Lowering the Bar for Brands in Social

When it comes to social media marketing, it’s still a mixed bag: some brands and companies are getting it right and others are lost in the weeds or aren’t using social media much at all. Nate Elliot, an analyst at Forrester, think that the key to brands and companies mastering social media marketing is lowering expectations:

I think the main reason marketers still struggle to make social pay is simple: They overestimate social media as a marketing tool. Let me be clear: I’m not bashing social’s value for marketing; social media can have an enormous impact on the success of your marketing programs, as we’ve seen time and time again. The point I’m making is that it can’t create that success all on its own. You need to use it as merely one tool in your marketing tool kit. I cringe every time I hear a client ask how they can build a brand with social media or drive sales with social media. Of course, social can ultimately contribute to both goals, but it’s simply not very effective at taking the lead when you need to build your brand or acquire new customers. The key to success is figuring out what social can and can’t do — and then leveraging social tools where those tools excel and turning to other channels and platforms in situations where social isn’t as well adapted.

Read his full post on Forrester Blogs here. Follow him on Twitter at @nate_eliott.