marketing promotion.

In fact, social media can often serve as an energizer of these tactics by helping an organization realize additional benefit and return from ad campaigns, trade show participation and direct mail.

Let’s look at a recent example.

Earlier this month, Strategic Communications Group (Strategic) participated in the Satellite 2010 conference in Washington, DC. We’ve been a regular at this annual fete for international satellite companies for nearly a decade, typically walking the show floor to chat up clients and prospects.

This year I presented a challenge to my colleague Jeff Majka who leads Strategic’s marketing and business development efforts: on a tight budget and timeline, how do you best develop tactical social media activities for a specific event and align them with measurable goals in lead generation and prospect relationship building?

His solution included us playing the role of a journalist and market influencer. We developed and published content specifically for the conference in partnership with companies we identified as prospective clients. The effort was low-cost, quickly implemented, measurable, and executed with both marketing and sales resources.