Like opposing politicians, social media and direct marketing gaze at each other with grudging respect, yet philosophical disdain. Direct marketing sees each feel-good community-building word spent in social media as a wasted opportunity to make a sale. Social media sees direct marketing as the slick-talking salesman whose approach is as outdated as his gaudy plaid jacket. But just like politicians, these seemingly opposing forces really yearn for the same goal – profitability – and if they can put aside their differences and work together, a world of endless possibilities awaits.
Lori Taylor explores this topic in greater depth in her article for Social Media Explorer, 3 Ways to Close the Gap Between Social Media and Direct Response. Taylor argues that the goal of both direct marketing and social media is to drive traffic into and through the sales funnel, creating profit. Taylor identifies the three steps social media marketers must take to better align their efforts with business goals, including defining a target audience, understanding their needs and researching best practices for meaningful engagement.
@NeilAndrewJames
TweetTags: direct marketing, integrated marketing, Social Media
This entry was posted on Monday, January 10th, 2011 at 9:17 am and is filed under Social Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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