the new kids of social media.

You gotta admit, social media, is the in thing.

Everyone is ranting and raving about it.

People fresh off the bat want to get their fingers all wet and sticky with it.

Me?

I thought so too till I realised that social cannot just be something on its own. At least not in Singapore’s market. The big agency boys have got their claws into big names with the money to spare for these campaigns. The smaller ones are still reserved, cautious to take a bite out of their pie because the budget’s either already stretched too thin or the management holding on to the purse strings still believe fervently in traditional mediums of advertising.

Seriously, it’s true! Some of these companies believe that microsites and online marketing (think nasty invasive and interruptive web banners or pop-ups and the like) are about as newfangled as new media can get.

Sigh.

So what should social media be, really?

Personally and even professionally, I believe that it is a complementary element to an online marketing campaign. The sole purpose isn’t to sell (sad, disturbing, how the hell do I explain it to my client?! but true) but rather to inform, to create that bond between brand and consumer. To establish loyalty and familiarity. Give your consumers the right, or rather, the option to be part of the brand. In the way it is being marketed or advertised, in terms of product improvement and development. When you get them involved, you get them to keep you at the top of their mind. When they think of your competitors, they will measure these competitors up to you not just in terms of price, but in the benefits that these competitors can never offer but which you give to them freely.

What do you think? Should social media be a standalone strategy you’d pitch to clients or part of a dynamic online (and maybe even offline) marketing plan?