No, social media isn’t going to change your business

I read this article recently http://www.businessinsider.com/why-i-will-never-ever-hire-a-social-media-expert-2011-5?  and for a short period of time afterwards found myself gloating over the authors rant against the perils of over investing in social media.  You see social media is all the rage, whilst my beloved SEO suddenly seems so old fashioned in comparison.

But actually the author makes a very valid point in this piece, one which can just as easily be applied to SEO – the point being that in isolation these forms of marketing are not suddenly going to change your business. Not without hard work and measurement forming part of what used to be known as the marketing mix to help form a relationship with your customers. Social media (or SEO) are not wonder cures I’m afraid, if you don’t measure them you’ll never understand whether they work or not.

Before you engage in any marketing activity you need to measure it in order to establish an ROI (return on investment) for it.  Fortunately with SEO and PPC it is usually a straightforward process to track ecommerce activity, or enquiries via forms or phone.  Once the data is being collected all that is needed is regular reporting and sensible interpretation.

You also need to understand how social media fit into the marketing mix and be prepared to use good old fashioned methods where necessary. Remember also, a solid social media plan can help your SEO efforts!