eMarketing: Not for Amateurs
Probably anyone involved in eMarketing - especially those on the service provider side - has had to deal with the misnomer that interactive marketing is cheap and easy.
By on Feb 26, 2009Probably anyone involved in eMarketing - especially those on the service provider side - has had to deal with the misnomer that interactive marketing is cheap and easy. Somehow, there's a perception that online marketing should be practically free, and that anyone can do it.
Maybe that is because it is a relatively "new" medium. It was not long ago that a typical "webmaster" could have been the geeky kid next door holed up in his basement creating Web pages for his Dungeons and Dragons group. "Someone always knows somebody" who can create a website for cheap. But I have witnessed more than one business owner fall into the trap of trying to find the cheapest web service provider, and inevitably they get what they pay for. Either the site turns out unprofessionally designed, is not optimized for search engines, or when they go to try to add eCommerce, the code self-destructs. Nevermind if they wanted an actual online integrated campaign beyond a single-destination website.
Certainly with the connundrum of social media added to the mix, things have gotten even more complicated. These days, users are generating their own content left and right. Everyone's a publisher. And here we are again, with everyone thinking UGC is free and that it must be really easy and simple to get marketing messages out into the social media world.
Layered on top of that, we know pharmaceutical marketing is its own, unique beast. Navigating the regulatory rules and restrictions - or the client-side approval processes - is not for the faint at heart or the inexperienced.
But back to social media. I was inspired by a recent article from BusinessWeek [ http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2009/tc20090218_335887... ], which outlines several social media myths:
>> Social media is free. The tools may be free (Twitter, Blogger, Facebook, Digg ...), but it takes serious time, effort, expertise, and resources to implement good social media programs.
>> Social media is easy. As our Emerging Media group will tell you, doing social media well is far from glamorous; it takes a lot of time and ongoing commitment to monitor, track and engage the right way.
>> Social media is about the tools. Sure the tools are cool, but theyre worthless without a clear goal of what and how they should be used.
>> Social media is a standalone activity. I have been beating this same drum for some time, and it was a theme I kept hearing at several recent ePharma conferences as well. Social media is a not an add-on or an accessory. To be successful, social media needs to be aligned with your brand, messaging and strategic goals.
>> Social media is difficult to measure. Increasingly, more sophisticated measurement and analytics tools are becoming available. A few of the social media measurement tools Intouch Solutions offers our clients include: (a) Social Media Audit This audit helps review the existing social landscape, set a baseline, identifies opportunities, and provide direction and insights for how to best engage moving forward. (b) Engagement Metrics Goes beyond traditional online metrics to give a broader picture of how customers are engaging with your brand.
As the BusinessWeek article subheading so eloquently states:
"Using social media to market your business is a good idea. Just don't plan on getting your whiz-kid nephew to do it for free."