Mad Men Rethinc Advertising Social Media Management - Marketing - Social Marketing

There has always been a certain romantic mysticism associated with Madison Avenue type ad firms. In the days when television was a three channel monopoly, ad agencies tied TV ads to print media and billboards. In these ads, filled with pretty pictures and fancy words, Mad Men were able to lure consumers to market for the slaughter. This one way advertising told consumers what was in style, what to buy, and how to feel about it. Enter the internet and social media, drastically changing the ability of major media and big ad firms to sway the masses. The sheep are now sharing opinions about what they like and more importantly what they do not like.

Social media is an open communication tool that has the ability to expose weakness. Last year when Main Street launched a new social media product, Fireman Mike was introduced as a successful student, new to internet marketing. Bloggers were quick to find internet sales pages that Fireman Mike had created over a year previous; clearly he was not a beginner, new to internet marketing. The loss of creditability cost the company at least one sale.

Fast forward to today, we have ad agencies who claim to specialize in social media management. One case study, posted recently, boasted success in setting up a Facebook account for a client. A visit to that Facebook page takes you to the feed, no custom welcome page, no incentive to "Like", and no SEO. This is like opening a store and not putting up a sign, there is nothing to draw you in. Look to Coke and Red Bull for good examples of how to use Facebook like pages to get fans.

Social media management is more than a Facebook or Twitter page. Professional social media managers understand how to combine search engine optimization, marketing, and distribution to increase online exposure and ROI. By knowing where a consumer is in the internet sales funnel and the social channel being used, messages can be crafted that engage users who can become promoters of the product by shear mention.

The immense power of social media channels and search engine optimization has yet to be realized, as most are unable to grasp the fundamentals of both in their rush to bring something to market. YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter deliver content in various formats and although the linking strategies between them and your company blog remain consistent, successful marketing approaches are very different.

The company Blend Tec was able to successfully use YouTube to increase sales several hundred percent with their, will it blend, video series. This is very different from the top Facebook fan pages, most have an incentive to "Like". That one simple "Like" will put updates on the users feed for all to see. Facebook has given a "Like" button click the same status and effect as the "become a fan" once was.

This is great news. Google knows consumers share opinions of products and services online using social media, and is giving authority to the site and the posts. Effective use of SEO and social media can get not only your website and company blog to Google's front page, it is possible to rank Facebook pages, Twitter tweets, blog posts, and a host of others. Simply sending the office chatterbox to a Google certification class, or bringing in a college intern, will do little more than help an ad agency begin to understand internet basics. Some may want to rethinc advertising that they are SEO and social media marketing specialists.