Social Media ... it's part of this nutritious breakfast.

August 16, 11:49 PMPhoenix Social Media ExaminerEd Olsen

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As a kid … almost every morning I would pour myself a bowl of my favorite cereal and proceed to read the box. Without exception every single brand of cereal included a picture of said cereal surrounded by orange juice, toast, a glass of milk and a piece of fruit … (insert brand name here) is part of this balanced and nutritious breakfast.

I don’t know about you … but I never saw or heard of any kid eating a breakfast like that. It was cereal and milk … period. Once in awhile … you might rock a banana in your cereal but other than that you were good with your cereal, milk and spoon.

Now pardon me while I attempt to make the analogy work. Social media is part of this nutritious breakfast … er… I mean properly integrated marketing strategy. Just like your breakfast you need various and differentiating elements to make it complete. Unfortunately, just like your breakfast most companies settle for cereal, milk and a spoon.

Don’t get me wrong… just the cereal will suffice … especially if you have the money needed to counter the fragmentation and consolidation in traditional media. But what about the rest of us … what should we do?

I don’t advocate rushing out and hiring some 18-year old girl to start tweeting for tweets sake … or having your nephew create a Facebook page so that you can ask your customers to be your fan. I do think it’s important for you to take time to review your traditional media buying habits so that you are getting the best value for your dollar invested. A sound marketing strategy should ensure that each element (like a balanced breakfast) plays off and enhances the other elements of your advertising strategy. Otherwise you end up with Cocoa Puffs and Clamato.

Determining what is right for your company is no easy task. (self-serving comment warning) I would recommend that you engage the assistance of a marketing professional when making that assessment. In fact, given the dynamic change in the marketing landscape and media consumption in general I can think of no better time to elicit such assistance. (http://www.rethincadvertising.com … end of warning).

Always interested in hearing from you…feel free to leave me a comment or drop me an email at ed@rethincadvertising.com . Heck … if you are ever in Scottsdale and you want to talk further on the subject I’ll buy you breakfast.

Extra reads:
Cool slideshow on social media use http://www.slideshare.net/mzkagan/what-the-fk-is-social-media-one-year-later  
Interesting read http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=111655