Y
Old school marketing tactics are needed to pump up your social media presenceour a brand manager and those non-tech types keep telling you that they want your company on Facebook. They want videos and they want whatever that Twitter thing is.
What they don't know is that their old school mentality is exactly what's needed to get the new school mentality going.
What I mean is that social media isn't a field a dreams. If you build it, they won't come. You need to listen to the questions of the guy in the field, i.e. your audience. Get at the heart of what they're asking for and give them what they need.
However, just like Ray Kinsela (played by Kevin Costner), you have to do your homework and use all the tools in your arsenal to get the people to "show up."
For example, if you're a business to business widget manufacturer and want to set up a Facebook fan page to keep your customers up to date on innovations in the space, they won't know that the fan page is there unless you market it.
Put the Facebook logo on your website. Put the URL to the Facebook page on your business cards. Make the Facebook link as part of your company's email signatures. And, by the way, don't forget about all those materials you print and bring to trade shows. Slap the Facebook logo and the URL on them.
In order for your social media tactics to work, you have to treat them like a product. You have to market them just like you would a website. If people don't know it's there, they won't find it.
Attention spans are getting smaller and smaller and people need constant and subtle reminders within their flow of the day that these channels are there to educated, entertain and connect with them on some level.
It's important to remember that social media is just another marketing channel. And just like your other marketing channels, it needs to work in tandem with the other tools to give your audience a holistic view of your company, products or services.