Has social media ruined marketing?

Social media continues to divide marketing opinion. Rather than treat social media as another marketing tool, the antagonists are tending to focus on the all or nothing approach. In short throw out the old ways and bring in the new.

One important rule of traditional marketing was not to rush into new media opportunities which at one time was more likely to be a new publication. The thing then was to wait until all the hype of the new title launch had quietened down, then see how the readership - your target customers - had taken to it. Quite often new publications failed to build a readership and make it to the point where they had a certified circulation. Social media is easier to experiment with to see how it works and although some are free to use, resource will still be required to create content whether text, images or video, even if that resource is time of in-house staff.

Some voices are arguing that display advertising in the media is now wasted money, unlike AdWords and the like that provide a great heap of data that can be traced. Recently QR codes have suddenly been seized upon as a means of linking to a landing page via a smart phone or iPad and reviving the flagging medium. One journal has even decided to launch a QR directory with great fanfare.

Countering the call to switch to traditional media one article provocatively pointed out that prior to social media companies conducted a monologue with their customers, but now small businesses can compete on a level playing field. Bigger companies that could spend more on space and compelling creative concepts find social media has evened that out as they have to conform to a fixed format.

The best approach is to review the overall marketing mix and try to be in the media and places where your customers go. The challenge now is discovering just where that is.