When I recently created a marketing strategy for a new client, I did what I normally do first, work backwards.

First from the consumers eye, then to product need/desire until Iarrive  back at the clients requirements. Once I had the idea how we could achieve not only success but ROI success, it dawned on me that as we as consumers have moved away further from traditional points of contact such as mass advertising, some companies still yet don’t see social media as a priority.

People in marketing and sales understand that Linkedin is for B2B and Facebook is for B2C (business to consumer) contact but It’s the latter that scares me. I recently researched some companies Facebook page who deal directly with consumers and its frighting how they spend money and time on Van and shop signs, marketing material and totally are unaware that a lot of their market (13-40 year olds) use this new media as their point of contact when dealing with everyday choices such as:· Deciding on hair colour & design (Cut is not fashionable so I’ve been told!)· Clothes and footwear to achieve individualism and acceptance.· House decisions such as insulation & decorating ideas.· Party ideas including venue, transport and dress.This market use Facebook as their social organiser, calendar and as a peer so to get their attention you need to look at it from their point of view.Once you have this achieved you can begin to take advantage on all the other benefits, your Company/product page can give you such as:· Feedback on service & products.· Launching new services & products· Customer relationship management· Customer retention management· Research & development.

REMEMBER that Social Media is now first point of contact for many potential customers so invest resources in it than just having a page.