Balancing Your Marketing Budget

Finding the right mix between social media and traditional marketing

With social media growing exponentially in all demographics, businesses are no longer asking if they should market via social media, but rather how much they should spend. According to BusinessWeek, Ford Motor Company found that answer to 25 percent of their budget.

Ford's social media marketing strategy includes simple things such as tweeting snippets of press releases and blogging, to more elaborate projects like the Fiesta Movement, where 100 Americans drove the Fiesta for six months and documented their experiences online. The campaign brought awareness of the vehicle to 37 percent among Generation Y before it even hit showroom floors, proving social media marketing works. Even with that success, Ford will not be leaving conventional marketing behind. Seventy-five percent of its budget is still allocated to conventional marketing.

Finding the right marketing mix is important for any business, so before setting arbitrary percentages ponder on thoughts such as these.

No "free advertising"
Looking at Ford.com, there is no question big bucks can be spent on social media promotions. However, big spending is not the norm; in fact, many view social media as a no-cost promotion vehicle -- which is not the case. To have any presence at all, takes a commitment of time -- and as the saying goes, "time is money." The good news is that social media and smart phones have made it possible to turn down-time, such as that spent in lines, into a chance to update social media pages.

Unfortunately, social media presence can occasionally backfire and harm your reputation. The purpose of a blog is to build reputation and connect with the customer, but reader comments are not always praising. Just respond in kind, if at all, and remember, negative comments are just part of doing business through social media. A word of caution though, disabling the comments feature and/or removing unflattering comments can be interpreted as having something to hide.

Parts of a whole
Social media and traditional marketing are just parts of a whole. Without taking advantage of both, you are not getting the complete bang for your marketing buck. Ford is marketing the Fiesta via social media, as well as conventional methods. You could do the same for your business. For example, a gym owner could send out a tweet shortly after Christmas. Stuff more than the Turkey this Christmas? Work it off at my gym. Then follow up with his usual marketing efforts; making sure to drive traffic to his Web site. Special landing pages, such as HisGymWebsite/tv, will not only tell customers about the specific sale mentioned in the commercial, but record the number of hits so the commercial's success can be calculated.

While social media promotions are becoming necessary, they are not something into which you want to dump all your money and time, but neither is traditional marketing -- you must find the right balance for your business. Like your budget, your breakdown of marketing spending might change from year to year, and that is okay. It matters not the size of your marketing budget, only that you use your budget effectively.

Boost your marketing know-how with NFIB Marketing and Social Media Resources.