Testing the Social Waters

If you registered as a member of AMA during the spring
membership drive then you were able to register for
the upcoming webinar on social media marketing.
Social media is a buzzword right now in marketing.
Are you currently wrestling with the decision to add
it to your marketing mix? Are you avoiding it, hoping
it will avoid you? Have you taken the plunge and
wondering if it is working for you?

Any of the three above scenarios can keep a marketer
up at night. It has been reported that a typical
person spends 30% of their time online these days. A
typical marketer spends only 7.5% of their budget
towards online marketing. So, what is the right plan
for you?

Truth is I have not seen a right or wrong answer to
social media. It is an evolving area of marketing.
Ignoring it may prove costly, but so may rapidly
adopting it without proper planning. The Advertising
Age podcast, available for free on ITunes or from the
Ad Age site, recently dedicated an episode to Liz
Cahill of Lee Jeans.

Ms. Cahill recommends that marketers wishing to enter
the social waters take the opportunity to perform a
social audit for their brand and determine the best
outlets and tools. Furthermore, don’t be afraid to
make mistakes at first and make changes to the
program. The initial Lee Jeans programs were not
successful at first, and they took the time to
understand why and make corrections that have proven
to pay dividends in their marketing programs. You can
get the full story by listening to the podcast.

Don’t forget that the AMA has resources on this
subject and others as well as the upcoming valuable
webinar. You can share your suggestions and concerns
on the subject by using the comments feature of this
blog.

The AMA Pittsburgh blog was envisioned to be a
resource for you. Up into this point, the blog has
reported on upcoming events, and this is our first
foray into presenting a topic in this space. You have
control over the content of this blog. Please let us
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Not a member of AMA? Join today at AMAPittsburgh.org