The sprinklers had been running since 5 a.m. creating puddles in the patch of dirt in the backyard. I breathed in the warm morning air, ran my fingers through the “party in the back” portion of my mullet, and ventured off the deck, wearing nothing but my newly cut-off jeans. I was only seven years old, but remember the feeling of the mud oozing through my fingers and toes like it was yesterday. I spent about an hour filling a pie tin full of summer mud, carrying it to the edge of the patio and carefully flipping the tin to leave molded mud mass to bake on the concrete surface…

If you are a marketing professional, you likely don’t live a day without being bombarded by messages about the importance of including new media, especially social media, in your marketing mix. From workshops by so-called “experts” to free webinars – who has time to sort through the clutter and make sense of it all? Most marketers recognize the opportunities tied to participation in new media, but question how to do it effectively and strategically ­– in a way that makes participation worth the allocation of time and resources.

You’ve likely reacted to the shift toward new media by rolling up your sleeves, reading books, attending webinars and seminars, and getting some mud between your toes. While this is an admirable approach, many such proactive endeavors fizzle when you realize your effort requires objectives and strategies, and your communication needs to conform with the rules and etiquette of each medium in order to be effective.

While competence may be obtained on one social node, such as Facebook®, the vision blurs when it comes to how this competency relates to, or interacts with, other aspects of your Web presence – or the marketing strategy as a whole. In many cases this initial fire gets doused by frustration or lack of directed time and resources, and the company ends up with a handful of inactive assets doing more harm than good for the brand and visibility of the entity – a social media mud pie baking on the concrete.

THE KEY TO EFFECTIVE USE OF NEW MEDIA IN YOUR MARKETING PLAN IS A STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK THAT DICTATES THE OBJECTIVES OF EACH WEB ASSET – BOTH AS AN AUTONOMOUS TOOL, AND AS A COMPONENT OF YOUR OVERALL WEB PRESENCE.

When you’re ready to review such a strategic framework and start tackling new media in a way that opens opportunity for your business, give Jibe a call and ask for a free white paper. Or, better yet, a free consultation.