Is Social Media the Answer For All Marketing Communication? (Week 12, The END)

Social media has become a giant in consumer communication over the past few years.  Although these tools were initially utilized by a younger demographic, recent years have seen the adoption of social media by all generations.  The users are turning to social media for the social happenings, news, information, and more.  Each platform has is strengths and niche markets.  Some sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn have found success in dominating large market segments.  However, with everything that social media sites offer - can they really obsolete the traditional marketing communication tools that marketers us?  Let's take a look at some of the tools being used today and how social media can either replace, enhance, or be insufficient in filling the purpose.

Advertising
Social media still affords companies the opportunity to advertise on the sites.  These can be via banners, pop-ups, or notifications.  However, if only social media sites were used to advertise, companies would miss out on the opportunity to adversities to non-social media users.

Sales Promotion
Notification of sales promotions could occur via Twitter, Facebook, and other sites.  The company could provide a link directly to the customer and direct them to their individual company websites.  Social media would enhance the reach of companies and avoid some of the cost associated with tradition mailings.

Public Relations
Website - Most social media sites offer companies the option to create a fan page.  However, these fan pages are all limited by the social media site framework and don't really allow companies to differentiate themselves.  When a customer simply hits a "Like" button for your business, but has also "Liked" your competitors, are you really achieving customer loyalty?  Companies will still need to host their own websites where they can interact and inform their customers.
Customer Service - This is a critical aspect of any company.  The features currently available on social media sites will not be effective in dealing with all customer issues.  The customer service department can participate in social media activities to inform customers, but at the end of the day, there needs to be an outlet for customers to call into and seek help.

Direct Marketing
There are similar aspects to the direct marketing to advertising with social media. There are numerous benefits to using social media as it allows for easier segmentation, targeting, and positioning.  However, companies would again be limited to social media users if they abandoned traditional direct marketing efforts.

Personal Selling
For basic necessities and low value items, social media may offer companies enough of a voice to sell their product.  However, for high involvement products, customers aren't going to look at 140 characters in a Twitter note and decide to buy that company's car.  Consumers will still need the opportunity for interaction during the sales process in the form of sales reps.

Although social media is a great asset for marketers to use in their future marketing efforts, it will not completely replace good old-fashioned marking tools.  Marketers will still need to be brilliant at the basics and use social media as another tool in their toolbox.