Engagement. I can barely hear the word engagement spoken by any marketing/PR/agency type without rolling my eyes. “It’s all about engagement, dialog, interacting in new ways with consumers.” (generic composite quote from Social Media experts, stated with a slightly condescending tone). We all “get” what the gurus are saying, of course Social Media provides new opportunities to interact with clients, prospects and peers. The thing is, engagement isn’t the end-game, it’s the raw material from which meaningful business outcomes can be developed.
One of the most useful little nuggets of wisdom that has stuck in my mind over the years is the phrase “Begin with the end in mind”. This idea is especially helpful when it comes to developing a concise Social Media strategy. Social Media (SM) is capable of generating leads, improving customer experiences, enhancing brand visibility and creating or deepening relationships. Certainly not an all-inclusive list of what SM can be used for, but a handful of the major categories most organizations are focused on.
While all the above mentioned items are equally worthy, and not mutually exclusive BTW, they each require a different array of tools, resources and approaches. What I see frequently is marketers who have thrown their hat into the SM ring, but are not focused on specific outcomes or clearly defined priorities. I need to be careful not to speak in absolutes here, there are plenty of Social Media-savvy marketers out there doing wonderful and amazing things. That said, my thoughts are validated by the recent Social Media Benchmark Report from Business.com which confirms many marketers are “dabbling” in Social Media, in the game but still working to figure things out.
I am a huge fan of dabbling, but dabbling with purpose. Think of engagement as fire, it can be used for heat, light or internal combustion to propel your SUV, but without any forethought on purpose you’re likely to end up with nothing more than smoke.
Related articles by Zemanta
- Social Media should be used with other marketing campaigns (wsioms.co.za)
- Prioritize Your Social Media Efforts (chrisbrogan.com)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=861415b4-5ab3-4e49-a2c4-fb4c50d1ef3c)
