Social media marketing, advertising, and PR are all important components of an effective marketing strategy. However, those components lose their effectiveness, and even become detrimental, when the brand itself is faultering. Advertising is about increasing brand awareness, but when people think negatively about your brand, increasing awareness does not help. Similarly, the social media landscape is where people are communicating among each other about you, about your competition, and about everything else. But again, when people have negative thoughts about you, encouraging more conversations is counterproductive.

Successful brands are those that are singularly focused on delivering the best products and services in markets consumers demand. Consider companies like Apple. On top of their other successes, their iPad is on target to being the fastest product in history to reach the $1 billion mark. Although Apple invests in marketing (principally advertising and minimally in social media), it own’s the public’s perception as a company that delivers the most innovative and desirable devices. Apple is focused on product and customer first, which then enables effective communication options.

On the other hand, companies that cannot consistently meet and exceed their customers’ expectations will faulter no matter how much attention is paid to the remainder of the marketing mix. Their focus should instead be on their products and service. Once those are on the right track, companies can once again employ communication tools to regain growth.

Domus is a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia, focusing on fundamental marketing strategies that employ wide ranges of communications media and delivery. For more information, please visit us at http://www.domusinc.com.

Everyone today is jumping on the social media bandwagon, mostly because everyone is jumping on the social media bandwagon. But when it comes time to determine the success or failure of a program, most marketers cannot do so. In some cases, there are no easily identified metrics, and in other cases, the easily identified ones might be misleading.

One typical metric is the number of fans/followers/members/etc. This is simple to define and easy to track, but is it valuable? Unfortunately, there is no easy answer. It depends on the make-up of the fan base and the goal of the social media program. Is the goal to engage consumers in product enhancement exercises? Is the goal to offer online CRM services? Is it to keep customers abreast of news and/or promotions? Or is it something else?

The answers to those questions should probably guide the nature of the social media efforts, which in turn will help define the success metrics. For example, a coffee chain might do well engaging with millions of online fans. But does a toilet paper company need a fan page? Might other online/social media avenues be more productive?

Social media is a growing component of marketing communications plans. But as with any other tool, it’s important to use it in the most effective manner, whether or not everyone else is or is not doing the same.

Domus is a full-service marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. Please visit our web site for more.