There is hardly any marketer who does not talk about need to leverage Social Media for their brand. So much so that some have added another ‘P’ (Participation) in already existing 4 P’s. It sounds really nice to hear clients speaking about social media. But when it comes to implementing the campaigns, they are back to square one. Most of the clients are doing online campaigns either because their competitors are doing it or because internet is probably the most measurable medium. Most of the times strategic thought is missing. Clients still create fire on not been able to see their ad on sites. When we broach the Social Media topic, clients by default assume it’s also as measurable as their banner campaign which unfortunately is not the case. Conversations can only be felt. They cant be measured. But clients are still number driven thanks to traditional media. Despite my efforts in explaining them that it’s not a number game, they agree to all points but at the end still ask for numbers. My client believes in making a community for every campaign they do. The campaign duration is usually one month. What makes it worse is when client doubts if anything is happening on social media coz the client is not able to see anything. It does not end here. No one from MARCOM/Brand team joined the community to drive the community. Campaign is over, so is the community. Client is of the opinion that if a community does not have atleast 800+ in a month, the campaign is a flop. All conversations in the community were discounted. Is this what is social media known for? This is the case with one of World’s best brand in India.
It’s clearly a case of clients failing to appreciate the strengths of respective mediums. Using any media for the sake of using it will not benefit the brand in anyway. My advice, trust the agency if as a client you are not sure about Social Media. Work with the agency and learn. Agencies know as much as clients do, if not more.
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