What Marketing Really Needs: Common Sense

Admit it.

You don’t want a new Twitter competitor.

You don’t need another Facebook.

You don’t want another ad network.

You don’t see the need for yet another UGC campaign.

You don’t need another buzz marketing tactic.

You don’t want an all-in-one marketing console designed to track and measure everything you’re doing.

You’re tired of the ongoing conventional-media downturn, new-media evolution, and social-media explosion. There’s simply too much to do, and not enough time to do it. And there’s a reason for that: in the midst of unparalleled media opportunities, we’ve lost our common sense.

Recently, I’ve seen a local coffee company proudly putting their Twitter feed and Facebook fan page on stickers for every bag of coffee they sell–while their ecommerce website rots. I’ve had companies come to us and say, “I want a sub-$20 cost per lead, can we do it in social media?”–and, when shown that we can do it with conventional media at any budget they’d like to throw at it, they still ask about social media, because it’s new and sexy, and perceived as cheap. I’ve had marketing directors tell me straight out they’d never personally subscribe to their company’s Twitter feed for seven seconds if they didn’t work at the company, and yet insist on getting tens of thousands of followers. And I’ve seen more companies I can count with a Facebook presence, a MySpace presence, a Twitter presence, a corporate blog (or three), a YouTube channel, a Flickr account–with not over two hundred fans or followers when you add them all together. Many abandoned for months at a time.

Want more? I’ve seen conventional marketing and web development and social marketing parceled between three different agencies more times than I can count. All three said agencies capable of doing all three things. Guess what happens in that situation? Especially in economically tough times, it isn’t pretty. I’ve seen social campaigns measured on the number of widget installs, not on the number of unique viewers, pageviews, and time spent on the widget–because someone “up top” has been convinced by one of their agency friends that’s the most important metric. I’ve seen ad campaigns measured on percentage clickthrough and deemed a success–even though the cost per click was over $9! (And this was to a non-ecommerce website, too!!!) I’ve seen effective direct campaigns passed over because they didn’t have a social component and didn’t “sound sexy enough.”

Sorry, guys. This just doesn’t make sense.

Maybe I’m getting old. But, in a rational world, here’s how I’d see things working:

1. Is your conventional marketing effective? If not, then you need to change it. If you don’t know, then you need to find out. Or move to more measurable tactics. If you’re not doing any at all, then, well, I hope you’re the next Facebook. Or a lottery winner.

2. Is your web presence effective? That is, does it do what you want it to do with the traffic you have? Does it convert people to sales effectively? Does it convert people to leads? Does it get them to come back? Does it get them to engage? If not, it needs fixed. Your website is still the first place most prospects will go–and it needs to work. Don’t ignore it in order to get on Twitter.

3. Is your conventional web marketing effective? I’m talking things like AdWords, display ads, and email. If it’s not generating leads or sales at a cost you’re comfortable with, it’s time to check in with the agency. How are they optimizing the campaign? Are humans looking at it? Are they doing regular creative testing? Are the landing pages converting? If you don’t know the answer to these questions, look out. And if you aren’t engaging in any conventional web marketing at all, again, I hope you’re a lottery winner.

4. Is social marketing for you? Despite the hype of every self-appointed pundit, social marketing isn’t for everyone. It demands the highest level of engagement, either on the agency side or on your internal staff. It’s a long-term play. You’re going to be interacting with customers. Are you ready for that? If not, it’s best to ignore social marketing. Look at Apple–the grand leader in best-loved products is an unrepentant conventional marketer. But let’s say you really, really want to get into social marketing. If so, ask yourself five questions:

a. Am I ready for negative conversations? They will happen. Don’t have a thick skin? Don’t bother.

b. Am I capable of staffing and paying attention to this campaign on an ongoing basis? If the answer is “no,” forget it.”

c. Would I follow my company on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook if I wasn’t working here? If the answer is “no,” it’s also likely “no” for your customers as well.

d. What do I expect from social marketing? If you’re shooting for a cost-per-lead or cost-per-acquisition, you’re shooting at the wrong target.

e. Will my company respond to the findings from social marketing? When you open your company up, you’re going to get a lot of feedback from a lot of different perspectives. Some of this will be very useful. But if you don’t respond to at least some of it, again, don’t bother.

5. How few agencies do you need? Yes, I said “few.” Not “many.” Many means more of your management time. Many means more chance for overlap. Many means more chance for hurt feelings and half-assed work because they’re “just a tiny slice.” More means more chance one of them will decide to say, “The heck with this,” and bow out in these economic times. A small roster of very bright people you trust–and can have a great dialogue with–keeps the motivation high on both sides.

So yeah. Maybe I should sit out on the porch and shake my cane at the kids on the lawn.

But I suspect you might be like me.

Looking for a return to some common sense.

Posted by July 15th, 2009 | by Jason | Permalink