Proctor & Gamble and Social Media
Question for today: How does social media impact an organization’s advertising budget and therefore staffing? What has sparked this question? I came across an article regarding P&G and Social Media, and how P&G realized that they could advertise on Facebook and Twitter for free, so why do they need to pay all of these marketing people to do marketing tasks, when other people within the organization can do so??
As a Direct Marketing Consultant, I wonder about the impact of social media on targeted direct marketing lists campaigns. I wonder about it’s impact on traditional advertising. My guess is that marketing still requires a good mix to work as it always has. This is why I always recommend a multi-channel approach to marketing for my clients: a mix of an opt in email campaign, telemarketing, and direct mail – with some social media mixed in.
Here is another article from Wildfire titled, “Measuring the business impact of social media”, that speaks to the impact of social media on organizations. The article is based on a survey that was given of over 700 marketers in November. The outcome of the survey confirms that nearly 100% support social media as a marketing tool, and 75% intend to increase media spending in 2012! It doesn’t speak to the impact on staff, however, based on what steps P&G has taken, it would not surprise me to hear about similar layoffs elsewhere.
