Pivotal Social

Recent reporting on indexed-higher consumer engagement among Facebook and Twitter brand followers points the way for Social Media becoming a full player in media planning, and not just an adjunct.

It’s now a must-have.

But if I were starting from scratch I’d start my media planning with Social.  Why?  Communities of interest are the best launch point for any communication. There’s the ability to customize messaging.  Wildfire word of mouth from hyper-influencers.  New content management platforms produce ingenius iterations on the fly.  Faster, better, smarter cycles emerge.  The learning from this guides other marketing activity – not only in the online channel, but across the entire mix.

And now along comes Gartner research telling us that by 2015 “digital strategies, [including] social marketing, will influence at least 80% of consumers’ discretionary spending.”

Admit it.  You never thought the 80/20 Rule would play out like this.

So what’s stopping marketers from making Social pivotal to their media planning?  There are products and services that make posting on Social Networks fast and easy…simple that people without technical skills can manage. Rich segmentation models give us what we need to develop targeting algorithms to deliver customized messages.  And for the really advanced, there’re ways to play a Facebook Like, off a Twitter Follower, activated by a Foursquare Checkin, with a DealFind Voucher – with absolute total confidence the amazed consumer will become the best messenger of the medium.

As the data are collected on the performance of smart Social programs, the building blocks for subsequent messaging take shape.  The new media mix emerges and the spend/return ratios improve.  Less money can do more.  More money is wasted less.  And the Social Medium is the pivotal element.

See Also: "Social Media Content Management"