Jun
8
2010
Is Social Media like Football?
Author: Inside Stuart's head...Why is football so popular?
Is it the brutal tackling, amazing catches and exceptional athletes?
This year I am volunteering to coach the Calgary Bantam Wildcats as an Offensive Line coach. I played Defensive End when in high school, so it will be interesting to be on the other side of the ball for a change. Football for those who follow this game closely must be approached in a strategic manner. You can’t expect to take the field without a plan of how you are going to play the game. The best teams throughout history have always used strategy to fight for every yard and to win championships.
Lately, I have been looking at social media from a very strategic approach. I first started out with tactics and dismissed strategy, however as I mature as a business consultant who focuses on helping Canadian small business with Online Marketing, strategy is crucial to everyone’s overall success online.
Many Canadian, US and Tech firms simply attempt to leverage social media by going at it very tactically and I am not sure why online marketing often skips over the planning and strategy phase. Perhaps it is the ease of access and even because it requires little or no financial investment to get started. What a mistake as I have learned over my time in the industry. Tactical is crucial during the execution phase however long before you send out a tweet, post an update on Facebook or write your first blog post you have to look at the strategical approach to social media.
Social Media is a relationship marketing tool and the best relationships are always part of your strategic plan. Over the past few weeks I have spoken about the importance of a plan and what my friend Arlin talks about “The Four Plans That Change Everything“.
Do you have a business plan? Many businesses don’t.
How about a marketing plan? Nope, even more business don’t have a plan to execute their marketing.
Are you getting the results from your online marketing? Maybe it is simply a failure to plan.
Many businesses here in Calgary and across Canada are not getting the results they were promised by their social media consultant. Why? Because they have no plan to attack the market, just like in football…no plan, how can you ever succeed?
Yes, Social Media is exactly like Football. You need to battle to develop every strategic relationship just like you need to take the field in football to win each series, each quarter, each half and then each game.
Need a hand planning your online marketing…give me a call 403.775.2205
