Q and A: Torrey Pocock, TCW Marketing CEO, on Social Media Marketing

When developing a marketing plan, our company believes in solid, proven core marketing principles. There are four key elements that must fall in line for a marketing plan to be truly effective: price, product, promotion, and placement. Once these four elements have been identified, we plug in the tactics that best fit. Social media as a marketing tool has become important, but it’s just one of the tools we use. No matter what marketing plan you use, the price of your product and the placement and promotion of it must be competitive and in line with what other similar businesses offer.

How have you incorporated social media into your marketing plans?

We integrate digital word of mouth (social media) to engage with customers, clients, and the public. We use social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook to serve as public forums (focus groups) to help shape new products, designs, and more. We use Twitter to break news and Facebook to talk about the news we just broke.

How much time do you spend on social media marketing (as a percentage of your total marketing activities)?

We spend about 20% of our time managing social media sites and content for our clients and their online presence.

What social media outlets do you find most effective for your clients?

Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are the best for us. They integrate so well into websites and offer powerful tracking and sharing tools. Engagement is easy, and it’s easy for customers to use these social media platforms. And they are the most fun!

How do you get people to engage on social media?

Good content! It’s all about good content, not just posts. As an example, we don’t just post “Hey look at this picture.” Instead, we say to the user, “Caption This Picture!” We provide information for users to share, not just read. Good content also means quality work. We don’t use clip art, but instead use original work that conveys the message we want for the company.

What type of metrics do you use to track the effectiveness of your social media efforts?

Sites like Klout.com are good for monitoring activity and specific posts. Using too many tracking services, however, can lead to too much information. Therefore, we place more weight on actual results (for instance, if someone writes about the product we are promoting or a website we developed). But, we do track results of a campaign and use Facebook “Insights” a good deal. There are a lot of services that monitor social media activity for free and paid services really jump up a level when extra tracking and metrics are needed.

If I’m a small business owner and I don’t have a social media presence, where should I start?

Facebook first, then Twitter, then Instagram, then Pinterest. If you are a business-to-business company, however, LinkedIn should be first. In addition, small businesses shouldn’t forget about the traditional methods of engaging with customers. For example, the United States Postal Service now offers great direct-to-door mailings for $.15 per home. Direct marketing can really make an impact, especially when partnered with a strong social media marketing campaign.