Social media marketing – love or hate it?

The hot topic of social media marketing is on the minds of many marketers, entrepreneurs, small businesses and digital agencies – and has been for some time. The impact of social media in how companies and individuals market themselves is a critical consideration in the marketing mix. And, of course, a selection of savvy corporates and big Brands are also investing time, energy and significant cash into social media marketing. But, how do you respond to social media marketing? Do you love or hate it? The Marmite Brand has made good use of the ‘love it or hate it’ message in their marketing mix over the years – and the Brand is also investing heavily on social media marketing, it seems. Having overviewed the Marmite presences on Facebook and Twitter yesterday, it was encouraging to see a corporate Brand engaging in a real, human-voice-enhanced, and accessible ways on social media for a change – even though the Marmite Brand is part of the uber-group Unilever. But with outstanding social media marketing, behind a Brand there’s always a person. Or, in this case, teams of people. And those people are Splendid Comms and We Are Social – two of the largest social media agencies in the UK, and providers of big-Brand social media marketing solutions and strategies. I’ve followed the We Are Social blog for a while now, and rate their creativity, social perspective, and genuine passion for what they’re delivering for corporate clients. They’re walking their talk, which is rare in agency-land. The Splendid Comms offering looks like an attractive one for big-Brand requirements, too. My main thrust with the ‘love it or hate it’ question is this: if you don’t enjoy social media marketing, if you see it as a necessary evil, it will show in your social media content over time. You can’t fake passion on social media engagement. It needs to be real. Now, obviously, the average business in the UK can’t afford the kind of investment large agencies such as Splendid Comms and We Are Social will command for their monthly retainers, and many businesses wouldn’t allocate such budgets for social media engagement alone. But the big Brands such as Marmite realise and recognise the importance of effective, thorough, and passionate social media marketing – hence the level of their investment with an experienced, multiple-office agencies to craft their creativity on social. If you’re considering engaging via social media marketing, I’d ask yourself the following questions first: * Are you prepared to open the doors of your business and engage fully? * Are you prepared to invest time, energy and creativity – consistently? * Are you prepared to integrate social media fully into your marketing mix? If you don’t answer ‘yes’ to all three questions, it might not be the right time to consider a serious social media marketing plan being introduced into your overall business communications. I’d also recommend having a look at the Marmite social media presence – I, for one, love it.