Does Your Business Need a Long Term Social Media Plan?

There is a consensus in the marketing world that social networks such as Facebook, Google +1, Stumbleupon, Twitter, etc. are crucial to engaging their audience and building their brand. But when many online and offline businesses were polled, it turned out only a handful of them had true long term goals and plans that include social media. Those who did have plans, focused manly on the benefits of their promotions.

The company,Forrester Research study commissioned by Facebook in December 2011 to take a deeper look into how companies are using social media. When a group of over one hundred marketing executives were polled about their advertising and social media marketing campaigns, only seventy percent had something to say. One thing they all agreed upon is that social networks were a major driving force behind building their brand. A little over seventy percent thought online social networks could aid in getting the competitive bump and advantage over their competition.

Surprisingly on thirty three percent of all polled were actually using social media in their business and even less had a long term plans and goals established. Where as a majority of smaller online marketers utilize social media for a majority of their traffic and interest, larger companies are still utilizing paid offline advertising.

This is no surprise because the offline marketing community spends close to one hundred times the expense in offline advertising and marketing campaigns then its online counterpart. It could be that the offline advertising campaigns are more established and convert better. They may also be more trustworthy than what is found online.

About Dustin Costa