With the flurry of growth around social media, it's easy to forget a critical strategic rule of marketing: make all of your marketing channels work together to build a bigger impact.
Integrating media campaigns took quite a while back in the late 90's and early 00's as companies and agencies set up separate Internet advertising teams outside of their mainstream advertising/marketing groups. As social media campaigns ramp up, I hope we've learned to think about integration from the start.
We humans are social creatures, a trait that Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and others are successfully exploiting. However, there is still a difference between a virtual connection and an in-person meeting. The more senses engaged, the more memorable and meaningful it is to our minds and emotions.
Here in Charleston, WV, where I reside, we have an active group of Tweeters who meet each other in Tweet Ups at the local coffee shop. The in-person meetings have really solidified who I'm interested in following and how closely and influence my ongoing conversations. It's always a blast to compare a person's "live" personality and vibe vs. what you derived from their Tweets.
We advise clients to consider the customer purchase funnel: What aspects of online social media can fill the top stages of the funnel, and how can offline social efforts (sports marketing, entertainment, conferences, seminars, etc.) activate the relationship towards the next step towards purchase?
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