Every new tool is treated with excitement, skepticism, caution and a myriad of other reactions or attitudes. As with every tool there are problems it solves.
Tools are only as effective as their use. There are also other factors that determine the effectiveness, such as the context and strategy in which they are employed.
At other times it is really the one who wields the tool that determines its effectiveness. The bottom line: there are things each tool can and cannot do. Social media is no exception. There are things social media can and cannot fix.
Social media is a mere tool that some are making the end and not the means. While social media can augment efforts to bring awareness to a cause, product or simply share, there are some things social media cannot do:
Bad Product
Great marketing starts with a great product. Social media cannot fix your bad product or delivery. No matter how well you try to portray what you offer, if it is bad, the same tool (social media) you use to glorify your products will be used to taint your reputation and what you offer.
Using social media to sell your products as great does not make them great.
Great marketing only makes a great product fail faster – David Ogilvy
On the other hand, great marketing starts with a great product. The challenges those you serve present through social media can present a great opportunity to better your product.
Criticism from those your organization serves tells you that they care enough about your services that they want you to do better in serving them. There are some comments that will be leveled against you through social media that are not worth entertaining.
You can use social media as a strategy to grow and better your offerings. Don’t be quick to brush off complaints from your team or those your organization serves, there may just be opportunity hidden there
Bad Marketing Campaign / Strategy
Including social media in your marketing strategy or campaign with the help of companies like The Marketing Heaven does not automatically make your campaign great. Your campaign must be inherently great.
When you assess the effectiveness of your campaigns look at your strategy as whole as well as the individual components. Sometimes social media is blamed as the weak point in strategies (I am not saying it can’t be), when the fault is with other aspects of plans.
Social media per se will not fix a bad campaign strategy
Social media, as a tool cannot destroy your campaigns but how it is used. You can use the wrong platform or use the right platform wrongly. Understand that social media is nothing but a tool.
While social media can help formulate a great strategy, your strategy does not automatically become awesome because you’ve included it.