Social Media Strategies Vs. Tactics | Marketing Vs. Advertising

Lacey and her brother Zeb Welborn founded Welborn Media. She has designed and launched websites, several projects, marketing materials, a podcast, a book and more. Her passions include her family, her friends, creating things and helping businesses grow.
Latest posts by Lacey Welborn (see all)

Marketing vs. Advertising

Advertising: The paid, public, non-personal announcement of a persuasive message by an identified sponsor; the non-personal presentation or promotion by a firm of its products to its existing and potential customers.

Marketing: The systematic planning, implementation and control of a mix of business activities intended to bring together buyers and sellers for the mutually advantageous exchange or transfer of products.

When talking with business owners and decision makers we are constantly inundated with questions about ROI, or Return on Investment.  While platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Google have attempted to address those concerns the fact remains that it is difficult to track the complete ROI benefits social media can bring to a business.  Advertising makes it very easy to track the ROI of a particular campaign because it’s a one-shot deal which can be easily tracked.  Marketing on the other hand is very difficult to assess because it encorporates the overall plan of a business to attract new customers.

Marketing is a strategy, and advertising is a tactic that can be an implementation of a marketing strategy. However, advertising does not usually work alone toward its goal. Other tactics such as market research, media planning, public relations, product pricing, distribution, customer support, sales strategy, and community involvement are implemented alongside advertising. All of these elements must not only work independently but they also must work together towards the bigger goal. A tactical executive may be very skilled at putting into motion plans to get results, but fail to see the bigger picture. That is why they may confuse advertising for marketing. Strategic executives will have a better grasp on bigger concepts, but may not understand the best way to reach their customers.

In Chet Holmes’ book, The Ultimate Sales Machine, he tells us there are three types of executives, “A full 90 percent are what I call ‘tactical executives,’ while 9 percent are what I’d call ‘strategic executives.’ And only 1 percent – the most effective executives – possess the rare combination of both tactical and strategic abilities.”

Ultimate Sales Machine, Three Types of Executives. 90% Tactical, 9% Strategic, 1% Both

Holmes goes on to say, “Tactical executives think only in terms of making the sale for today. They don’t understand strategy . . . Strategic executives will often look at the situation from a global perspective and see if they can develop some high-level strategy that might help to solve the problem. These executives are brilliant. They create concepts, ideas, and strategies that most would never adopt. But strategic executives are not good at, or interested in, tactics. Hence, I’ve seen many big ideas that never come to fruition because strategic executives fail in the implementation of their big ideas.”
How far ahead do you see?
The executive who thinks both tactically and strategically can develop the big ideas and the big strategies and also use discipline and determination to see those brilliant strategies implemented at the tactical level. And just for the record, the second type of executive, the strategist, can often be paired with a strong tactician and be very successful. However, the strategist may have to keep explaining and selling his or her ideas again and again to the tactical executive.”

Social media is most effective when it is used as a strategy and not a tactic.  While a social media campaign can include some tactics and advertising features, it is most successful when used as a tool to market to potential and current customers.  When done properly social media can have a profound impact on any business.

To use social media properly it is imperative to become a social business.

 

The Value of a Like on Facebook

The owner of Welborn Social Media and the founder of The Tutoring Solution.My goal is to help business owners share the passion they have for their business with as many potential customers as possible.By helping passionate people achieve their dreams I am helping to create a society of passionate leaders that will help inspire others to make their dreams a reality.

The most common question I get from businesses is:  What is the Return on Investment (ROI) of Social Media?  Although ROI is difficult to calculate, there are numerous studies that demonstrate the value Social Media can bring to any company.

The Value of a Facebook “Like”

While perusing my LinkedIn account I came across an article titled, “The Value of a Facebook Fan.”  According to the article, SocialCode, an agency owned by the Washington Post Company “looked at 50 brands and more than 5 million Facebook ads over a five-month period earlier this year.”

What they discovered was:

  • Facebook fans are 547 percent more likely to perform a desirable act than non-fans.
  • Facebook fans are 291 percent more likely to engage with brand than non-fans.
  • Facebook fans make actual purchases at a rate of 7 percent, while non-fans make purchases at a rate of 2 percent.
  • The difference in cost per acquisition* between fans and non-fans is $9.56.
  • For fans making a purchase, the fan cost per acquisition is $14.88 compared to $43.86 for a non-fan.

The overall impact of Social Media undoubtedly benefits your business more substantially and for less cost than other forms of marketing and advertising.  The study by SocialCode is just one example of the thousands that can be found online indicating the benefits Social Media can bring to any business.

Sign up for a free, personalized consultation with Welborn Social Media owner, Zeb Welborn to discuss how we can improve your Social Media presence, meet more customers and enhance the relationship you have with current customers.

(909) 973 -9089

*Cost per Acquisition means how much it costs to convert a sale incorporating all marketing and advertising used to attract clients to a product.

Allie Nosek Wins our $50 Gift Card at the 2011 Business Growth Expo

The owner of Welborn Social Media and the founder of The Tutoring Solution.My goal is to help business owners share the passion they have for their business with as many potential customers as possible.By helping passionate people achieve their dreams I am helping to create a society of passionate leaders that will help inspire others to make their dreams a reality.

“At TOCA our mission is Serving our Patients through innovative and comprehensive Orthopedic care. This mission is the foundation for ensuring the highest quality of care for our patients. By employing the most innovative procedures and true state-of-the-art technology, our staff of general orthopedists and subspecialities have earned a reputation for providing consistent specialized orthopedic care. TOCA’s reputation is built on treating each person’s specific need and one of many reasons we are the team physicians and surgeons for The Phoenix Suns, The Phoenix Mercury and ASU.”

Congratulations Allie Nosek on winning our contest and receiving a $50 Gift Card to The Thirsty Lion, located in Tempe, Arizona.  Allie entered the contest by dropping in one of her business cards at our booth at the 2011 Business Growth Expo.

Allie does Marketing and Graphic Design for The Orthopedic Clinic Association(TOCA).

At the Expo, Allie mentioned she understood the importance of social media, but also expressed her concerns about effectively demonstrating the return on investment (ROI) social media can bring to her company.  We are in the process of scheduling a phone interview with her to discuss how we can evaluate the impact social media can make for The Orthopedic Clinic Association.

Many companies express the same concern with ROI. It becomes difficult to justify the use of social media when thought of in those terms.  However, there are many tools companies can use to evaluate how people are connecting with their business using social media.  If you or your company would like to understand how to better manage or understand how to use the data that is available through social media outlets – ask us.

The 2011 Business Growth Expo was an eye-opening experience for us.  It was our first business expo and we had no idea what to expect.  We were thrilled to meet so many helpful and friendly people.  And we look forward to keeping in touch with them for years to come.

We chose a $50 Gift Card to The Thirsty Lion Pub & Grill  for our contest. It is a new establishment located in the Tempe Marketplace at 2000 East Rio Salado Suite 1041, Tempe, AZ.  They have a large selection of food and more than 50 beers on tap.

After the Expo, my sister and I made our way to The Thirsty Lion. We were hungry and ready to relax, we were not disappointed.  The food, service and atmosphere was phenomenal . . . exactly what we needed on a long, productive day.