‘Yet, if you look around, you see wasted effort, tactical thinking and reactionary measures.’ (Michael Brenner)

Since this year at the latest, social media finds itself in the mainstream of the communication and media industry. There are few studies which do not praise the great opportunities offered by Twitter, Facebook and similar platforms. It did not matter, whether those polled were journalists, communication consultants or marketing managers: absolutely everyone was enthusiastic about the topic. But with all the emotion running high, essential issues tend to slip out of focus. More and more people start wondering what the economic profits are. Spoilsports demand a return on investment. But another factor is even more important than personal gains: the strategy behind the measures taken. For this reason B2B marketing expert Michael Brenner asks ‘Whatever Happened to Marketing Strategy?’ In his blog post on ‘Social Media Today’ he calls for developing strategic concepts beforehand, instead of just reacting when it is almost too late.

According to Brenner, it is vital to set and communicate objectives in social media marketing and put them down in writing, if possible. In order to accomplish these objectives, a good strategy is needed. On the basis of this strategy, a plan is developed which states in detail who is responsible for what and when measures will be taken. And when all is said and done, implementation has to be monitored and adapted when need be. It is all about making a concept like in the good old days after all.

‘It’s not that companies tweet or post photos to flickr that is behind their success; it’s the fact that these efforts further their overall strategy of content creation, customer acquisition, and product positioning.’

Brenner sums it up with: ‘A Twitter account is not a social media strategy.’ Tweets, uploads to flickr, and Facebook updates are not the key to success but merely elements of a strategy aiming at customer acquisition and product placement. As a consequence, companies must have a good plan and have to be able to verbalize it. Even though it can be assumed that the author fears that without a plan, taking measures on the new media platforms is rather futile, his article lacks what Brenner demands: phrasing and pointing out a solid line of arguments for developing a strategy in advance. The question of why a plan is of such extraordinary importance is not attended to sufficiently. Nevertheless, Brenner brings up a thought which is definitely worth pursuing.

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