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Keeping a brand relevant across all channels is more challenging than ever. The fact is many marketers want to gravitate to the channels generating the most buzz. And the recent past has been all about social media. But do sites like Facebook make sense for most brands? After all, what good is this buzz if it is not in-line with your brand and what it stands for or if the noise you are generating is being directed at the wrong audience?
 
The most egregious example of what I like to call the "we have to be everywhere online" syndrome occurred for me when the CEO of a B2B company, after coming out of a briefing on the current adoption rates of social media, immediately demanded to know why their business was not on MySpace. The answer was simple, although probably not what the CEO wanted to hear— MySpace does not represent their target audience and the site itself does not align with what the brand stands for. ??With so many options in the digital tool kit today, it's not easy being focused, but it is vital. As an industry we are in danger of looking like a group of six year olds playing soccer. You've seen it before—a whole team of children going for the ball (i.e. the big idea or the latest technology) with nobody playing their assigned position. Ultimately what you are left with is just a mass of bodies running around and nobody trying to find a way to work together to score a goal.
 
So how do you keep a widely distributed team (marketers, agencies, media partners, etc…) focused on where the ball is now and where it needs to go? To start,  be honest about who you are. If your business or brand is built on’ family values,' it’s best not to put together a social media-based saucy promotion just because it will get a good response. ?
The three key rules of thumb to keep in mind when you are looking to keep a team focused around your online efforts are the following:
 
The first rule is all about relevance. Is the medium you are considering relevant to your audience? It may seem that the whole world has flocked to Facebook or Twitter but are they right for your current and potential customers? For many brands, the answer is yes – but only if you are engaging in a way that is relevant and strategic, and most of all, in line with a larger strategy. As a one-off effort (and I have seen many) – the investment in time & money is often better spent elsewhere.
 
The second rule involves context. Is the partner site or forum you are considering appropriate to your business? As I mentioned earlier, if your company is looking to convey a strong sense of family values then launching an ad campaign on a largely negative gossip site is not the way to go. It might create great traffic but it may damage your brand in the process.
 
The third rule involves vision. The key to success in marketing involves the successful integration of many customer touchpoints, which are driven by a clear long term plan. The social media world is still largely under (or badly) utilized by marketers – maybe it is the result of executing against an out of date plan or strategy where there weren’t so many options for 1:1 connections?
 
Marketing has never been a one size fits all endeavor. Every brand has a unique audience and image and all activities must take these into account. Falling prey to the temptation of “what’s hot” today could not only do more damage than good, it also takes the teams focus away from what’s next.

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