1.3 Social Media's Role in the Marketing Mix

Social media has become a crucial part of the marketing mix, amplifying traditional campaigns and creating new opportunities for engagement. It works in tandem with other digital tactics, distributing content and enhancing targeting across platforms.

By aligning social media efforts with broader marketing goals, brands can create a cohesive customer experience that guides people from awareness to advocacy. Social platforms play a key role at each stage of the customer journey, leveraging social proof and commerce features to drive conversions.

Social Media Integration with Traditional Marketing

Amplifying and Supporting Traditional Campaigns

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• Social media marketing can amplify and support traditional marketing efforts (print, radio, television, direct mail, outdoor advertising)
• Social platforms allow brands to extend the reach of traditional campaigns by driving online engagement, conversations, and content sharing related to offline messaging
• Data and insights gathered from social media interactions can inform and optimize traditional channel tactics, creative, targeting, and budget allocation

Leveraging Channel Strengths for Integrated Strategies

• Integrated marketing strategies leverage the unique strengths of each channel
  • A TV ad may drive viewers to a social media contest
  • A print ad may include hashtags to join a digital conversation
• Social media can make traditional campaigns more interactive by providing a platform for real-time audience participation, feedback, and user-generated content

Synergies of Social Media and Digital Marketing

Content Distribution and Amplification

• Social media marketing often works hand-in-hand with other digital tactics (content marketing, email marketing, digital advertising, search engine optimization)
• Social platforms are key distribution and amplification channels for digital content assets (blog posts, eBooks, infographics, videos)
• Coordinating messaging and creative across social, web, email, and digital ads builds brand consistency and reinforces key offers or calls-to-action

Enhancing Targeting and SEO

• Social advertising options allow for sophisticated audience targeting based on demographics, interests, and behaviors that mirror capabilities of other digital ad platforms
• Social media can improve SEO by driving inbound links, increasing branded search volume, and optimizing social profiles and posts to appear in search results
• Integrating social login, sharing buttons, and user-generated content into websites and apps creates a fluid experience between properties

Aligning Social Media with Marketing Goals

Supporting Business Objectives

• Social media initiatives should support a brand's overarching marketing objectives (awareness, consideration, sales, loyalty, advocacy)
• Aligning social tactics with marketing priorities ensures efforts are working towards measurable business outcomes, not just vanity metrics
• Social media goals should be based on broader digital and integrated marketing key performance indicators (KPIs) to demonstrate direct impact and return on investment (ROI)

Creating a Cohesive Customer Experience

• Consistent brand positioning, voice, and visual identity across social and other marketing touchpoints creates a cohesive customer experience
• Integrating social media into campaign planning from the start, rather than as an afterthought, allows for more impactful, cross-channel activation

Social Media in the Customer Journey

Guiding Customers from Awareness to Advocacy

• The customer journey encompasses all touchpoints from initial awareness to post-purchase evaluation, and social media plays a role at each stage
  • Awareness stage: social content and advertising can introduce brands to new audiences and spur interest with compelling offers or storytelling
  • Consideration stage: social proof (customer reviews, ratings, user-generated content) helps provide the trust and credibility shoppers seek when evaluating options
  • Purchase stage: social platforms with built-in commerce functionality enable a frictionless path to purchase, moving customers from product discovery to conversion without leaving the app
  • Post-purchase stage: social media is a primary channel for real-time customer service and support (comments, messages, chatbots)
• Brand loyalists and advocates often express their affinity on social networks, which can influence new customers at the top of the funnel and restart the buyer journey

Leveraging Social Proof and Commerce Features

• During consideration, social proof like customer reviews, ratings, and user-generated content helps provide the trust and credibility shoppers seek when evaluating options
• Social platforms with built-in commerce functionality enable a frictionless path to purchase, moving customers from product discovery to conversion without leaving the app
• Post-purchase, social media is a primary channel for real-time customer service and support through comments, messages, and chatbots