The presentation below was presented to the HBS Chapter of the Harvard Club of Minnesota and focused on building a solid business case on why social media should become a critical component to a company’s overall marketing strategy; specifically as it relates to the consumer decision journey.
According to people at Unica and their State of Marketing 2011 study, social media is no longer the adorable baby everyone wants to hold, but the angst filled adolescent – still immature yet no longer cute – who inspires mixed feelings. The truth is social is no longer the shinny object in the room but an increasingly critical tool in a marketer’s toolbox that needs to start producing results. However there is still uncertainty in how it can prove its worth to the c-suite.
Thus, I believe the critical point in making social media efforts successful is the ability for companies to align their social efforts with existing business objectives as well as utilizing these tools in key touch points in the consumer’s journey. They also need to realize that staffing correctly and putting in place a structure for managing social channels is key to executing a successful social media strategy. My hope is that this presentation makes that case and provides a guide to organizing and measuring social’s success.
Great article, thanks for sharing!
Keen on learning more about the new Consumer Decision Journey