8/8/2019 Digital Marketing vs. Social Media Marketing an Article From a About b2b Influencers Influence Marketing, Word of

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Digital Marketing vs. Social Media MarketingI was reminded the other day by friends of mine that they

dont know the difference between Digital Marketing and

Social Media Marketing. Since I spend everyday talking

about or using tools and platforms in the space I take for

granted the general market has not caught up.

Granted my marketing friends know what blogs, twitter,

facebook fan pages and bit.lys are. So where should I

start?

Digital Marketing (DM) is a big category- it is much more mature than Social Media Marketing and the parent

category.

DM includes Search Engine Marketing, Display Advertising, Adwords, Promotions, etc. Social Media Marketing

includes tweeting, posting, digging, sharing with more engagement driven activities than ad buying activities.

The easiest way to compare the two is in how they are executed:

Digital Marketing- is much more aligned with traditional media:

-Find an audience

-Figure out the channel they access

-Place a buy

-Review the results

-Buy more or less depending on the outcomes

Social Marketing- is like a hand written letter campaign with faster feedback cycles:

Reach out and figure out what people are talking about

Figure out where they are having these conversations

Engage in the conversation

Add your opinion/facts/insights (content) to the conversation

Encourage contributors to track, follow, like bookmark you and your company, blog, fan page, etc.

The goal of the top social marketing campaigns is to influence and drive credibility so you have equity

with your target market

No media buying- conversation engaging.

Review the size and engagement of the audience following you and how often they pass on your

musings to determine if your Social campaigns are working

Social Marketing is hard work.it requires consistent thoughtful effort to produce results.

Both Digital Marketing and Social Media Marketing require planning, testing and commitment. The biggestmistake Ive seen made relative to Social Media Marketing is if we setup our social channels all we have to do

is pump in some content and well get the targeted results we need. WRONG!

Track It or Lose It

79% of Businesses are not measuring ROI for social media programspublished by Mzinga.com on

September 1st, 2009.

8/8/2019 Digital Marketing vs. Social Media Marketing an Article From a About b2b Influencers Influence Marketing, Word of

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I find this last stat crazy if we applied this lack of discipline to traditional Digital Marketing heads would roll.

So why do it in Social Media then? Maturity is the only thing I can think of. That is, Social Media is a new

channel with young people driving the adoption, usage and engagement.

If you look at the average age of a VP of Marketing they are north of 35 years of age and for the most part

missed the we are open to the world, growth stage of the Internet.

Instead, the current crop of VPs are responding by adding social elements to their sites and checking off the

box that says we are hip and using the latest methods to connect with our customers when they should be

figuring out how to leverage the new low cost channels to engage and influence their current and potential

customers.

Icons Dont Mean Youre Hip

Just because a corporate site has added twitter, facebook and blog icons does not mean they have a clue as

to how to connect with their clients via social media. Nor do firms understand how to leverage this new

channel. Getting people to comment, share, like, retweet are the keys to knowing if you are making an

impact.

Just cranking up the content volume and adding useless friends and followers is not the end game. If you lay

down the foundation in your social channel then when you start looking for feedback on your thoughtleadership you will very quickly find out the relevance and influence you have in a market.

So Whats Next? Get Social!

Ok, you have added Social Media Marketing to your mix, added the social icons to your site. You are blogging,

tweeting and posting so how do you defend it is worth the investment?

The key is to start with the end in mind. If you want to own customer mindshare then get social. If you want

to have your customers find you on-line and in the conversation then get social, if you want to block your

competition from infiltrating you clients horizon then get social.

If you want to get your head handed to you then ignore social. I am certain a savvy competitor is ready to fill

the void. Probably some 28 years old whippersnapper who understands the fastest and cheapest way to stayconnected with any digital customer is by engaging them and digitally connecting with them.

Bottom-line

Digital Marketing must include Social Media Marketing efforts as part of the base mix. Thinking of it as a

waste of time or necessary evil will doom your firm. Companies made that mistake with SEM and were left

behind do not repeat history lead the charge.

I know I jumped around today but in the end I hope you are able to piece together the core portions that

apply to your business.

See you on-line soon.

Jim

@jimweldonjr