There is always debate.
There is always debate on the topics of social media… the black magic of the business world. Should we do it? What is the best way to do it?

Traditional marketing, advertising and PR firms do not know what to do. “Social Media” companies do not have enough traditional strategy to make something stick. We are all scraping to find something to make this powerful tool work. It is going to be a long process of customization, personalization, and strategy.

My company, Brandswag, started out as a small business design and marketing firm in Indianapolis. We have thus grown to a 5 person shop dealing with graphic design, web design, and social media/internet marketing. The transition happened pretty naturally because all of us were so involved in social media already… Why not try to leverage this amazing tool for business benefit? And it has worked… to an extent. The tool is broken. Social media should be used strictly with a traditional strategy. Hire a traditional marketing firm. Hire a Public Relations firm.

This is not the “save-me-from-the-economy” tool. It is a new thing. It is a new product that is being slowly pushed and pulled apart to make it work. I am far from an “expert” and there are only a few that can take that title (Chris Brogan and Douglas Karr). We all have little pieces of the pie to maximize a marketing strategy.

What are we to do? Work together.

Traditional marketing, PR, and advertising companies need to open up their minds to the tool and also the opposite way. Social media and internet marketing companies need the traditional strategy and marketing of the agency. Let’s work together to measure and get results.

We are all in this together. We have (at our fingertips) a tool that could transform the way we communicate.

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